Chōkū Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 4 (1970) award
Katsumi Kato
かとう かつみ
Katō Katsumi
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1915-06-30 （Ayabe, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan）
- Died
- 2010-05-16 （Urawa Funeral Hall, Sakura Ward, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan） age 94
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
Career
- Occupations
- Tanka poet, Businessman, Secondary school teacher, Editor (poetry journal)
- Active Years
- 1933-2010
- Affiliations
- Modern Tanka Poets Association, Support Association for the Museum of Modern Japanese Poetry, Saitama Prefectural Tanka Poets Association
- Memberships
- Modern Tanka Poets Association
- Influenced By
- Mokichi Wakayama, Shinobu Orikuchi, Yūkichi Takeda
- Influenced
- Nanamo Oki, Eiko Hisamatsu, Nobuhiro Satō, Tomie Tsutsui
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saitama Prefectural Urawa Middle School (old system) | — | — | — | 〜1933 | Japan |
| Kokugakuin University | Preparatory course → Department of Japanese Literature | Japanese Literature | — | 1933–1938 | Japan |
Saitama Prefectural Urawa Middle School (old system)
Period:
〜1933
Country:
Japan
Began composing tanka while a student; joined the tanka journal "Seisō".
Kokugakuin University
Preparatory course → Department of Japanese Literature
/ Japanese Literature
Period:
1933–1938
Year of Graduation:
1938
Country:
Japan
Studied under scholars such as Shinobu Orikuchi and Yūkich Takeda; participated in the New Art tanka movement.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Choko (Toko) Award | 'Kyūtai' and other achievements | — | Choko Award Selection Committee | 受賞 |
| 1973 | Saitama Prefecture Educational Merit Award | — | — | Saitama Prefecture | 受賞 |
| 1978 | Saitama Culture Award (Arts Division) | — | — | Saitama Prefecture | 受賞 |
| 1979 | Medal with Blue Ribbon | For contributions to industrial promotion | — | Government of Japan | 受章 |
| 1986 | Order of the Sacred Treasure, Fourth Class | For contributions to culture | — | Government of Japan | 受章 |
| 1986 | Gendai Tanka Grand Prize | 'Collected Tanka of Katsumi Kato' | — | Gendai Tanka Grand Prize Committee | 受賞 |
| 1989 | Yono Civic Honor Award | — | — | Yono City | 受賞 |
| 1994 | Saitama Tanka Poets Association Grand Prize | 'A History of Modern Tanka' and other achievements | — | Saitama Prefectural Tanka Poets Association | 受賞 |
Choko (Toko) Award
1970
Work:
'Kyūtai' and other achievements
Organization:
Choko Award Selection Committee
Result:
受賞
Saitama Prefecture Educational Merit Award
1973
Organization:
Saitama Prefecture
Result:
受賞
Saitama Culture Award (Arts Division)
1978
Organization:
Saitama Prefecture
Result:
受賞
Medal with Blue Ribbon
1979
Work:
For contributions to industrial promotion
Organization:
Government of Japan
Result:
受章
Order of the Sacred Treasure, Fourth Class
1986
Work:
For contributions to culture
Organization:
Government of Japan
Result:
受章
Gendai Tanka Grand Prize
1986
Work:
'Collected Tanka of Katsumi Kato'
Organization:
Gendai Tanka Grand Prize Committee
Result:
受賞
Yono Civic Honor Award
1989
Organization:
Yono City
Result:
受賞
Saitama Tanka Poets Association Grand Prize
1994
Work:
'A History of Modern Tanka' and other achievements
Organization:
Saitama Prefectural Tanka Poets Association
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Contemporary Tanka Grand Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 9 (1986) award
Works
Major Works
Spiral Staircase
1937 Tanka poetry collectionHis debut tanka collection, containing early elements of modernism and surreal influence.
ModernismSurrealismInner landscapes
Sphere
1969 Tanka poetry collectionPublished in 1969; notable for experimental and abstract tendencies, it was a key work that contributed to his Choko Award.
AbstractionVisual expressionModernism
Collected Tanka of Katsumi Kato
1985 Tanka poetry collection (collected)A collected edition compiling his representative tanka; served as a comprehensive anthology and was the basis for awards and scholarly attention.
Lifetime works compilationStylistic evolution
Bibliography
- Spiral Staircase (1937)
- Flowers of Esprit (1953)
- Cosmic Dust (1956)
- Sphere (1969)
- Collected Tanka of Katsumi Kato (1985)
- A History of Modern Tanka (1993)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Continuation of pre-war modernist tankaInfluenced by surrealismExperimentally shifting style across collections
- Recurring Motifs
- Nature (sea, mountains, trees)Abstract visual imageryInner/dreamlike landscapes
Health
-
Heart failure終末期（2010年）Died of heart failure in 2010, marking the end of his activities.
Legacy
Katsumi Kato inherited prewar modernist tanka traditions while incorporating surrealist methods. He was an influential postwar tanka poet who edited journals, led organizations, and mentored younger poets, contributing significantly to regional culture and tanka scholarship.
Academic Societies
- Modern Tanka Poets Association
- Support Association for the Museum of Modern Japanese Poetry
Archives
- National Diet Library (Katsumi Kato related materials)
- Saitama Prefectural Museum of Modern Art / Saitama Literature Museum (related materials)
Quotes
-
I learned poetic methods, for example the methods of surrealism, and created works in my own way.
Source: Katsumi Kato, "On Experiential Free-verse Tanka," Tanka Gendai, September 1986 (1986)
Trivia
- Several monuments inscribed with Kato's tanka have been erected across Japan (e.g., Ōshima in Kesennuma, Ayabe in Kyoto, Saitama City).
- A karuta (poetry card game) based on his work, "Katsumi Karuta," was published in 2009.