Japanese Literary Awards

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Yoshie Hotta

ほった よしえ

Hotta Yoshie

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1918-07-17 （Takaoka, Toyama, Japan）
Died
1998-09-05 （Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan） age 80
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Takaoka, Toyama, Japan (birthplace) → Shanghai, China (postwar/stay) → Zushi, Kanagawa, Japan (residence) → Various cities in Spain (long stays in 1970s–1980s) → Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan (later life, death)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Critic, Translator, Writer
Active Years
1948-1998
Affiliations
Sekai Nippo (worked), Asia-Africa Writers' Conference (Japan Council) Secretariat, Japan Asia-Africa Writers' Conference (first Secretary-General)
Memberships
Asia-Africa Writers' Conference Japan Council, Japan Asia-Africa Writers' Conference, Beheiren (Citizens' League for Peace in Vietnam) supporter
Influenced By
Jean-Paul Sartre, Faiz Ahmad Faiz
Influenced
Hayao Miyazaki, Goro Miyazaki

Education

Keio University
Faculty of Letters / French Literature
Degree: 学士
Period: 1936-1940
Year of Graduation: 1940
Country: Japan
Former Kanazawa Second Middle School, Ishikawa (now Kanazawa Nishikyo High School)
Year of Graduation: 1936
Country: Japan

Awards

Akutagawa Prize
1952
Work: Loneliness in the Square
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Publishing Culture Award
1971
Work: Hojoki Shiki (Private Hojoki)
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers
Result: 受賞
Jirō Osaragi Prize
1977
Work: Goya
Result: 受賞
Lotus Prize
1977
Work: Goya
Result: 受賞
Tetsuro Watsuji Cultural Award
1994
Work: Michel: The Man of the Castle (3 volumes)
Result: 受賞
Asahi Prize
1995
Work: Asahi Prize (1994 fiscal year)
Organization: Asahi Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Japan Art Academy Prize
1998
Work: Second Section (Literature) / Criticism & Translation
Category: 第二部（文芸）/評論・翻訳
Organization: Japan Art Academy
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Loneliness in the Square

1951 Novel

A work drawing on his postwar experience in Shanghai; part of a linked series that addresses postwar loneliness and alienation.

Defeat/AftermathLonelinessChinaPostwar society

Loss of Homeland

1948 Linked short stories / novella

His debut linked-story collection (includes chapter 'Under the Waves'); depicts chaos and a sense of loss immediately after the war.

PostwarLossReconstruction

Time

1955 Novel

A novel focusing on early events of the Sino-Japanese War including themes around the Nanjing incidents; it addresses ethnic issues and wartime memory.

WarHistoryMemory

From the Roar Beneath the Sea

1961 Novel

Published in the early 1960s; a novel that weaves personal history with reflections on historical perception, representing his international outlook.

HistoryIndividual and stateInternational perspective
Translations
  • Russian translation (Из глубины бушующего моря)

Private Notes on Hojoki

1971 Essay / Musings

An essayistic work inspired by the classical Hojoki; reflects on contemporary society and history, considered one of his major critical works.

Classics and modernityThoughtHistorical consciousness

Goya

1977 Biography / Critical study

A multi-volume critical biography of Francisco de Goya, produced largely during Hotta's stays in Spain.

ArtBiographySpain
Translations
  • Published in multiple editions, including Asahi Bungei Bunko

Bibliography

  • Loneliness in the Square
  • Loss of Homeland
  • Search
  • History
  • Time
  • Forest of Night
  • Broken Face
  • Monument
  • Kibukijima
  • Thoughts from India
  • From the Roar Beneath the Sea
  • Judgment
  • Private Notes on Hojoki
  • Goya
  • Michel: The Man of the Castle (3 volumes)
  • Great Wind of Heaven (selected essays)

Adaptations

  • Grave on the Cape (choral work; lyrics)

Translations by Author

  • Hakuchu no Akuma (translation of Agatha Christie)
  • The A.B.C. Murders (translation)
  • Maupassant: Selected Poems (translation)

Translations of Works

  • Judgment (English translation)
  • Из глубины бушующего моря (Russian translation)
  • Время (Russian translation)
  • 鬼无鬼島 (Chinese translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Postwar literary styleEssayistic and critical techniques moving between criticism and fictionNarrative reflecting an international perspective
Recurring Motifs
Defeat and repatriationHistory and memoryLoneliness and alienationForeign settings (China, Spain, etc.)

Health

  • Cerebral infarction (stroke)
    1998-09
    Hospitalized and died on 1998-09-05

Legacy

Yoshie Hotta was a leading postwar Japanese novelist and critic whose Shanghai experience and international outlook informed major works. He won numerous awards including the Akutagawa Prize, contributed to translation and international literary exchange, and influenced later creators such as Hayao Miyazaki.

Museums

  • Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature (related exhibits) Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
  • Koshi no Kuni Literature Museum (collections/reference) Toyama Prefecture, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Organizations related to the Asia-Africa Writers' Conference

Archives

  • National Library of China (holds some local publications)
  • Library of Congress (holds copies of 'Shinsei' and other items)
  • National Diet Library (Japan; domestic holdings)

In Popular Culture

  • Influenced Hayao Miyazaki; aspects of Hotta's perspectives appear in Miyazaki's works
  • Studio Ghibli staff produced concept images for possible adaptations of works like 'Hojoki Shiki'

Trivia

  • Hayao Miyazaki has publicly stated he respects Hotta as an influential writer.
  • His postwar stay in Shanghai was formative for his literary career.
  • It is reported that he once sheltered a U.S. deserter at his home.