Oya Soichi Nonfiction Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 40 (2009) award
Yasutsune Hirashiki
ひらしき やすつね
Hirashiki Yasutsune
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1938 （Okinawa Prefecture, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan, United States
- Languages
- Japanese, English
- Residence History
- Okinawa Prefecture, Japan → Kyushu, Japan → Osaka Prefecture, Japan → Vietnam → New Jersey, United States → New York, United States → Hong Kong → Frankfurt, Germany
Career
- Occupations
- Non-fiction writer, War photographer, Photojournalist, Journalist
- Active Years
- 1960-2006
- Affiliations
- Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS), ABC News (United States), Osaka Television Broadcasting
- Influenced By
- Robert Capa (comparative reference), Kyoichi Sawada (contemporary photographer; friend)
- Influenced
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osaka Prefectural Neyagawa High School | — | — | — | — | Japan |
Osaka Prefectural Neyagawa High School
Country:
Japan
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Ōya Sōichi Nonfiction Award | The Cameraman Who Couldn't Be Capa: Voices from the Vietnam War | — | — | 受賞 |
Ōya Sōichi Nonfiction Award
2009
Work:
The Cameraman Who Couldn't Be Capa: Voices from the Vietnam War
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Cameraman Who Couldn't Be Capa: Voices from the Vietnam War
2009 Non-fictionA reportage compiling testimonies and experiences of photographers who covered the Vietnam War. Through the author's experiences and colleagues' accounts, it depicts the realities of war reporting.
war reportingmemoryphotojournalism
Adaptations
- [Radio drama] The Cameraman Who Couldn't Be Capa (NHK-FM 'FM Theater')
Saigon: Heartbreak Hotel — Japanese Reporters in the Vietnam War
2011 Non-fictionA record of history and on-site observations through the Vietnam War coverage by Japanese reporters. Collects testimonies and episodes from multiple journalists.
journalismwarJapan–Vietnam relations
I Witness: The Photographer Who Observed an Era
2013 Non-fictionA memoir-like book recounting the author's decades of reporting experience. Summarizes experiences and observations from battlefields and incident sites.
memoirreporting ethicsphotography
Bibliography
- The Cameraman Who Couldn't Be Capa: Voices from the Vietnam War
- Saigon: Heartbreak Hotel — Japanese Reporters in the Vietnam War
- I Witness: The Photographer Who Observed an Era
Adaptations
- 'The Cameraman Who Couldn't Be Capa' adapted as a radio drama (NHK-FM)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- reportage-style fact-driven prosedetailed on-the-ground descriptions
- Recurring Motifs
- memory of battlefieldscamaraderietestimony through photography
Legacy
Leveraging decades of war reporting experience, his debut work published after age 70 received high praise. He is one of the few Japanese photographers who served as a full-time staffer at ABC News (US); his records as a war photographer are considered significant in the history of war reporting.
In Popular Culture
- Selected among '25 Most Respected Japanese in the World' by Newsweek Japan (2011)
Quotes
-
Although there was a genuine desire to award a younger generation, his overwhelming writing power and prose based on real experience, even past the age of 70, could not be beaten.
Source: Natsuo Sekikawa (Chair of the judging committee, 40th Ōya Sōichi Nonfiction Award) (2009)
Trivia
- One of the Japanese war photographers who covered the Vietnam War.
- Nicknamed 'Kamikaze Tony' by colleagues (called 'Tony' because his name was hard to pronounce).
- Won the Ōya Sōichi Nonfiction Award for his debut book published after age 70.
- At the time of reporting, he and Masaki Ogushi were the only Japanese cameramen employed full-time by ABC News (US).