Japanese Literary Awards

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Tota Kaneko

かねこ とうた

Kaneko Tota

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1919-09-23 （Ogawa, Hiki District, Saitama Prefecture, Japan）
Died
2018-02-20 （Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, Japan） age 98
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Shanghai (early childhood) → Chichibu region (grew up) → Urawa → Takezawa Village, Saitama → Kumagaya (later years)

Career

Occupations
Haiku poet, Bank official, University professor, Calligrapher, Author
Active Years
1937-2018
Affiliations
Modern Haiku Association, Japan Art Academy, Jobu University (former professor), Japan PEN Club
Memberships
Modern Haiku Association (Honorary Chairman), Japan Art Academy (Member), Japan PEN Club (Member)
Influenced By
Kato Shuson, Takeshita Shizunojo
Influenced
Later-generation haiku poets, Mabson Seigan (one of his disciples)

Education

Mito High School (prewar)
Period: 1937-1940
Year of Graduation: 1940
Country: Japan
Tokyo Imperial University, Faculty of Economics
Faculty of Economics / Economics
Degree: 経済学士
Period: 1941-1943
Year of Graduation: 1943
Country: Japan
Graduated ahead of schedule (1943)

Awards

Modern Haiku Association Prize
1956
Organization: Modern Haiku Association
Result: Winner
Saitama Prefecture Cultural Prize
1978
Organization: Saitama Prefecture
Result: Winner
Medal with Purple Ribbon
1988
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: Honoree
Shika Bungakukan Prize
1996
Work: Ryōkami
Organization: Poetry and Song Literature Museum
Result: Winner
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette (4th Class)
1996
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: Honoree
NHK Broadcasting Culture Award
1997
Organization: NHK
Result: Winner
Contemporary Haiku Grand Prize
2001
Organization: Contemporary Haiku Grand Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Jakko (Jakkotsu) Prize
2002
Work: Togokushō (Tōgoku-shō)
Organization: Jakkotsu Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Japan Art Academy Prize
2003
Organization: Japan Art Academy
Result: Winner
Cikada Prize
2005
Organization: Cikada Prize (Sweden)
Result: Winner
Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Prize (Grand Prize)
2008
Category: 大賞
Organization: Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Prize Committee
Result: Grand Prize
Person of Cultural Merit
2008
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs / Government of Japan
Result: Honoree
Honorary Citizen of Kumagaya
2009
Organization: Kumagaya City
Result: Honorary Citizen
Mainichi Arts Award (Special Prize)
2010
Category: 特別賞
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers
Result: Special Prize
Ono City Poetry and Literature Prize
2010
Work: Nichijō (Everyday)
Organization: Ono City
Result: Winner
Kikuchi Kan Prize
2010
Organization: Kikuchi Kan Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Shitamachi Common People's Culture Award
2015
Organization: Shitamachi Common People's Culture Award Committee
Result: Winner
Asahi Prize
2015
Organization: Asahi Shimbun
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Shōnen

1955 Haiku collection

An early haiku collection from the postwar period, containing poems that combine social awareness and lyricism.

NaturePostwarSocial themes

Tota Kaneko Collected Haiku

1961 Haiku collection

Major collection including representative haiku; reflects avant-garde elements and his theory of haiku form.

Form (styling)Individual and societyNature

En'en

1968 Haiku collection

A collection showing more mature lyricism and social consciousness.

LyricismSocietyNature

Anryoku Chishi

1971 Haiku collection

Contains powerful haiku that evoke shadows of war and society.

WarMemoryNature

Yūbokushū

1981 Haiku collection

Features many poems about wandering and individual sensibility.

WanderlustIndividualityNature

Tōgoku-shō

2001 Haiku collection

A late-career collection that includes the work awarded the Jakko Prize.

HomelandLifeNature

Nichijō (Everyday)

2009 Haiku collection

Haiku on everyday life and perspectives of old age. Winner of Ono City Poetry and Literature Prize.

Everyday lifeAgingNature

Bibliography

  • Tota Kaneko Collected Haiku (1961)
  • En'en (1968)
  • Anryoku Chishi (1971)
  • Yūbokushū (1981)
  • Tōgoku-shō (2001)
  • Nichijō (2009)
  • Hyakunen (2019, posthumous)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Plainspoken, robust lyricismA dynamic, sometimes slogan-like styleAvant-garde experimentation based on his theory of haiku form
Recurring Motifs
Wandering/漂泊War and memoryNatureSocial awareness / everyday life

Health

  • Aspiration pneumonia / Acute respiratory distress syndrome
    2018年2月
    Hospitalized in February 2018 and died of acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Legacy

Tota Kaneko was one of postwar Japan's leading haiku poets, central to both the theory and practice of social and avant-garde haiku. He served as honorary chairman of the Modern Haiku Association and as a member of the Japan Art Academy, received numerous awards, and was known for his studies of Kobayashi Issa and Taneda Santōka.

Academic Societies

  • Modern Haiku Association
  • Japan Art Academy

Archives

  • Major libraries such as the National Diet Library hold his works and materials
  • Personal archives (held by disciples and associates)

In Popular Culture

  • His father's representative haiku (often cited in connection with popular culture) and other lines were referenced by public figures such as Beat Takeshi, giving wider recognition.
  • He attracted attention in 2015 for calligraphing the placard reading 'We will not forgive Abe politics' used at protests against security legislation.

Quotes

  • A single firefly clung to the wolf
    Source: Haiku collection 'Tōgoku-shō' (2001)

Trivia

  • His father, Kaneko Motoharu, was also a haiku poet (haigo: Isekkō).
  • During WWII he served as an accounting lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Navy on Truk Island and was later held as a prisoner; these experiences informed some of his work.
  • He died in 2018 at age 98; a farewell ceremony was held at Yurakucho Asahi Hall.