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Kon Tōkō

こん とうこう

Kon Tōkō

Aliases: 今春聽 / 春聽
Pen Names: Shunchō（Dharma name used after ordination; also used as legal name after becoming a monk）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1898-03-26 （Isecho, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan）
Died
1977-09-19 （Yotsukaido, Chiba, Japan (National Hospital)） age 79
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Religion
Tendai Buddhism
Residence History
Isecho, Yokohama → Mikage, Kobe → Tokyo (Hongo, Asakusa, Negishi) → Yao, Osaka (as head priest of Tendaiin) → Hiraizumi (as chief priest of Chuson-ji)

Career

Occupations
Buddhist monk, Novelist, Politician
Active Years
1917-1977
Affiliations
Japan Proletarian Writers' League (participant), Japan PEN Club (supported/associated), Nora Inu-kai (writer group; founder & chair)
Memberships
Japan PEN Club, Japan Proletarian Writers' League
Influenced By
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, Yasunari Kawabata, Nagai Kafū
Influenced
Jakuchō Setouchi, Filmmakers and theatre practitioners (through many adaptations)

Education

Kwansei Gakuin Junior/High School (attended; expelled)
Period: 1910年代
Country: Japan
Expelled/left for disciplinary reasons related to relationships
Hyogo Prefectural Toyooka Middle School (now Toyooka High School)
Period: 1910年代
Country: Japan
Left school due to disciplinary action
Hieizan Senshu-in (Eizan Gakuin seminary)
Monastic training / Esoteric Buddhism / Tendai studies
Degree: 准教師資格取得
Period: 1930–1934
Year of Graduation: 1934
Country: Japan
Completed three-year training and passed certification to become a quasi-teacher

Awards

Naoki Prize
1957
Work: Ogin-sama
Organization: Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Ogin-sama

1957 Historical fiction

A historical novel set in the Momoyama period, telling the life and love of Ogin (connected to Sen no Rikyu and Takayama Ukon) through the voice of a Kawachi-born narrator. It won the Naoki Prize and brought wide popular acclaim.

Momoyama culturereligion and loveregional (Kawachi) local color
Adaptations
  • [Film] Ogin-sama / 田中絹代 (1962)
  • [Film (later adaptation)] Ogin-sama / 熊井啓 (1978)

Tōkei (Cockfighting)

1957 Short story / Regional fiction

A short story centered on cockfighting in Kawachi, portraying local customs and human relations. Published in Chūōkōron, it helped mark his return to the literary scene.

Kawachi local colorcustoms and folklorehuman foibles

Akumyo (Infamy)

1961 Popular fiction / Novel

A popular-fiction novel set in Kawachi. Its film adaptation starring Shintarō Katsu was a major hit and became a series, increasing the author's mass popularity.

regional societychivalry/underworld ethoshuman passion and vice
Adaptations
  • [Film] Akumyo / 田中徳三 (1961)

Chigo (The Novice Boy)

1947 Fiction (religious / historical themes)

A novel drawing on the Chigo ritual of Hieizan, portraying relationships between novice boys and high priests; noted for its use of esoteric ritual material as source.

religious ritualtaboo and desirehistorical source material

Bibliography

  • The Thin Bride (short stories)
  • Aikyō
  • Chigo
  • Tōkei (Cockfighting)
  • Ogin-sama
  • Akudō (Part I)
  • Shundein-shō
  • Akumyo
  • Tōkō Taikeiki (6 vols.)
  • The Blue Blood of the Ezo (4 vols., unfinished)

Adaptations

  • Ogin-sama (1962 film, dir. Kinuyo Tanaka)
  • Akumyo (1961 film; series starring Shintarō Katsu)
  • Shundein (1958 film)

Translations by Author

  • Mystic Man (translation of C. W. Leadbeater)
  • The Peach Blossom Fan (translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
popular-fiction narrative voiceearthy regional description with dialectacerbic wit and caustic commentary
Recurring Motifs
Kawachi regional lifemonastics and religious themeschivalry/underworld characterslocal customs such as cockfighting

Health

  • Cardiomegaly (enlarged heart)
    1930年代中頃
    Serious health crisis requiring rest and affecting creative activity (hospitalization/recuperation)
  • Sigmoid colon cancer (colon cancer)
    1973–1977
    Underwent surgeries in 1973 and 1974 and thereafter fought illness; final decline and acute pneumonia during hospitalization led to death in 1977

Legacy

Beginning as a Shin-Kankaku author, later ordaining as a Tendai monk and returning to the literary world, he became widely read for his Kawachi-themed popular fiction. Known as the 'acid-tongued monk' in media, many works were adapted for film and stage. He was also notable as abbot of Chuson-ji and as a member of the House of Councillors.

Museums

  • Imato Kō Archive / Museum Osaka Prefecture (holds archival materials)

Academic Societies

  • Japan PEN Club
  • Japan Proletarian Writers' League (historical association)

Archives

  • National Diet Library (Imato Kō holdings)
  • Held in various local archives and libraries

In Popular Culture

  • Akumyo film series (starring Shintarō Katsu)
  • Media persona as the 'acid-tongued monk' (TV commentator, life-advice columns)

Quotes

  • A writer's true fate is to be killed by journalism — that would be my wish.
    Source: Interview / public remark (circa 1970s) (1975)
  • Oi. Today is a good day. A good day indeed.
    Source: A habitual phrase attributed to him (recollections of family and associates)

Trivia

  • His father, Imato Buhei, worked in the shipping industry and had links to the Theosophical Society; he was nicknamed the 'Walnut Captain'.
  • After ordination he used the Dharma name 'Shunchō' (also as legal name), and used 'Kon Tōkō' as pen name.
  • Elected to Japan's House of Councillors in 1968 (national constituency) and served one term (1968–1974).
  • Several works were turned into films; the movie adaptation of Akumyo became a hit series starring Shintarō Katsu.
  • He battled sigmoid colon cancer in the 1970s and died in 1977.