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Jun Henmi

へんみ じゅん

Henmi Jun

Aliases: 清水 眞弓 / 角川 眞弓
Pen Names: Jun Henmi（Pen name used for literary works）, Mayumi Shimizu（Legal name used after marriage (used for early publications)）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1939-07-26 （Mizuhashi, Nakaniikawa District, Toyama Prefecture, Japan (now Toyama City)）
Died
2011-09-21 （Musashino, Tokyo, Japan） age 72
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Toyama Prefecture (birthplace) → Musashino, Tokyo (late residence)

Career

Occupations
tanka poet, non-fiction writer
Active Years
1964-2011
Affiliations
Genki (Gengi) Shobo (founder & president), Editor-in-chief / representative of the tanka magazine 'Gen'

Education

Waseda University, Second Faculty of Literature
Second Faculty of Literature / Department of History
Period: 1958-1962
Year of Graduation: 1962
Country: Japan
Graduated from the Department of History

Awards

Nitta Jirō Literary Prize
1984
Work: Men of Yamato
Organization: Nitta Jirō Prize committee
Result: winner
Contemporary Women's Tanka Prize
1988
Work: Festival of Darkness
Organization: Contemporary Tanka Women's Prize committee
Result: winner
Kodansha Non-Fiction Award
1989
Work: Letters from the Camp
Organization: Kodansha
Result: winner
Soichi Oya Nonfiction Prize
1990
Work: Letters from the Camp
Organization: Soichi Oya Prize committee
Result: winner
Mizuno Sports Writer Award
1998
Work: Dreams Not Yet Exhausted
Organization: Mizuno
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Hanabie

1964 I-novel / autobiographical fiction

An early autobiographical-style novel drawing on complex family relationships.

familyconfession

Men of Yamato

1983 non-fiction / war history

A non-fiction account based on interviews and research about the battleship Yamato and its crew.

warmemoryletters and bereavement
Adaptations
  • [film] Otoko-tachi no Yamato (2005)

Letters from the Camp

1989 non-fiction

A nonfiction work composed from letters and testimonies from camps, noted for meticulous interviews and research.

warletterstestimony
Adaptations
  • [film (source material)] From Lager with Love

Festival of Darkness

1987 tanka collection

A collection of tanka poems interweaving personal experience, family history, and women's perspectives.

tankafamilyfemale perspective

Dreams Not Yet Exhausted

1998 non-fiction

A nonfiction work based on interviews with sports figures; recognized in the sports-writing field.

sportsinterviewshuman drama

Bibliography

  • Hanabie
  • Folktales of Love
  • The Cursed Silk Road
  • Exploring the World of Hoketsu Seppu
  • Men of Yamato
  • Letters from the Camp
  • Hiroshi Oshita: A Life in Rainbows
  • Requiem: The Pacific War
  • Dreams Not Yet Exhausted: Shunji Hiraki and Takanori Yoshioka
  • Letters Delivered from the Battlefield

Adaptations

  • Men of Yamato (film adaptation)
  • Letters from the Camp → From Lager with Love (film based on the book)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
autobiographical (I-novel) stylemeticulous interview-based non-fiction
Recurring Motifs
family conflictwar, letters and testimonyfemale perspective

Legacy

A writer acclaimed for both tanka poetry and non-fiction. Her interview-based works on war and family history have been adapted to film and reached wide readership. She maintained strong ties to Toyama and the publishing world.

Museums

  • Koshi-no-kuni Literary Museum (appointed director-designate) Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, Japan Opened in 2012

In Popular Culture

  • Source material for the film 'Otoko-tachi no Yamato'
  • Source material for the film 'From Lager with Love' (based on Letters from the Camp)

Trivia

  • Birth name: Mayumi Shimizu (née Kadokawa).
  • She had two daughters.
  • Founded the publishing house Genki (Gengi) Shobo in 2002 and served as president.
  • 'Men of Yamato' was adapted into a feature film.