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Osamu Ikeuchi

いけうち おさむ

Ikeuchi Osamu

Pen Names: Mokunen（Haiku pen-name (haigo)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1940-11-25 （Himeji, Hyōgo, Japan）
Died
2019-08-30 age 78
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Himeji, Hyōgo, Japan → Tokyo, Japan (residence and primary base of activity)

Career

Occupations
German literature scholar, Essayist, Translator, University faculty
Active Years
1965-2019
Affiliations
Kobe University ( Lecturer ), Tokyo Metropolitan University (Associate Professor; former name), The University of Tokyo, Faculty of Letters (Associate Professor / Professor)
Influenced By
Franz Kafka, Karl Kraus, Erich Kästner

Education

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
Faculty of Foreign Studies
Country: Japan
Undergraduate graduation (year unspecified)
The University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology
Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology / Faculty of Letters
Degree: 修士
Year of Graduation: 1965
Country: Japan
Completed master's program (1965)

Awards

Kamei Katsuichiro Prize
Work: Literature of Satire
Result: winner
Kuwabara Takeo Academic Award
Work: Good Evening, Mr. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Result: winner
Japan Translation Culture Award
2002
Work: Franz Kafka Collected Works (editor/translator)
Result: winner
Mainichi Publishing Culture Award
2000
Work: Faust (translation, 2 vols.)
Result: winner
Kodansha Essay Award
1994
Work: Between Sea and Mountain
Organization: Kodansha
Result: winner
Yomiuri Literary Prize (Criticism/Biography)
2012
Work: A Biography of Kōshirō Onchi
Category: 評論・伝記
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Fin-de-Siècle Vienna

1981 Literary criticism / Cultural studies

A collection of essays examining the culture and literature of fin-de-siècle Vienna.

ViennaFin-de-siècle cultureMusic and visual arts

Between Sea and Mountain

1994 Essay

An essay collection on travel, landscapes, and local culture. Winner of the Kodansha Essay Award.

TravelLandscapeLocal culture

Kafka's Life / How Kafka Wrote (representative Kafka-related works)

2004 Biography / Criticism

Biographical and critical works that carefully analyze Franz Kafka's life and literary world.

Kafka studiesTranslationLiterary biography

Mr. Kant's Walk

2013 Essay / Criticism

An essay collection blending philosophy and everyday life; short pieces of reflection inspired by walks.

PhilosophyWalkingEveryday life

Bibliography

  • Portraits of the Fin-de-Siècle
  • Literature of Satire
  • Fin-de-Siècle Vienna
  • Between Sea and Mountain
  • Kafka's Life
  • How Kafka Wrote
  • Mr. Kant's Walk
  • A Biography of Kōshirō Onchi

Translations by Author

  • Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Patrick Süskind)
  • Faust (Goethe) complete in 2 volumes (translation)
  • The Tin Drum (Günter Grass)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Clear, encyclopedic essayistic styleCritical perspective grounded in cultural history and comparative literature
Recurring Motifs
TravelHot springs & landscapesVienna / fin-de-siècleKafka

Health

  • Ischemic heart failure
    2019
    Died in 2019 from ischemic heart failure

Legacy

A scholar and essayist known for German literature studies—especially Kafka—and extensive translation work. He received multiple awards for his translations and essays and influenced both academia and general readers.

In Popular Culture

  • Known in media for regular appearances on NHK FM 'Sunday Tea Room' and other broadcasts

Quotes

  • Books are friends
    Source: Books Are Friends (book) (2015)

Trivia

  • Haiku pen-name: 'Mokunen'.
  • Son is Middle East scholar Megumu Ikeuchi; brother is astrophysicist/astronomer Satoru Ikeuchi.
  • Regular contributor to NHK radio program 'Sunday Tea Room'.
  • Wrote shogi game commentaries and served as a judge for the Shogi Pen Club awards.