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Makiko Kasuga

かすが まきこ

Kasuga Makiko

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1926-02-26 （Yakushi-cho, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Religion
Christianity
Residence History
Kagoshima City (birth) → Nagoya City (childhood) → Sapporo City (residence) → Tomakomai City (residence) → Tokyo (returned/later life)

Career

Occupations
tanka poet, editor, publisher
Active Years
1955-
Affiliations
Tanka magazine 'Suikame', Shibafune-kai (chair), Japan Tanka Poets Club (association)
Memberships
Shibafune-kai (chair)
Influenced By
Matsuda Tsunenori (father), Takeshi Kumagai, Influence from the Onoue Shibafune school
Influenced
Izumi Kasuga (daughter, tanka poet)

Education

Miwaida Girls' High School
Period: 高等女学校在学（年次不詳）
Country: Japan
Later part of Miwaida Gakuen middle/high school system
Chiyoda Women's Specialized School (later Musashino University)
Period: 入学後1年修了、中退
Country: Japan
Left after one year due to intensified air raids in WWII

Awards

Suikame Newcomer Award
1957
Organization: Suikame (magazine)
Result: winner
Suikame Award
1973
Organization: Suikame (magazine)
Result: winner
Japan Tanka Poets Club Prize
1980
Work: Tanka collection 'Kachu-ren' (Fire Lotus)
Organization: Japan Tanka Poets Club
Result: winner
Muse Women's Literature Prize
1991
Work: Tanka collection 'Hajimeni Hikari Ariki' (First There Was Light)
Organization: Muse Women's Literature Prize Committee
Result: winner
Suikame Shibafune Prize
2001
Organization: Suikame (magazine)
Result: winner
Tanka Kenkyu (Tanka Research) Prize
2005
Work: 'Chikusui-bi' (30 poems)
Organization: Tanka Kenkyu-sha
Result: winner
Japan Tanka Poets Club Grand Prize
2016
Work: Tanka collection 'Mizu no Yume' (Water's Dream)
Organization: Japan Tanka Poets Club
Result: winner
Modern Tanka Grand Prize
2018
Work: Tanka collection 'Nani no Tobiraka' (What Door Is It?)
Organization: Modern Tanka Grand Prize Committee
Result: winner
Saito Mokichi Tanka Literature Prize
2019
Work: Tanka collection 'Nani no Tobiraka' (What Door Is It?)
Organization: Saito Mokichi Prize Committee
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Fragments of the North

1972 tanka

A collection of tanka reflecting life in Hokkaido and northern landscapes.

northern landscapesnaturerelocation

Fire Lotus

1979 tanka

Poems containing symbolic imagery and religious elements.

religionsymbolismlife and death

First There Was Light

1991 tanka

A tanka collection centered on religious motifs and images of light.

lightfaithrenewal

Water's Dream

2015 tanka

Works that depict time and memory through images of water.

watermemorytime

What Door Is It?

2018 tanka

A collection posing poetic questions about existence and thresholds.

existencethresholdsintrospection

Bibliography

  • Fragments of the North
  • Fire Lotus (tanka collection)
  • Sky Flowers: Makiko Kasuga Tanka Collection
  • Makiko Kasuga Selected: 100 Tanka with Author's Notes
  • First There Was Light (tanka collection)
  • My Tanka Technique: Technique and Appreciation
  • Makiko Kasuga: Modern Tanka Complete Works
  • Vegetable Nirvana (tanka collection)
  • Makiko Kasuga Tanka Collections (various)
  • Rainbow of Black Garments (tanka collection)
  • Born Born (tanka collection)
  • By Fire, By Rainbow (tanka collection)
  • Burning Water (tanka collection)
  • Appreciation of 101 Tanka by Makiko Kasuga
  • Pillar of Wind (tanka collection)
  • Hundredth Day (tanka collection)
  • Welcome Tomorrow (tanka collection)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Modern tanka style using fresh, symbolic imageryIncorporates religious and spiritual motifs
Recurring Motifs
waterlightseasonsnaturequestions of existence

Legacy

Makiko Kasuga is regarded as one of the representative tanka poets of postwar Japan. Known for her leadership of the magazine 'Suikame' and numerous tanka collections, her use of religious and symbolic imagery has been widely recognized and awarded.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Tanka Poets Club

Archives

  • National Diet Library (holdings/authority data)
  • Authority databases such as VIAF and NDL

Trivia

  • Served as a selected participant ('meshibito') at the Imperial New Year Poetry Reading (Utakai Hajime) in 2015.
  • Her daughter Izumi Kasuga is also an active tanka poet.
  • Interrupted her studies during WWII and once worked in personnel at Mitsui Mining.