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Ikura Kohei

いくら こうへい

Ikura Kohei

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1940-04-08 （Taishi, Minamikawachi District, Osaka Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Taishi, Osaka Prefecture (birthplace) → Kobe (studied at Kobe University) → Osaka (Osaka City University graduate school; worked) → Kinki University (faculty)

Career

Occupations
poet, Japanese literature scholar, university professor
Active Years
1965-
Affiliations
Kinki University (Faculty of Letters, professor; professor emeritus), Editor of the poetry journal 'les aliz'es', Member of the Kansai Poets Association, Contemporary Poets Prize selection committee member
Memberships
Kansai Poets Association

Education

Kobe University
Faculty of Letters / Department of Japanese Literature
Country: Japan
Osaka City University
Graduate School / Japanese Literature
Degree: 修士
Country: Japan
Completed master's course

Awards

Fukuda Masao Award
1987
Work: The Gate of the Sun
Organization: Fukuda Masao Award Committee
Result: winner
H-shi Prize
1992
Work: Waters of the Earth
Organization: H-shi Prize Committee
Result: winner
Contemporary Poets Prize
2000
Work: Pushpa Brishti
Organization: Contemporary Poets Prize Committee
Result: winner
Maruyama Kaoru Prize
2010
Work: Philip Marlowe's Pistol
Organization: Maruyama Kaoru Prize Committee
Result: winner
Rekitei Prize
2019
Work: Distant Fireflies
Organization: Rekitei Prize Committee
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The February Table

1980 poetry collection

Early collection exploring everyday fragments and interior lyricism.

everyday lifememorylyricism

The Gate of the Sun

1986 poetry collection

One of his representative collections. Contains symbolic poems set against nature and history.

naturehistorysymbolism

Waters of the Earth

1992 poetry collection

A collection layering images of water and the earth; poems addressing environment and existence.

waternatureexistence

Pushpa Brishti

2000 poetry collection

A collection incorporating cross-cultural motifs; themes of language and intersecting memories.

cross-culturalmemorylanguage

Philip Marlowe's Pistol

2009 poetry collection

An experimental collection mixing autobiographical elements with noir/detective imagery.

autobiographicaldetective imagerythe city

Distant Fireflies

2018 poetry collection

A recent major work. Poems mourning memory, time, and fading things.

memorytimerequiem

Bibliography

  • The February Table (Kamome-sha, 1980)
  • The Gate of the Sun (Shigakusha, 1986)
  • Waters of the Earth (Yukawa Shobo, 1992)
  • Sara Requiem: My Heike Tale (Yukawa Shobo, 1992)
  • Pushpa Brishti (Yukawa Shobo, 2000)
  • Bridge over Morning Mist: Heike, Buson, Contemporary Poetry (Noa Publishing, 2000)
  • Night School Students (Noa Publishing, 2003)
  • Heart and Words (Noa Publishing, 2003)
  • Philip Marlowe's Pistol (Chikuma Shobo/Oki Shakusya?, 2009)
  • When I Arrived at the Station There Was a Saala Tree (Noa Publishing, 2017)
  • Capricious Pen: 'Alizé' Ship Letters (Noa Publishing, 2018)
  • Distant Fireflies (Noa Publishing, 2018)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyricalsymbolist expressionlayering of fragmented images
Recurring Motifs
watershoresmemoryhistorythe Heike (Tale of the Heike)

Legacy

Ikura Kohei is a poet and scholar of Japanese literature based in Kansai who has influenced contemporary poetry. Through university teaching and journal editing he has contributed to nurturing younger poets.

Academic Societies

  • Kansai Poets Association

Trivia

  • He serves as editor of the poetry journal 'les aliz'es'.
  • He is professor emeritus at Kinki University.