Akutagawa Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 17 (1943) award
Kikuzou Ishizuka
いしづか きくぞう
Ishizuka Kikuzou
Pen Names:
Kikuo Futa（Pen name used for early short stories）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1950-06-12 （Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan → Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Translator, Screenwriter
- Active Years
- 1974-
- Affiliations
- Japan Writers' Association, Japan PEN Club
- Memberships
- Japan Contemporary Literature Association
- Influenced By
- Yasunari Kawabata, Shusaku Endo
- Influenced
- Ichiro Tanaka (emerging writer, fictional)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waseda University | School of Letters, Arts and Sciences | Department of Japanese Literature | 文学士 | 1968-1972 | Japan |
Waseda University
School of Letters, Arts and Sciences
/ Department of Japanese Literature
Degree:
文学士
Period:
1968-1972
Year of Graduation:
1972
Country:
Japan
Began submitting to literary magazines while enrolled
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Chuo Literary Prize | Graves of the Wind | 小説 | Chuo Newspaper | 受賞 |
| 1998 | Contemporary Literature Prize | Distant Sea of Memories | 長編小説 | Japan Contemporary Literature Association | 受賞 |
| 2007 | Translation Achievement Award | Collected Russian Short Stories (translation) | 翻訳 | Japan Translators Association | 受賞 |
Chuo Literary Prize
1990
Work:
Graves of the Wind
Category:
小説
Organization:
Chuo Newspaper
Result:
受賞
Contemporary Literature Prize
1998
Work:
Distant Sea of Memories
Category:
長編小説
Organization:
Japan Contemporary Literature Association
Result:
受賞
Translation Achievement Award
2007
Work:
Collected Russian Short Stories (translation)
Category:
翻訳
Organization:
Japan Translators Association
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Graves of the Wind
1989 Novel 320 pagesSet in a postwar coastal village, this novel traces family memories and past wounds. Through descriptions of the sea and landscape, it depicts loss and eventual rebirth.
Postwar memoryLoss and rebirthSea and hometown
Adaptations
- [Film] Graves of the Wind / 鈴木一郎 (1993)
Translations
- English translation: Graves of the Wind (1992)
Distant Sea of Memories
1997 Novel 280 pagesA multi-perspective ensemble piece that carefully portrays the decline of a fishing village and intergenerational disconnection.
Community declineInheritance of memoryTime and place
Translations
- French translation: Souvenirs de la mer lointaine (2001)
Shadows of the City
2005 Short story collection 210 pagesA collection of short stories that capture fragmented everyday lives in the city. With a calm style, it depicts moments where loneliness intersects with others.
Urban lonelinessFragments of memoryMisaligned human relationships
Adaptations
- [Stage play] Shadows of the City - Selected Scenes / 中村加奈子 (2007)
Translations
- Spanish translation: Sombras de la ciudad (2010)
Bibliography
- Short Nights (short stories, 1976)
- Graves of the Wind (novel, 1989)
- Distant Sea of Memories (novel, 1997)
- Shadows of the City (short stories, 2005)
- Collected Russian Short Stories (translation, 2006)
- Essays: Listening to the Tides (essays, 2011)
- Recent Work: Memory of Water (novel, 2018)
Adaptations
- Graves of the Wind (film adaptation, 1993)
- Shadows of the City (stage adaptation, 2007)
Translations by Author
- Selected Chekhov Short Stories (Russian→Japanese, 2006)
- Gogol Short Stories (Russian→Japanese, 2010)
Translations of Works
- Graves of the Wind (English translation, 1992)
- Distant Sea of Memories (French translation, 2001)
- Shadows of the City (Spanish translation, 2010)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Concise, restrained proseFusion of natural description and psychological detail
- Recurring Motifs
- The seaRubble and ruined housesFragments of memory
Legacy
Kikuzou Ishizuka is regarded as a writer who depicted local memory and personal rebirth, playing an important role in postwar and regional Japanese literature. He also contributed to introducing Russian literature through his translations.
Museums
- Ishizuka Kikuzou Memorial Museum Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan Opened in 2014
Academic Societies
- Japan Contemporary Literature Association
- Regional Literature Study Group
Archives
- Waseda University Library Modern Literature Room (Ishizuka Collection)
- Yokohama City Library Special Collections
In Popular Culture
- The film adaptation of 'Graves of the Wind' sparked discussions about regional revitalization
- A number of young writers have produced homage works and stage adaptations
Quotes
-
A story can only be rebuilt from fragments of the past.
Source: Graves of the Wind (Afterword) (1989) -
The sea holds both oblivion and memory.
Source: Interview in Weekly Literary (2006)
Trivia
- Received an honorable mention in a university literary contest while at Waseda
- Hobbies include photography and fishing; he left behind many photographs of coastal landscapes