Japanese Literary Awards

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Ito Kazuhiko

いとう かずひこ

Itō Kazuhiko

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1943-09-12 （Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Miyazaki City (born and resides)

Career

Occupations
tanka poet, literary researcher, university professor, library director (honorary)
Active Years
1974-
Affiliations
Kokoro no Hana, Gendai Tanka - Minami no Kai (representative), Japan PEN Club (member), Miyazaki Prefectural University of Nursing (visiting professor), Miyazaki Prefectural Library (honorary director)
Memberships
Japan PEN Club, Mokusu Research Association (chair)
Influenced By
Wakayama Bokusui
Influenced
Sakai Masato (student; co-author)

Education

Waseda University, Faculty of Letters, First Department
Faculty of Letters (First Department) / Department of Philosophy
Country: Japan
Began composing tanka while a student; joined Waseda University Tanka Society

Awards

Yomiuri Literature Prize (Poetry/Haiku/Tanka)
1996
Work: Umi-go no Uta (Songs of the Sea Number)
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Terayama Shuji Tanka Prize
2005
Work: Shingetsu no Mitsu (Honey of the New Moon)
Organization: Terayama Shuji Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Chōkū Prize
2008
Work: Hohoemi no Sora (Smiling Sky)
Organization: Chōkū Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Saito Mokichi Tanka Literature Prize
2010
Work: Tsuki no Yoboe (Moon's Night Voice)
Organization: Saito Mokichi Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Ono City Poetry and Song Literature Prize
2013
Work: Machijikan (Waiting Time)
Organization: Ono City
Result: 受賞
Gendai Tanka Grand Prize
2015
Work: Tsuchi to Hito to Hoshi (Soil, People and Stars) and critical work on Wakayama Mokusu
Organization: Gendai Tanka Grand Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Art Award
2016
Work: Tsuchi to Hito to Hoshi (Soil, People and Stars)
Organization: Mainichi Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Japan One-Line Poetry Award
2016
Work: Tsuchi to Hito to Hoshi (Soil, People and Stars)
Organization: Japan One-Line Poetry Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Shika Bungakukan Prize
2018
Work: Toone Yoshi Toomi Yoshi (Good Distant Sound, Good Distant View)
Organization: Shika Literary Museum
Result: 受賞
Inoue Yasushi Memorial Culture Award (Special Prize)
2019
Organization: Inoue Yasushi Memorial Culture Award Committee
Result: 受賞（特別賞）
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays
2022
Organization: Government of Japan (Cabinet)
Result: 受章
Tanka Kenkyu (Tanka Research) Prize
2022
Work: Sanakidani
Organization: Tanka Kenkyu Publishing
Result: 受賞
Japan Kajin Club Grand Prize
2024
Work: Reading Youth in Modernity: Muksui, Takuboku, Kishiko (book and lifetime achievements)
Organization: Japan Kajin Club
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Meichoki

1974 tanka

First collection of tanka poems; a representative volume of early works.

hometownnatureyouth

Umi-go no Uta

1995 tanka

A collection of tanka focused on the sea and nature; won the Yomiuri Literature Prize.

seanaturereminiscence

Shingetsu no Mitsu

2004 tanka

Collection noted for delicate emotional depiction; recipient of the Terayama Shuji Tanka Prize.

inner lifemoonlove

Hohoemi no Sora

2007 tanka

A tanka collection valued for its attention to everyday life and nature; won the Chōkū Prize.

everyday lifenatureobservation

Tsuki no Yoboe

2009 tanka

Collection centered on moonlit nights and silence; awarded the Saito Mokichi Tanka Literature Prize.

moonsilenceintrospection

Tsuchi to Hito to Hoshi

2015 tanka & criticism

A volume of tanka (and associated critical work) that led to high recognition including the Gendai Tanka Grand Prize and Mainichi Art Award.

hometownhuman conditioncosmic perspective

Toone Yoshi Toomi Yoshi

2017 tanka

A recent collection dealing with distant views and temporality; recipient of the Shika Bungakukan Prize.

timedistant vistasmemory

Bibliography

  • Meichoki
  • Gegosho (Moon Talk Anthology)
  • Hi no Tachibana
  • Ao no Fudoki
  • Collected Tanka of Ito Kazuhiko
  • Shinra no Hikari
  • Umi-go no Uta
  • Aohinata: The World of Ito Kazuhiko's Songs
  • Yateki no Gekkou
  • Collected Works of Ito Kazuhiko
  • Hi no Oni no Sumu
  • Zakuro Warau na
  • Continued Collected Tanka of Ito Kazuhiko
  • Shingetsu no Mitsu
  • Hohoemi no Sora
  • Kokyusuru Tsuchi
  • Tsuki no Yoboe
  • Machijikan
  • Tsuchi to Hito to Hoshi
  • Toone Yoshi Toomi Yoshi
  • Selected Poems by Ito Kazuhiko - Living in Miyazaki
  • Further Collected Tanka of Ito Kazuhiko
  • Kotodama no Kaze

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical, realist tanka grounded in traditional formsquiet diction with a keen observational eye
Recurring Motifs
sea and watermoon and nighthometown (Miyazaki)memory and time

Legacy

As a regional poet, he combined traditional tanka techniques with a contemporary sensibility, receiving numerous literary awards. He contributed to education and local cultural promotion and is highly regarded for his scholarship on Wakayama Bokusui.

Academic Societies

  • Mokusu Research Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library (held materials)

In Popular Culture

  • Named the shochu 'Hyuga Akugare'
  • Co-authored 'Boku, Bokusui!' with actor Sakai Masato

Trivia

  • Born and residing in Miyazaki City; served as honorary director of the Miyazaki Prefectural Library.
  • Named the shochu 'Hyuga Akugare' for Akugare Distillery Co., Ltd.
  • Actor Sakai Masato was his pupil; they co-authored a book.
  • A leading scholar of Wakayama Bokusui; chairs the Mokusu Research Association.