Japanese Literary Awards

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Shunsuke Kamei

かめい しゅんすけ

Kamei Shunsuke

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1932-08-14 （Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Japan）
Died
2023-08-18 age 91
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese, English
Residence History
Nakatsugawa, Gifu (birthplace) → Tokyo, Japan (residence/work) → United States (St. Louis, Maryland, Albany) — study/research

Career

Occupations
comparative literature scholar, American literature scholar, cultural studies researcher, university professor, translator, editor
Active Years
1953-2023
Affiliations
University of Tokyo, College of Arts and Sciences (Associate Professor, Professor, Professor Emeritus), Tokyo Woman's Christian University, Professor, Gifu Joshi University, Professor
Influenced By
Kinji Shimada
Influenced
Scholars of comparative literature and American studies in Japan

Education

University of Tokyo
Faculty of Letters / Department of English Literature
Degree: 文学士
Period: 1950s - 1953
Year of Graduation: 1953
Country: Japan
Undergraduate graduation
University of Tokyo Graduate School (Comparative Literature and Culture)
Comparative Literature and Culture
Period: 1950s - 1963 (在学・単位取得満期退学)
Country: Japan
Enrolled in doctoral program; left after completing required credits (no doctorate)
Washington University in St. Louis (study abroad)
Period: 留学（1950年代 - 1960年代）
Country: United States
Study abroad during graduate studies
University of Maryland (graduate study)
Period: 留学・研究
Country: United States
Had graduate-level research experience

Awards

Japan Academy Prize
1970
Work: The Fate of Whitman in Modern Literature
Organization: The Japan Academy
Result: 受賞
Japan Essayist Club Prize
1976
Work: The Circus Has Come! Notes on American Popular Culture
Organization: Japan Essayists' Club
Result: 受賞
U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission Book Prize
1976
Work: The Circus Has Come! Notes on American Popular Culture
Organization: U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission
Result: 受賞
Osaragi Jiro Prize
1994
Work: Lineage of the American Hero
Organization: Osaragi Jiro Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Rays
2008
Organization: Japanese Government
Result: 受章
Watsuji Tetsuro Cultural Award
2015
Work: Arishima Takeo
Organization: Watsuji Tetsuro Cultural Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Shi-kai Prize (Japan Poets Club)
2017
Work: The Formation of Modern Japanese Poetry
Organization: Japan Poets Club
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Fate of Whitman in Modern Literature

1970 Scholarly work (comparative literature)

A study based on his doctoral work analyzing Walt Whitman's works and their place in modern literature from a comparative perspective.

Whitman studiesmodern literatureself and publicness

The Circus Has Come! Notes on American Popular Culture

1976 Essay/criticism

An essay collection observing and analyzing American popular culture; it attracted wide attention when first published.

popular cultureAmerican cultureconsumer society

Lineage of the American Hero

1993 Cultural and literary study

Examines the history and genealogy of the American hero figure in U.S. culture. Winner of the Osaragi Jiro Prize.

hero archetypesAmerican cultureidentity

Marilyn Monroe

1987 Cultural history / biography

A cultural-historical analysis of Marilyn Monroe intended for a general audience; published as an Iwanami Shinsho and widely discussed.

sex symbolfilm culturegender

The Formation of Modern Japanese Poetry

2016 Literary history

A study organizing and discussing the formation process of modern Japanese poetry. Winner of a Shi-kai Prize.

poetrymodernizationtranslation and reception

Bibliography

  • The Fate of Whitman in Modern Literature (Kenkyusha) 1970
  • Literature of Nationalism (Kenkyusha) 1971
  • American Heart, Japanese Heart (Nikkei) 1975
  • The Circus Has Come! Notes on American Popular Culture (University of Tokyo Press) 1976
  • Lineage of the American Hero (Kenkyusha) 1993
  • Marilyn Monroe (Iwanami Shinsho) 1987
  • The Formation of Modern Japanese Poetry (Nagumondō) 2016

Translations by Author

  • The Green Know tales (translations of Lucy M. Boston)
  • Translations of Kanzo Uchimura's English writings (Iwanami) 1984

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear academic prose emphasizing comparative-cultural perspectivescareful close readings of sources and texts
Recurring Motifs
American popular culturefreedom and nationalismtranslation and receptionsex and gender

Health

  • illness
    Died in 2023 due to illness

Legacy

Regarded as a pioneer of American literature and popular culture studies in Japan. Influential across Whitman studies, work on Marilyn Monroe, and broader American cultural analysis; noted for editing the collected English works of Yone Noguchi.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Poets Club

Archives

  • Held in the National Diet Library and related institutions

Trivia

  • Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo.
  • Gained attention for publishing The Circus Has Come! on American popular culture.
  • Edited the Collected English Works of Yone Noguchi (6 vols).
  • Wife was Noriko Kamei (née Yamana), a professor at Japan Women's University.