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Mutsumi Kamiyama

かみやま むつみ

Kamiyama Mutsumi

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1947-01-01 （Mizusawa, Iwate (now Ōshū)）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Mizusawa, Iwate (now Ōshū) → Tokyo

Career

Occupations
literary critic, social/ideological critic, cram school instructor
Active Years
1971-
Influenced By
Takaaki Yoshimoto, Norihiro Katō

Education

Iwate Prefectural Mizusawa High School
Degree: High school diploma
Year of Graduation: 1965
Country: Japan
University of Tokyo, College of Arts and Sciences (French program)
College of Arts and Sciences / Liberal Arts (French)
Degree: Bachelor
Year of Graduation: 1971
Country: Japan
Obtained bachelor's degree
University of Tokyo Graduate School, Humanities and Sociology (Comparative Literature, master's program)
Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology / Comparative Literature / Comparative Culture
Country: Japan
Entered master's program but did not complete
Kiryu Foreign Language Academy
Country: Japan
Studied at a language institute

Awards

Ayukawa Nobuo Prize (2nd)
2011
Work: Kobayashi Hideo's Showa
Organization: Ayukawa Nobuo Prize Committee
Result: winner
Ono Jusaburo Prize (22nd)
2020
Work: Endless Sōseki
Organization: Ono Jusaburo Prize Committee
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Introductory Essays on Natsume Sōseki

1980 literary criticism

An early collection of essays critically examining the works and thought of Natsume Sōseki.

modern literatureSōseki studies

Kobayashi Hideo's Showa

2010 criticism

A study of critic Kobayashi Hideo in the context of the Showa era, elucidating his thought and modes of expression.

literary criticismShowa-era history

Endless Sōseki

2019 literary criticism

A recent major critique reconsidering the contemporaneity of Sōseki's thought and works.

Sōseki studiesmodern thought

Bibliography

  • Introductory Essays on Natsume Sōseki (1980)
  • Expressions of Maturity: Essays on Contemporary Poets (1981)
  • From 'And Then' to 'Darkness' (1982)
  • The Base as a Negative Image (1983)
  • Difference and System (1985)
  • Events as Simulation (1986)
  • Essays on Takaaki Yoshimoto (1988)
  • The Experience Called Family (1990)
  • The Ideology of Obedience: Where the Other Appears (1994)
  • Critical Memory: Tales of the Dead (1999)
  • Practical Japanese Writing Course (2002)
  • Introduction to Essay Writing: Training the Mind (2004)
  • Natsume Sōseki as a Thinker (2007)
  • Lessons in Reading and Thinking (2008)
  • War in the 21st Century (2009)
  • Kobayashi Hideo's Showa (2010)
  • The Politics of the Grand Inquisitor (2011)
  • Sōseki's Haiku and Chinese Poetry (2011)
  • The Ethos of Hope: After 3.11 (2013)
  • Sacrifice (2015)
  • Daily, Facebook (2016)
  • The Japanese Constitution and the Decisive Battle for the Home Islands (2018)
  • Endless Sōseki (2019)
  • Words of the Returned: How to Live in the COVID Era (2021)
  • What Is War? (2022)
  • The Lyricism of Slaves (2024)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
logical, erudite prosecriticism that emphasizes ideological and historical context
Recurring Motifs
Sōseki studieswar and ethicsfamily and society

Legacy

A literary and ideological critic active for decades in modern Japanese literary criticism. Known for work on Sōseki and Kobayashi Hideo, she has influenced both academic and public discourse on literature and thought.

Trivia

  • Her grand-uncle was industrialist Kiyoshi Gōko (Goko Kiyoshi).
  • She worked for many years as a cram-school (yobiko) instructor.
  • She helped organize the annual memorial gathering 'Yokochō-ki' for Takaaki Yoshimoto.