H Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 7 (1957) award
Nao Kanai
かない ちょく
kanai nao
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1926-03-18 （Nishigahara (formerly Takinogawa), Tokyo, Japan）
- Died
- 1997-06-10 age 71
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
Career
- Occupations
- Poet, Essayist, Lecturer
- Active Years
- 1943-1997
- Affiliations
- Bunka Gakuin (lecturer), Aichi University (lecturer)
- Influenced By
- Shiro Murano, Taro Yamamoto
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Ikuei Jitsugyo School | — | — | — | 〜1943 | Japan |
Tokyo Ikuei Jitsugyo School
Period:
〜1943
Year of Graduation:
1943
Country:
Japan
A vocational school abolished after the war. Began writing poetry after graduation.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | H-shi Prize | Kikatsu (Hunger/Thirst) | — | — | 受賞 |
| 1963 | Kotaro Takamura Prize | Song of Innocence | — | — | 受賞 |
H-shi Prize
1957
Work:
Kikatsu (Hunger/Thirst)
Result:
受賞
Kotaro Takamura Prize
1963
Work:
Song of Innocence
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Collected Poems of Nao Kanai
1953 Poetry collectionAn early collection of poems that includes lyrical pieces and works addressing postwar loss.
warlosslove
Kikatsu (Hunger/Thirst)
1956 Poetry collectionPublished in 1956. Contains poems on wartime experiences and personal loss.
warlossloneliness
Song of Innocence
1962 Poetry collectionPublished in 1962. Includes representative poems that won the Kotaro Takamura Prize.
innocenceredemptionintrospection
Mokkin (Xylophone / The Xylophone)
PoemA poem mourning wartime losses. Set as a choral piece by Saburo Iwaga and included in school textbooks.
warlossremembrance
Adaptations
- [Choral work] The Xylophone (choral setting by Saburo Iwaga)
Bibliography
- Collected Poems of Nao Kanai (Baraka-sha, 1953)
- Hibo (Baraka-sha, 1955)
- Kikatsu (privately published, 1956)
- Giwaku (Baraka-sha, 1958)
- Little Songs of Love and Death (Baraka-sha, 1959)
- Song of Innocence (Yayoi Shobo, 1962)
- Ego (Yayoi Shobo, 1966)
- Song of the Rose-Colored Night (Saka no Ue Shoten, 1969)
- Homecoming (Yayoi Shobo, 1970)
- Nao Kanai's Songs of Love and Poetry (Yayoi Shobo, 1971)
- Insect Poems (Yayoi Shobo, 1972)
- id (Yayoi Shobo, 1973)
- Letters to Young Women (Kyoyo Bunko, 1964)
- Journey to the Land of Poetry (Bunka Publishing, 1973)
- Guide to Poem Writing (Yayoi Shobo, 1973)
- Children's Poems (Kyoyo Bunko, 1974)
- Rorie's Shoemaker (Yayoi Shobo, 1979)
Adaptations
- The Xylophone (choral work by Saburo Iwaga)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- lyricala style emphasizing memory and lyricismplain diction with symbolic overtones
- Recurring Motifs
- war and air raidsloss and remembrancelove and deathinsects and nature
Legacy
Regarded as one of the notable postwar poets in Japan. Known for poems addressing wartime experiences, notably "Mokkin" which appeared in school textbooks. The Nao Kanai Poetry Museum in Hakusan, Bunkyo Ward preserves and exhibits his manuscripts and books.
Museums
- Nao Kanai Poetry Museum Hakusan, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan Opened in 1999
Archives
- Held at the Nao Kanai Poetry Museum (manuscripts, books, etc.)
In Popular Culture
- The poem "Mokkin" was set as a choral piece by Saburo Iwaga, became popular, and was included in Japanese language school textbooks.
Trivia
- Legal name was "直寿" (Naotoshi).
- The poem "Mokkin" is widely known due to inclusion in textbooks and its choral setting.