Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Magoroku Ide

いで まごろく

Ide Magoroku

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1931-09-29 （Usuda, Minamisaku District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan (now Saku City)）
Died
2020-10-08 （Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan） age 89
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Reportage writer, Author, Journalist, Editor, Teacher
Active Years
1969-2020
Affiliations
Chuo Koronsha Ltd. (former employer)
Memberships
Japan Writers' Association, Japan PEN Club

Education

University of Tokyo, Faculty of Letters
Faculty of Letters / Department of French Literature
Country: Japan
Graduated from the Department of French Literature

Awards

Naoki Prize
1975
Work: Atlas Legend
Organization: Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: Winner
Osaragi Jiro Prize
1986
Work: Endless Journey: The History and Present of Japanese Orphans Left in China
Organization: Osaragi Jiro Prize Committee
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Portraits of the Chichibu Konmintō

1973 Historical non-fiction

A historical reportage focusing on the Chichibu Incident and people involved. The work highlights Meiji-era popular movements and regional history.

Chichibu Incidentpeople's historyMeiji era

Atlas Legend

1974 Novel

A novel treating the mysterious death of Kawakami Tōgai. It mixes historical facts and fiction to explore the enigmatic life of the figure.

historical mysterybiographical fictioninvestigation

Endless Journey: The History and Present of Japanese Orphans Left in China

1986 Reportage

A reportage following the history and current situation of Japanese orphans left in China after the war. Based on on-site research and interviews with those involved.

postwar historyJapanese left in Chinahuman rights / humanitarian issues

To the Island

1985 Novel

A human drama set on an island. Notable for its depiction of people rooted in the land and everyday life.

regional depictionhuman relationshipslocal identity

Like a Screw — The Trajectory of Painter Yanase Masayume

1996 Biographical study

A biographical study tracing the career of painter Yanase Masayume. A careful record and reflection on the artist's life and creative process.

artbiographycreative process

August 15: I Dropped My Knife — My Junior High Years During the War

1998 Memoir

A memoir of his junior high years, portraying memories of the war. It juxtaposes personal experience with the historical context.

wartime experiencememoryeducation

Bibliography

  • Portraits of the Chichibu Konmintō
  • Atlas Legend
  • Abandoned Mountain Passes: Notes on the 1884 Chichibu Peasant War
  • Year of Self-Government: Chichibu Incident Materials and Essays
  • Criminals
  • Tales from the Pass: Series on the Chichibu Konmintō
  • Meiji: Journeys of Reporting
  • The Age of Vanity
  • Transforming Landscapes
  • Resentments of Early Shōwa
  • Chichibu Konmintō Travelogue
  • My Map of Chichibu
  • Walking the Pass
  • Walking the People's History of Meiji
  • The Resistant Journalist: Yūyū Kiryu
  • Japan's 100 Famous Mountain Passes
  • Apricot Blossoms in Bloom: The Novel of Sakuma Zozan
  • Passes: The Distant Storyteller
  • To the Island
  • Endless Journey: The History and Present of Japanese Orphans Left in China
  • At That Time, This Person Was There
  • Like a Screw: The Trajectory of Painter Yanase Masayume
  • August 15: I Dropped My Knife — My Junior High Years During the War
  • Postwar History in Reportage
  • Japanese Left Behind in China: Over Sixty Years Abandoned
  • Walking with Kunio Yanagita: The Road to the Tale of Tōno
  • New Sketches of the Chikuma River
  • Facing and Living with the Past

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Fact-driven reportage styleNarration combining history and personal portraitDetailed, on-site observational description
Recurring Motifs
regional historypostwar memoryperspective of the populacebiographical portraits

Health

  • Sepsis
    2020-10
    Died from sepsis on October 8, 2020

Legacy

Magoroku Ide was a writer and journalist who combined reportage with historical narrative to unearth overlooked episodes in modern Japanese history such as the Chichibu Incident and the plight of Japanese left in China. He received awards including the Naoki Prize and Osaragi Jiro Prize and was active in both literary and journalistic circles.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Writers' Association

Trivia

  • Born in Usuda, Minamisaku District, Nagano (now Saku City).
  • Graduated from the Department of French Literature, University of Tokyo.
  • Worked at Chuo Koronsha and left the company in spring 1970 to pursue writing.
  • In 1971 he planned the publication of Norio Nagayama's prison memoirs after meeting the author.
  • Won the Naoki Prize (72nd) in 1975 for 'Atlas Legend'.