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Masao Iwase

いわせ まさお

Iwase Masao

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1907-11-27 （Iwatacho, Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan）
Died
2003-05-18 age 95
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Iwatacho, Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan → Tokyo, Japan (moved to Tokyo in 1928)

Career

Occupations
poet, civil servant (social education)
Active Years
1924-2003
Affiliations
Shin Shijin-kai (New Poets' Association), Orphe (literary circle), Chunichi Poets Association
Memberships
Chunichi Poets Association
Influenced By
Kotaro Takamura, Shimpei Kusano

Education

Nagoya Electric School
Period: 中退
Country: Japan
left before graduation

Awards

3rd Chubu Japan Poets Award
1953
Work: Instrument of the Burning Sun
Organization: Chubu Japan Poets Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Toyohashi Cultural Award
Organization: Toyohashi City
Result: 受賞
Chunichi Social Merit Award
1983
Organization: Chunichi Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Chikyu (Earth) Prize
1992
Work: My Sin, My Apology
Organization: Chikyu Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Contemporary Poets Prize
2000
Work: Sky
Organization: Contemporary Poets Prize Committee
Result: 受賞（最高齢受賞）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Fighting Youth

1943 poetry

A poetry collection (editor/compiler) depicting youth under wartime conditions.

waryouth

Instrument of the Burning Sun

1953 poetry

A collection published during his Toyohashi period; poems with local character and social concerns.

localitysocietynature

Land of Fire

1957 poetry

A poetry collection exploring region and memory.

memorylocality

Stone Flower

1962 poetry

Poems combining austere imagery with introspective lyricism.

interioritynature

Wilderness

1967 poetry

Works themed on solitude and expansiveness.

solitudenature

Wind

1976 poetry

A collection depicting intersections of landscape and time.

timelandscape

Fireworks of Remembrance: Pioneers of Local Culture

1978 essays/editorial

Essays and collected materials on local culture.

local cultureremembrance

Collected Poems of Masao Iwase

1980 poetry collection

A collection compiling representative poems.

retrospectionlocality

Vastness

1986 poetry

Poems conscious of expanse and the infinite.

sense of the cosmossolitude

People of the North, People of the South

1988 poetry

Poems that depict regions and their people.

regionhuman observation

Collected Poems of Masao Iwase (1991 edition)

1991 poetry collection

An edited/reissue included in the Japan Contemporary Poetry Library.

selected workseditorial

My Sin, My Apology

1992 poetry

A collection containing self-examination and confession. Winner of the Chikyu Prize.

self-reflectionconfession

Ikaruga Journey

1995 poetry

Poems themed on travel and reminiscence.

journeyremembrance

Sky

1999 poetry

A late-career representative collection praised and awarded the Contemporary Poets Prize.

skyold ageretrospection

Bibliography

  • Fighting Youth
  • Instrument of the Burning Sun (Collected Poems)
  • Land of Fire
  • Stone Flower
  • Wilderness
  • Wind
  • Fireworks of Remembrance: Pioneers of Local Culture
  • Collected Poems of Masao Iwase (1980)
  • Vastness
  • People of the North, People of the South
  • Collected Poems of Masao Iwase (1991)
  • My Sin, My Apology
  • Ikaruga Journey
  • Sky

Style & Themes

Literary Style
modern poetryfree verse in colloquial languagelyricism with local character
Recurring Motifs
localitynatureremembrancesolitude

Legacy

As a poet from Toyohashi, he was deeply involved in local culture and known for regional and socially aware poetry spanning prewar and postwar periods. He received recognition late in life, including the Contemporary Poets Prize.

Academic Societies

  • Chunichi Poets Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library (Japan)

Trivia

  • Began writing poetry at 17.
  • Dropped out of Nagoya Electric School.
  • Won the Contemporary Poets Prize at the oldest age for the award.