Japanese Literary Awards

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Takeshi Hara

はら たけし

Hara Takeshi

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1962-08-29 （Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Hibarigaoka housing complex (Nishitokyo) → Kumegawa housing complex (Higashimurayama) → Takiyama housing complex (Higashikurume) → Den-en Aobadai housing complex (Aoba-ku, Yokohama) → Moved to a house along the Tokyu Den-en Toshi Line (Aoba-ku, Yokohama)

Career

Occupations
Political scientist, University professor, Researcher, Author, Former journalist
Active Years
1986-
Affiliations
National Diet Library, Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) — Tokyo social affairs reporter, Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo (assistant), Yamanashi Gakuin University (associate professor), Meiji Gakuin University (professor; emeritus professor), International Research Center for Japanese Studies (visiting professor), The Open University of Japan (professor; visiting professor)
Memberships
Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association (director), Takachiho Amaterasu Railway Research Institute (director), Kodansha Honda Yasuharu Nonfiction Prize (selection committee member)
Influenced By
Yasunobu Fujiwara

Education

Higashikurume Municipal No.7 Elementary School
Period: 1971-1975
Year of Graduation: 1975
Country: Japan
Keio Gijuku Junior High School
Period: 1975-1978
Year of Graduation: 1978
Country: Japan
Keio High School
Period: 1978-1981
Year of Graduation: 1981
Country: Japan
Waseda University
School of Political Science and Economics / Department of Political Science
Degree: 学士
Period: 1982-1986
Year of Graduation: 1986
Country: Japan
Member of Yasunobu Fujiwara's seminar
Graduate School of Law and Politics, The University of Tokyo
Graduate School of Law and Politics / Political Science
Degree: 修士
Period: 1989-1991
Year of Graduation: 1991
Country: Japan
Completed master's program; withdrew from doctoral program (1992).
Doctoral Program, Graduate School of Law and Politics, The University of Tokyo
Graduate School of Law and Politics / Political Science
Period: 1991-1992
Year of Graduation: 1992
Country: Japan
Withdrew from doctoral program

Awards

Suntory Academic Award
1998
Work: 'Min-to' Osaka vs 'Teito' Tokyo: Kansai Private Railways as an Idea
Category: 社会・風俗部門
Organization: Suntory Foundation
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Publishing Culture Award
2001
Work: Taishō Emperor
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers
Result: 受賞
Kodansha Nonfiction Prize
2008
Work: Takiyama Commune 1974
Organization: Kodansha
Result: 受賞
Shiba Ryōtarō Prize
2008
Work: Shōwa Emperor
Organization: Shiba Ryōtarō Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Contemporary Political Science Award
2024
Organization: Japanese Association of Political and Legal Studies
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

'Min-to' Osaka vs 'Teito' Tokyo: Kansai Private Railways as an Idea

1998 History / Intellectual history

Through a comparison of Osaka and Tokyo, examines the ideological role of private railways in urban formation in modern Japan.

railwaysurban historyintellectual historyprivate railways

Taishō Emperor

2000 Biography / History

A biographical study reexamining the life and political role of the Taishō Emperor and the dynamics of his era.

the imperial institutionmodern Japanese historypolitical history

Takiyama Commune 1974

2007 Nonfiction / Social history

A reportage based on documents and testimonies about communal movements that emerged in the Takiyama housing complex in 1974.

housing complexescommunessocial movementspostwar history

Shōwa Emperor

2008 Biography / Political history

A modern reexamination of the Shōwa Emperor based on historical sources, questioning the relationship between the imperial institution and modern Japan.

emperorpolitical historyreligion and the imperial familymodern history
Translations
  • Shōwa Emperor — Taiwanese edition (Taiwan Commercial Press, 2008)

Railway Stories

2003 Essays / Nonfiction

A collection of essays on railways, weaving personal experiences with fragments of modern Japanese history.

railwaysessaysmodern history

Bibliography

  • Direct Appeals and Royal Authority: A Comparative Intellectual History of Korea and Japan
  • The Idea of 'Izumo': Erased Deities in Modern Japan
  • 'Min-to' Osaka vs 'Teito' Tokyo: Kansai Private Railways as an Idea
  • Taishō Emperor
  • The Visualized Empire: Imperial Tours in Modern Japan
  • The Plaza in Front of the Imperial Palace
  • Railway Stories
  • Railway Stories 2
  • Takiyama Commune 1974
  • Shōwa Emperor
  • Scenery Along the Line
  • Introduction to 'Rail Studies': Modern Japan Seen from the Train Window
  • Earthquakes and Railways
  • The Spatial Politics of Housing Complexes
  • Red Arrow and Star House: Another Postwar Intellectual History
  • Training of Knowledge: What Politics Means for Japan
  • On the Empress
  • A History of Thought about Topography
  • Thinking in 'Lines': Railways, Religion, and the Emperor
  • The Diagram of History: Modern Japanese History Seen through Railways
  • The Last Train
  • Postwar Politics and Hot Springs: Dense Political Spaces in Hakone and Izu
  • The Real Image of the Symbolic Emperor: Reading 'Records of Audiences with the Shōwa Emperor'
  • History of Japanese Political Thought

Translations of Works

  • Direct Appeals and Royal Authority — Korean edition (Jisik Sanupsa, 2000)
  • Shōwa Emperor — Taiwanese edition (Taiwan Commercial Press, 2008)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Scholarly yet accessible prosePlace- and case-based description (spatial-political perspective)
Recurring Motifs
railwayshousing complexesthe emperor and the imperial familyspaceurban historyimperial tours

Legacy

By linking studies of railways, housing complexes and the imperial family through a spatial-political perspective, he introduced new points of view to modern Japanese history and political thought. Through both scholarly and popular writing and media appearances, he has influenced audiences beyond academia.

Academic Societies

  • Japanese Association of Political and Legal Studies
  • Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association

Archives

  • Collections and materials at the National Diet Library
  • Meiji Gakuin University Library and research archives
  • Publications archived by The Open University of Japan

In Popular Culture

  • Featured on MBS documentary program 'Jōnetsu Tairiku' (2005)
  • Contributed to NHK Educational TV's 'Explore This World' series: 'Japan Seen from Railways' (2009)
  • Serialized 'The Diagram of History' in Asahi Shimbun's Saturday supplement 'be'

Trivia

  • A lifelong railway enthusiast; he cites obtaining a railway timetable diagram in his youth as the starting point of his academic career.
  • After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake he purchased 1,000 tickets from Sanriku Railway as a form of support (approx. JPY 600,000).
  • Worked as a reporter for Nihon Keizai Shimbun and covered the Imperial Household Agency beat, including reporting on the health of Emperor Shōwa.
  • Has appeared on media programs such as the documentary series 'Jōnetsu Tairiku'.