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Kadokawa Genyoshi

かどかわ げんよし

Kadokawa Genyoshi

Aliases: 角川水羊
Pen Names: Gengi (haiku pen-name)（Used as a haiku pen-name）, Suiyō (haiku pen-name)（Used as a haiku pen-name）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1917-10-09 （Higashi-Mizuhashi, Nakaniikawa District, Toyama Prefecture (now Toyama City), Japan）
Died
1975-10-27 （Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan） age 58
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Toyama Prefecture (birth to childhood) → Kyoto (exam preparatory period) → Tokyo (Itabashi/Nerima — Kotakecho)

Career

Occupations
businessman, scholar of Japanese literature, haiku poet
Active Years
1945-1975
Affiliations
Kadokawa Shoten (founder), Haiku Poets' Association (participant), Haiku magazine 'Kawa' (editor/leader)
Memberships
Haiku Poets' Association
Influenced By
Kunio Orikuchi (Shakucho), Kunio Yanagita, Yūkichi Takeda, Jakku Iida (Iida Jakku), Hakkyō Ishida (Ishida Hakkyō)
Influenced
Haruki Kadokawa (son; influenced career in publishing), Tsunehiko Kadokawa (son; influenced cultural foundations in publishing), Many postwar literary editors and writers in the publishing industry

Education

Kokugakuin University, Preparatory Course
Preparatory course
Period: 1930s–1941
Year of Graduation: 1941
Country: Japan
Graduated early due to wartime draft
Kokugakuin University (Doctorate)
Japanese literature
Degree: 文学博士
Period: 1961
Year of Graduation: 1961
Country: Japan
Doctorate awarded for research including 'On the Emergence of Narrative Literature'

Awards

Japan Essayists' Club Award
1972
Work: Chiji no Koe (The Pheasant's Call)
Organization: Japan Essayists' Club
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Literature Prize
1975
Work: Saigyō no Hi (Saigyō's Day)
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Emergence of Tragic Literature

1942 essay collection / scholarly

An essay collection examining the formation of tragic literature drawing on classical and folkloric perspectives. Published by Seijisha in 1942.

classical studiesfolkloretheory of tragedy

Chiji no Koe (The Pheasant's Call)

1972 essays / literary

A collection of essays published in 1972, awarded the Japan Essayists' Club Award. Contains reflections on life and culture.

essayscultural criticismviews on life

On the Emergence of Narrative Literature

1975 scholarly / research

A scholarly study on the origins and development of narrative literature. Part of the research area that contributed to his doctorate in 1961.

narratologyclassical literaturefolklore

Saigyō no Hi (Saigyō's Day)

1975 haiku (poetry collection)

Fifth haiku collection containing clearer, lyrical poems focused on daily life in his later years. Awarded the Yomiuri Literature Prize in 1975.

daily lifeseasonslyricism

Bibliography

  • The Emergence of Tragic Literature (Seijisha, 1942)
  • Rodin's Head (1956)
  • Shūen (Autumn Swallow) (1966)
  • The Feast of the Gods (1969)
  • Winter Rainbow (1972)
  • Chiji no Koe (1972)
  • On the Emergence of Narrative Literature (1975)
  • The Phantom Pardon Ship (posthumous essays, 1975)
  • Collected Works of Kadokawa Genyoshi (5 vols., 1988)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
objective, realistic haiku stylescholarly prose informed by classical and folkloric perspectiveslater work pursues clear and direct lyricism
Recurring Motifs
medieval descriptions and folkloreseasons and natureeveryday life

Legacy

Founder of Kadokawa Shoten (now KADOKAWA), he established paperback imprints and large collected editions that helped shape postwar Japanese literary publishing. He also influenced the haiku world through magazines and awards. The Kadokawa Genyoshi Prize was founded after his death.

Museums

  • Suginami Ward Kadokawa Garden (memorial garden at former residence site) Suginami-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Haiku Poets' Association

Archives

  • Suginami Local History Museum (holds special exhibition materials)
  • Kadokawa Shoten (company archives and publications)

In Popular Culture

  • Appears as a character in Izawa Motohiko's novel 'GEN: The Secret Record of The Tale of Genji'
  • Appears as a character in Aramata Hiro's novel 'Teito Monogatari (The Tale of the Imperial Capital)'

Quotes

  • If there are flowers, one might think it a day of Saigyō.
    Source: Haiku collection 'Saigyō no Hi' (1975)

Trivia

  • He was nicknamed 'the Kadokawa Emperor' within the company for his strong editorial leadership
  • Reportedly maintained multiple mistresses and illegitimate children in his private life
  • Published the 25-volume 'Showa Literary Anthology' in 1952, which sold extremely well
  • Founded the haiku magazine 'Haiku' in 1952 and later established several literary prizes