Japanese Literary Awards

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Haruki Kadokawa

かどかわ はるき

Kadokawa Haruki

Pen Names:

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1942-01-08 （Mizuhashi, Nakaniikawa District, Toyama Prefecture (now Toyama), Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Religion
Shinto
Residence History
Mizuhashi (now Toyama), Toyama Prefecture, Japan → Suginami, Tokyo, Japan → Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan (office) → Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan (second home)

Career

Occupations
editor, businessman, film director, film producer, haiku poet, religious leader
Active Years
1964-2025
Affiliations
Haruki Kadokawa Office Co., Ltd. (Representative Director / President), Kadokawa Shoten (former president), Asukamiya (Shinto shrine chief priest)
Memberships
Japanese PEN Club
Influenced By
Seishi Yokomizo, Sakyo Komatsu (revival/patronage)
Influenced
Younger film producers and marketing professionals (influenced by Kadokawa marketing)

Education

Kokugakuin University, Faculty of Letters
Faculty of Letters / History (studies in Faculty of Letters)
Period: 1960-1964
Year of Graduation: 1964
Country: Japan
Admitted to Waseda University (Second Faculty of Letters) but enrolled at Kokugakuin University at his father's request

Awards

Art Encouragement Prize (Minister of Education Award)
1982
Work: Haiku collection 'Nobunaga's Head' (Shinboku no Kubi)
Category: 俳句
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs / Ministry of Education
Result: 受賞
Haiku Poets Association Newcomer Award
1982
Work: Haiku collection 'Nobunaga's Head'
Category: 新人賞
Organization: Haiku Poets Association
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Literary Prize
1983
Work: Haiku collection 'The Adrift King' (Nagasare-ō)
Category: 詩・俳句部門
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Jakuhitsu Prize
1990
Work: Haiku collection 'Hanasakiji'
Category: 俳句
Organization: Jakuhitsu Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Yamamoto Kenkichi Literary Award
2005
Work: Haiku collection 'Namako no Hi'
Category: 俳句
Organization: Yamamoto Kenkichi Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Kato Ikku Award
2005
Work: Haiku collection 'JAPAN'
Category: 俳句
Organization: Kato Ikku Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Yamamoto Kenkichi Literary Award
2007
Work: Kadokawa Family's Postwar
Category: 文学
Organization: Yamamoto Kenkichi Award Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Land of Caesar

1981 Haiku collection

Early haiku collection featuring bold imagery and folkloric motifs.

historymythself-projection

Nobunaga's Head

1982 Haiku collection

Second haiku collection; noted for a provocative style that challenged conventional haiku circles.

Warring States historyimages of violenceclassical references

The Adrift King

1983 Haiku collection

Third haiku collection; displays a marked turn toward folk tradition and empathy with raging deities.

folkloredeitiesdrift/wandering

Bibliography

  • My Heart's Yamatai: Requiem of the Ancient Ship 'Yasei-go'
  • The Land of Caesar
  • Nobunaga's Head
  • The Adrift King
  • Namako no Hi
  • Kadokawa Family's Postwar

Adaptations

  • Numerous films produced or executive-produced by Kadokawa (Inugami-ke no Ichizoku, The Human Proof, Proof of the Wild, Sengoku Jieitai, etc.)

Translations by Author

  • Translation of 'Love Story' (Eric Segal) credited to Akira Itakura, published by Kadokawa

Translations of Works

  • English translations of major haiku collections are limited (data not available)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
cinematic, vivid imageryuse of folkloric and historical motifsself-projection and provocative expression
Recurring Motifs
deities and folkloreimages of the Warring States perioddrift/sea motifs

Legacy

He transformed Kadokawa Shoten toward entertainment, established Kadokawa Cinema and large-scale media-mix marketing ('Kadokawa method'). As a haiku poet he published numerous collections and received awards, but his 1990s arrest and conviction significantly affected his career. After release he resumed publishing and film production; his cultural impact remains wide-ranging.

Museums

  • Onomichi 'Footprints Path' (exhibits including Kadokawa's footprint) Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Onomichi City University (Visiting Professor)

Archives

  • National Diet Library (holds publications and haiku collections)
  • KADOKAWA archives (corporate holdings)

In Popular Culture

  • The 'Kadokawa method' of media-mix marketing influenced Japanese publishing and film promotion

Quotes

  • A lifelong rogue. Any complaints?
    Source: Interviews / public statements (reported in multiple media) (1976)

Trivia

  • Married six times and divorced five times.
  • Arrested in 1993 on drug-related charges; 4-year prison sentence upheld by the Supreme Court in 2000; paroled in 2004.
  • As the second president of Kadokawa Shoten he built the Kadokawa film empire.
  • Published many haiku collections and received multiple literary awards.
  • Has described Onomichi as his second home and served as a visiting professor at Onomichi City University.