Japanese Literary Awards

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Toru Hoshino

ほしの とおる

Hoshino Tōru

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1925-08-25 （Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan）
Died
2009-01-13 （Japan） age 83
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese, English

Career

Occupations
Poet, English literature scholar, University professor
Active Years
1957-2006
Affiliations
Ibaraki University, Ibaraki Christian University
Influenced By
T. S. Eliot, John Donne

Education

Ibaraki University
Faculty of Letters, Department of English / English Literature
Country: Japan

Awards

Japan Poets Club Prize
1980
Work: Genzaru
Organization: Japan Poets Club
Result: winner
Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon
2005
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: recipient

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Genzaru

1979 Poetry collection

A poetry collection interweaving nature and mythic imagery, showing influences from English literature alongside Japanese themes.

mythnaturememory

PERSONAE

1970 Poetry collection

A collection using multiple personae; attempts to balance personal experience with universal motifs.

voices of the selfmemorytradition

Festival and Others

2001 Poetry collection

A mature work exploring festivals and ritual imagery poetically.

ritualmythcommunity

Bibliography

  • Poetry and Myth: Essays on Poetry (1965)
  • Archetypes of Poetry: Pursuit of Primal Images (1967)
  • The Origin of Poetry (1969)
  • PERSONAE (1970)
  • Flowers and Birds (1974)
  • Collected Essays on Poetry: In Search of Primal Experience (1975)
  • Bashō: Forty-one Pieces (1976)
  • Genzaru (1979)
  • Poetics and Criticism: Focusing on English Literature (1980)
  • Wheels and Axles: On T. S. Eliot (1981)
  • On Categories: Poetry (1982)
  • Poetic Bearings (1984)
  • Falling Hair: Poems (1985)
  • Castle and Others (1987)
  • Notes on Contemporary British Poetry (1995)
  • The World of Toru Hoshino: Mythic Metaphysical Poetry (1996)
  • Searching for the Rough Stone: Poems (1996)
  • The School of Donne and the Modern Age (2000)
  • Festival and Others (2001)
  • Instrument or Else: Poems (2002)
  • What Is Poetry?: A History of Poetics (2003)
  • From Lascaux Village, Southwest France (2005)
  • Collected Poems of Toru Hoshino (2006)

Translations by Author

  • Selected Essays on T. S. Eliot (co-translated with Hiroshi Nakaoka, 1967)
  • John Donne: Collected Poems (1968)
  • Science and Poetry (I. A. Richards) (1971)
  • The Seven Types of Ambiguity (William Empson, co-translated with Kazuyuki Takeshi, 1972)
  • The Flood Myth (James George Frazer) (1973)
  • Philosophical Sketches (Suzanne K. Langer, co-translated with Toshiaki Tsukamoto) (1974)
  • Ancient Art and Rituals (Jane Ellen Harrison) (1974)
  • Andrew Marvell: Collected Poems (1989)
  • Edith Sitwell: Collected Poems (1993)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
mythic and metaphysical poetic styleclear critical prose grounded in English literary studies
Recurring Motifs
mythnaturememoryquotations from classical English poetry

Legacy

A poet-scholar who bridged English literary studies and Japanese poetic practice, holding a distinctive place in modern Japanese poetry. He contributed to the dissemination of English literary scholarship through founding a poetry journal and numerous translations and critical works.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Poets Club

Archives

  • Held in the collections of the National Diet Library and others

Trivia

  • In 1957 he founded the poetry magazine 'Chalk Age' (白亜紀) and served as editor-publisher.
  • In 1980 he won the Japan Poets Club Prize for 'Genzaru'.
  • In 2005 he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.