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Shintaro Ishihara

イシハラ シンタロウ

Ishihara Shintaro

Aliases: 石原 愼太郞

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1932-09-30 （Suma Ward, Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan）
Died
2022-02-01 （Ota Ward, Tokyo, Japan） age 89
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Religion
Reiyūkai
Residence History
Suma-ku, Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan → Otaru, Hokkaidō, Japan → Zushi, Kanagawa, Japan → Den-en-chōfu, Ota, Tokyo, Japan

Career

Occupations
Writer, Politician
Active Years
1955-2022
Affiliations
Liberal Democratic Party, Japan Restoration Party (2012-2014), Reiyūkai
Memberships
Akutagawa Prize selection committee member (1995–2012), Mishima Yukio Prize selection committee member (1992–1999)
Influenced By
Jean Cocteau, Raymond Radiguet, Ernest Hemingway
Influenced
Fuminori Nakamura, Jinsei Tsuji, Mangetsu Hanamura

Education

Hitotsubashi University, Faculty of Law
Faculty of Law / Department of Law
Degree: 学士（法学）
Period: 1952-1956
Year of Graduation: 1956
Country: Japan
Debuted while at university; won awards for Season of the Sun

Awards

Bungakukai Newcomer Award
1955
Work: Season of the Sun
Organization: Bungakukai (Literary World)
Result: 受賞
Akutagawa Prize
1956
Work: Season of the Sun
Organization: Bungeishunjū
Result: 受賞
Arts Encouragement Prize (Minister of Education)
1971
Work: Forest of Fossils
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs / Ministry of Education
Result: 受賞
Hirabayashi Taiko Literary Prize
1988
Work: Return to Life
Organization: Hirabayashi Taiko Literary Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Publishing Culture Award (Special Prize)
1996
Work: My Brother
Organization: The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd.
Result: 受賞
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star
2015
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Gray Classroom

1954 Short story

Debut work published in a university literary magazine.

youthalienation

Season of the Sun

1955 Short novel / Novella

Depicts passionate postwar youth; won the Akutagawa Prize.

youthviolencesexuality
Adaptations
  • [Film] Season of the Sun / 野村芳太郎 (1956)
Translations
  • Season of the Sun (English translation)

The Execution Room

1956 Novel

A work that sharply probes societal issues; adapted to film.

ethicsviolence
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Execution Room (1956)

Forest of Fossils

1970 Novel

Long novel published in 1970; recipient of an Arts Encouragement award.

modern historyindividual

My Brother

1996 Memoir / Non-fiction

A memoir about his younger brother Yujiro Ishihara; became a bestseller.

familycinema
Adaptations
  • [TV drama] My Brother (2004)

Bibliography

  • Season of the Sun (1955)
  • The Execution Room (1956)
  • Forest of Fossils (1970)
  • My Brother (1996)

Adaptations

  • Season of the Sun (film)
  • The Execution Room (film)
  • My Brother (TV drama)

Translations of Works

  • Season of the Sun (English)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
direct depictionpassionate prosesocial critique
Recurring Motifs
violencelife and deathyouthseanation

Health

  • cerebral infarction (stroke)
    2013
    Experienced a mild stroke; hospitalized and underwent recovery
  • pancreatic cancer
    2021-2022
    Recurrence in 2021; died after illness in 2022

Legacy

A figure of major influence in postwar Japanese literature and politics, leaving both literary achievement and a legacy of controversial political statements.

Archives

  • Materials held by publishers and private collections

In Popular Culture

  • Season of the Sun (film adaptation)
  • My Brother (TV adaptation)

Quotes

  • I am 'the rampaging old man', Shintaro Ishihara.
    Source: Statement at the House of Representatives Budget Committee (2013) (2013)
  • I am an advocate of nuclear power, even now.
    Source: Press conference (2011) (2011)

Trivia

  • Debuted with Season of the Sun while a university student and won the Akutagawa Prize (1956)
  • Younger brother was actor Yujiro Ishihara; eldest son is politician Nobuteru Ishihara