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Seisuke Ishiguro

いしぐろ せいすけ

Ishiguro Seisuke

Aliases: 清作
Pen Names: Seisuke Ishiguro（Pen name used chiefly as a tanka poet）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1916-03-17 （Sanjo, Niigata, Japan）
Died
2013-01-27 age 96
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Tochio, Niigata, Japan (raised) → Tokyo, Japan (base of operations)

Career

Occupations
tanka poet, editor, publisher, company founder, company president
Active Years
1940-2013
Influenced By
Naitō (name romanization uncertain)
Influenced
Kazushi Takase, Postwar tanka community (through magazines and nurturing new poets)

Awards

Japan KAJIN Club Prize
1997
Work: Yuki furi idenu
Organization: Japan Kajin Club
Result: winner
Shimagaki Akahiko Literary Award
2002
Organization: Shimagaki Akahiko Award Committee
Result: winner
Gendai Tanka Grand Prize (Special Prize)
2009
Category: 特別賞
Organization: Gendai Tanka Grand Prize
Result: special prize
Japan Kajin Club Grand Prize
2012
Work: For long-term publication achievements of 'Tanka Shimbun' and 'Tanka Gendai'
Organization: Japan Kajin Club
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Yuki furi idenu

1996 tanka collection

A tanka collection centering on snow and hometown motifs, reflecting his late-period style.

naturesnownostalgia

In Xiangtan (Seisuke Ishiguro Collected Tanka)

1967 tanka collection

A collection including poems recalling his time in China; reflects wartime and postwar experiences.

wartravelrecollection

Heimei (Collected Tanka)

1982 tanka collection

A collection demonstrating a clear and straightforward poetic style.

everyday lifenature

Bibliography

  • Jukon (Tanka Collection) 1947
  • Before the Human Hut (Tanka Collection) 1964
  • In Xiangtan: Seisuke Ishiguro Collected Tanka 1967
  • Koshi (Tanka Collection) 1973
  • Sumori (Tanka Collection) 1975
  • Tochio (Tanka Collection) 1976
  • Heimei (Tanka Collection) 1982
  • Juka (Tanka Collection) 1985
  • Tanino (Tanka Collection) 1987
  • Natsukusa (Tanka Collection) 1988
  • Setsugo (Tanka Collection) 1989
  • Sangatsu (Tanka Collection) 1991
  • Chinese Small Songs (Tanka Collection) 1991
  • Koigakubo (Tanka Collection) 1992
  • Juin (Tanka Collection) 1993
  • Miharu (Tanka Collection) 1994
  • Return to China (Tanka Collection) 1994
  • On the Grass (Tanka Collection) 1995
  • Xi'an (Tanka Collection) 1995
  • Yuki furi idenu (Tanka Collection) 1996
  • March Snow (Tanka Collection) 1997
  • Night Snow (Tanka Collection) 1998
  • Peach Tree (Tanka Collection) 1998
  • Ritto (Tanka Collection) 1999
  • Waiting for Spring (Tanka Collection) 2000
  • Afternoon (Tanka Collection) 2001
  • Colors of Night (Tanka Collection) 2002
  • Snow Falling (Tanka Collection) 2004

Style & Themes

Literary Style
neat and clear tanka expressiondelicate depictions of hometown and nature
Recurring Motifs
snowhometown (Tochio)memories of time in Chinaeveryday scenes

Legacy

As founder of Tanka Shimbunsha and publisher/editor of 'Tanka Shimbun' and 'Tanka Gendai', he greatly influenced the postwar tanka world; he also left numerous tanka collections as a poet.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Kajin Club

Trivia

  • His real name was Kiyosaku.
  • Founded Tanka Shimbunsha in 1953 and served as its president until the company's closure in December 2011.
  • Revived the poetry magazine 'Jojoshi' in 1940.
  • Was enlisted and served in military theaters including China and French Indochina.
  • Contributed to nurturing new tanka poets through editorial initiatives such as founding the Tanka Gendai Newcomer Prize.