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Yoshitomo Imae

いまえ よしとも

Imae Yoshitomo

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1932-01-15 （Shimanouchi, Minami-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan）
Died
2015-03-20 （Japan） age 83
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Osaka (Shimanouchi, Minami-ku) → Hashimoto, Wakayama Prefecture (evacuation / childhood) → Koganei, Tokyo (after moving to Tokyo) → Kyoto (from 1968)

Career

Occupations
Children's writer, Translator, Editor, English teacher
Active Years
1960-2015
Affiliations
Fukuinkan Shoten (employment), Rironsha (editor / contract editor), Reader's Digest Japan (editor), Seibo Jogakuin Junior College (lecturer / professor)
Memberships
Member of the selection committee for the Buraku Liberation Literature Award (for many years), Japan Children's Literature Association (associated)
Influenced By
Nao Matsui, Shinta Cho (illustrator), Hermann Hesse
Influenced
Banana Yoshimoto, Mitsuyo Kakuta, Yoko Sano (influenced transition from children's literature to adult readership)

Education

Doshisha University
Faculty of Letters / Department of English
Degree: 学士
Period: 1950-1954
Year of Graduation: 1954
Country: Japan
Graduation thesis written in English on critic Herbert Read.

Awards

Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Prize
1967
Work: A Day at Sea (literal: 'Sea Sunday')
Organization: Sankei Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Ministry of Health and Welfare Children's Welfare Cultural Encouragement Award
1967
Work: A Day at Sea
Organization: Ministry of Health and Welfare (then)
Result: 受賞
Japan Children's Literature Association Award
1974
Work: Bonbon
Organization: Japan Children's Literature Association
Result: 受賞
Noma Children's Literature Prize
1977
Work: Aniki (Big Brother)
Organization: Noma Cultural Foundation
Result: 受賞
Robō no Ishi Literature Award
1988
Work: Four-part autobiographical series ('Bonbon', 'Aniki', 'Oretachi no Ofukuro', 'Bokka') and long contribution to children's literature
Organization: Robō no Ishi Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Shogakukan Children's Publishing Culture Award
1996
Work: Denden Daiko Inochi (literal)
Organization: Shogakukan
Result: 受賞
Medal with Purple Ribbon
1999
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
Kyoto Prefecture Cultural Prize (Merit)
2002
Organization: Kyoto Prefecture
Result: 受賞（功労賞）
Japan Picture Book Award
2005
Work: Irohanihoheto (title)
Organization: Japan Picture Book Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays
2005
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
ExxonMobil Children's Culture Award
2008
Organization: ExxonMobil (Japan)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Beyond the Mountain Was a Blue Sea

1960 Children's literature

His debut work. Based on a series of children's stories, it depicts adventure and imagination found within everyday life.

AdventureImaginationGrowing up

The Wonderful Three

1969 Children's literature

A short-story collection focusing on friendships and small, warm episodes.

FriendshipEveryday life

Bonbon

1973 Children's literature (children's novel)

A novel weaving in his own experiences; read widely as a story of family, friendship and growth.

FamilyGrowing upSelf-discovery

Pretend Kindness

1977 Children's literature (novel)

Depicts post-divorce father-child relationships and subtleties of daily life. It crossed the boundary of children's literature, was adapted into an NHK drama in 1980 and became a bestseller.

Family bondsKindness and lonelinessEveryday conflicts
Adaptations
  • [TV drama] Pretend Kindness (NHK) (1980)

Bibliography

  • Beyond the Mountain Was a Blue Sea
  • Full of Pockets
  • I Am a Lion
  • A Day at Sea
  • Bonbon
  • Aniki (Big Brother)
  • Pretend Kindness
  • Winter Light
  • Pastoral
  • Denden Daiko Inochi

Adaptations

  • Pretend Kindness — adapted as an NHK drama (1980)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Gentle, warm narrative voiceRealism centered on children's perspectivesPortrayal of poetic moments hidden in everyday life
Recurring Motifs
FamilyFriendshipChildhood growthKindness and lonelinessLocal and seaside landscapes

Health

  • liver cancer
    2015年（死去）
    Died of liver cancer in 2015. Creative activity continued for many years prior.

Legacy

He produced many notable works in children's literature over decades and, from the 1970s, published works read by adults as well. He experienced controversies over depiction and discrimination but left a deep influence on the field of children's literature.

Academic Societies

  • Japanese Association for Children's Literature (associated)
  • Japan Children's Literature Association (associated)

Archives

  • National Diet Library (holds works and records)

In Popular Culture

  • NHK TV adaptation of Pretend Kindness (1980)

Quotes

  • Children's literature is not only for children.
    Source: Interviews / assorted commentary (general citation)
  • My own 'discrimination' (reflective essay)
    Source: Nihon Jidō Bungaku (reflective essay publication) (1971)

Trivia

  • 'Hige no Aru Oyaji-tachi' (The Bearded Old Men) was withdrawn and pulped after controversy over discriminatory depictions but was republished in 2008 by Kaiho Publishing.
  • The 1980 NHK TV adaptation made 'Pretend Kindness' a bestseller.
  • Graduated from Doshisha University; early interest in English and French literature.