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Shirou Hara

はら しろう

Hara Shirou

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1924-12-27 （Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan）
Died
2017-07-04 age 92
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Poet, Literary scholar, University professor
Active Years
1950-2017
Affiliations
Waseda University, Professor Emeritus, Miyazawa Kenji Ihatobu Museum, Director (former), Rissho Women's University, Professor (former), Showa Women's University, Professor
Influenced By
Kensuke Hinatsu, Ikho Yoshida

Education

Waseda University
Faculty of Letters / Department of Literature
Country: Japan
Left graduate school before completion

Awards

Gendai Shijin Award (Modern Poet Award)
1986
Work: Ishi no Fu
Organization: Gendai Shijin Award Committee
Result: winner
Miyazawa Kenji Prize
1993
Work: Miyazawa Kenji Vocabulary Dictionary
Organization: Miyazawa Kenji Prize Committee
Result: winner
Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Rays
2012
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: honor
Junior Fifth Rank (posthumous)
2017
Organization: Government of Japan (Official Gazette)
Result: honored (posthumous)

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Ishi no Fu

1985 Long poem / Epic poem

A long-form poem combining poetic language with reflections on history; awarded the Gendai Shijin Award in 1986.

poetic languagehistorynature

Miyazawa Kenji Vocabulary Dictionary

1989 Reference / Research

A scholarly reference that systematically compiles the vocabulary of Miyazawa Kenji; recipient of the Miyazawa Kenji Prize in 1993.

Miyazawa Kenji studiesvocabularystylistics

Bibliography

  • On Elegance (poetry), Shoseisha, 1963
  • On Style (essay), Shindokusha, 1967
  • Juraroki (literary essays), Shindokusha, 1974
  • Studies in Style, Fuyuki-sha, 1975
  • Ghosts (poetry), 1977
  • Greetings (poetry), 1980
  • The Aesthetics of Handwriting, Tokyo Shoseki, 1982
  • Ishi no Fu (long poem), Seidosha, 1985
  • Handbook of Modern and Contemporary Poetry (editor), Gakuto-sha, 1989
  • Miyazawa Kenji Vocabulary Dictionary, Tokyo Shoseki, 1989
  • Tango-sho (poetry), Sunagoya Shobo, 1989
  • Desert of the Sky (poetry), Kajinsha, 1993
  • Historical Study of Rhetoric, Waseda University Press, 1994
  • Mokkei (poetry), Kajinsha, 1998
  • New Miyazawa Kenji Vocabulary Dictionary, Tokyo Shoseki, 1999
  • Who Is Miyazawa Kenji?, Waseda University Press, 1999
  • Ensei (poetry), Kajinsha, 2002
  • Kasen no Tango (poetry), Kajinsha, 2007
  • Cultural History of Handwriting, Kodansha Academic Bunko, 1997

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Clear poetic language with an analytical style grounded in stylisticsInterest in forms bridging modern and contemporary poetry
Recurring Motifs
naturelanguage and vocabularythemes related to Miyazawa Kenji

Health

  • senility / natural causes (old age)
    2017
    Died of senility in 2017. Though active for many decades, late-life activities were reduced due to advanced age.

Legacy

Shirou Hara made significant contributions to contemporary poetry and stylistics, and was notable for his scholarship on Miyazawa Kenji. As Professor Emeritus of Waseda University he influenced generations of students and left a lasting mark on Japan's contemporary poetry scene.

Museums

  • Miyazawa Kenji Ihatobu Museum (involved as former director)

Archives

  • National Diet Library (holds materials)

Trivia

  • Graduated from Waseda University's Faculty of Letters and later became Professor Emeritus there.
  • Participated in the founding of the poetry magazine 'Shiseiki' in 1950.
  • Won the Gendai Shijin Award in 1986 for 'Ishi no Fu'.
  • Won the Miyazawa Kenji Prize in 1993 for the 'Miyazawa Kenji Vocabulary Dictionary'.
  • Awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure (Gold and Silver Rays) in 2012.
  • Died of senility in 2017 at age 92; posthumously awarded the Junior Fifth Rank.