Japanese Literary Awards

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Matsutaro Kawaguchi

かわぐち まつたろう

Kawaguchi Matsutarō

Aliases: 松田 松一
Pen Names: Matsuda Shōichi（Used for film and theatre screenplays）,

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1899-10-01 （Imado, Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan (historical Tokyo City)）
Died
1985-06-09 （Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan） age 85
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Imado, Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan (birthplace) → Kojimachi, Tokyo, Japan (rented lodgings) → Fukagawa, Tokyo, Japan (lived and worked) → Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan (residence) → Koishikawa / Kasuga, Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan (moved in 1964)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Playwright, Screenwriter, Editor, Film company executive
Active Years
1916-1985
Affiliations
Daiei Film, Shinsei Shinpa (Shinpa theatre company), Japan Art Academy (member), Naoki Prize Selection Committee (juror)
Memberships
Member of the Japan Art Academy, Naoki Prize Selection Committee (juror), Founding member of the 'Four Playwrights' group
Influenced By
Chōsuke Ikuta, Mantaro Kubota, Kaoru Osanai, Tsubouchi Shōyō, Kenji Mizoguchi (contemporary / associate)
Influenced
Shinpa theatre companies and actors, Subsequent popular fiction writers, Film screenwriters and producers, Hiroshi Kawaguchi (son, actor)

Education

Ishihama Elementary School
Country: Japan
Final formal education recorded as elementary school graduation

Awards

Naoki Prize
1935
Work: Tsuruhachi Tsurujirō; Furyū Fukagawa Uta; Meiji Ichidai Onna
Organization: Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: Winner
Mainichi Theatre Award
1959
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers
Result: Winner
Kikuchi Kan Prize
1963
Organization: Kikuchi Kan Prize Selection Committee
Result: Winner
Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize
1969
Work: Shigure Chaya Oriku
Organization: Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize Selection Committee
Result: Winner
Person of Cultural Merit
1973
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: Recipient

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Tsuruhachi Tsurujirō

1934 Popular historical fiction (human-interest)

A human-interest story set in the Meiji-era entertainment world, noted for its narrative skill and depiction of common people's sentiments.

Human sentiment (ninjo)Entertainment and performersMeiji-era everyday life
Adaptations
  • [Stage/Film adaptation] Tsuruhachi Tsurujirō (stage/film adaptation)

Meiji Ichidai Onna

1936 Historical fiction / Human-interest

A Meiji-era human-interest novel, reportedly inspired by the case of Hanai Oume; later adapted for the stage.

Societal changeWomen's livesPopular sentiment
Adaptations
  • [Stage adaptation] Meiji Ichidai Onna (stage adaptation)

Aizen Katsura

1937 Romance / Popular fiction

A romance about lovers from different social standings and their misunderstandings; adapted into a hugely successful film that brought Kawaguchi widespread fame.

Class-divided romanceMiscommunication in lovePopular sentiment
Adaptations
  • [Film] Aizen Katsura (1938)

Shingo Jūban Shōbu

1957 Historical fiction

A long serialized historical novel, known as a series depicting aspects of Edo-era samurai life.

Period dramaDuty and human sentimentSamurai ethos
Adaptations
  • [Film/TV] Shingo Jūban Shōbu (screen adaptations)

Shigure Chaya Oriku

1969 Historical fiction / Human-interest

A human-interest novel set in a Kyoto teahouse; published in 1969 and recipient of the Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize.

Women's fateTeahouse cultureHuman sentiment
Adaptations
  • [TV/Stage] Shigure Chaya Oriku (screen / stage adaptations)
Translations
  • English translation by Royal Tyler (2007)

Hebihime-sama (The Snake Princess)

1946 Period fiction / Legendary/folk elements

A period novel with legendary elements; one of Kawaguchi's works adapted into multiple film versions.

Legendary/folkloric elementsFemale warrior archetypesRevenge and redemption
Adaptations
  • [Film] Hebihime-sama (dir. Teinosuke Kinugasa) / 衣笠貞之助 (1940)
  • [Film] Hebihime-sama (dir. Kunio Watanabe) / 渡辺邦男 (1959)
  • [Film] Shin Hebihime-sama: Oshima Sentaro (dir. Tadashi Sawashima) / 沢島忠 (1965)

Bibliography

  • Film and Revue (co-authored with Rokuhā Furukawa)
  • Thirty Years of Love
  • Meiji Ichidai Onna / Tsuruhachi Tsurujirō
  • Black Tide
  • Shamisen Samurai / Hare Kosode
  • Night in Suzhou
  • Ten Swords of the Bakumatsu
  • Aizen Katsura
  • National Flower
  • Old Spring
  • Attu: Banzai (Attu Island destruction)
  • A Life in the Performing Arts
  • Hebihime-sama (The Snake Princess)
  • Woman
  • Meiji Beauty House
  • Playing at Love
  • The Right to Love
  • Amigasa Gonpachi
  • Asakusa Wife
  • Red Fury
  • Cherry Blossom Blizzard
  • Furyū Godōken
  • Madwoman in Furisode
  • The Magic Flute
  • Kosodate Bunshichi
  • Sunlight, Moonlight
  • Princess Kazu (Kazunomiya)
  • Ugetsu Monogatari
  • Shishimaru Ippei
  • Tales of Sentimental Fools
  • Shingo Jūban Shōbu
  • Night Butterflies
  • Kiss
  • Stories of Ruthlessness
  • What It Means to Live
  • Rice and Soup
  • Desperate Recklessness
  • The Woman Musashi
  • Old Capital Melancholy
  • Actor: Novel of Hanayagi Shotaro
  • Nichiren
  • The Kiln-Tired Woman
  • Shigure Chaya Oriku
  • Ikkyu-san no Mon (Gate of Ikkyu)
  • Ikkyu-san no Michi (The Way of Ikkyu)

Adaptations

  • Aizen Katsura (film adaptation; 1938, etc.)
  • Shingo Jūban Shōbu (screen adaptations)
  • Hebihime-sama (adapted into multiple films)
  • Ugetsu Monogatari (1953 film, dir. Kenji Mizoguchi)
  • Kuchizuke (1957 film, dir. Yuzo Masumura)

Translations of Works

  • Shigure Chaya Oriku — English translation by Royal Tyler (2007)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Popular-fiction narrative voiceSkilled plotting and storytellingEmotional, accessible prosePortrayal of both period pieces and contemporary manners
Recurring Motifs
Popular sentiment (everyday people's feelings)Class-divided romanceWorld of performers and theatreWomen's fate and roles

Health

  • Declining health (late years)
    1982年-1985年
    After his wife's death he experienced declining health with repeated hospitalizations.
  • Pneumonia
    1985年6月
    Hospitalized and died of pneumonia (cause of death).

Legacy

Through popular novels and plays Kawaguchi bridged Shinpa theatre and the film world in the Shōwa era, winning wide readership with his portrayals of human sentiment. As the first Naoki Prize winner, many of his works were adapted for film, stage and television.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Art Academy

Archives

  • Matsutaro Kawaguchi official site (managed by family)
  • NHK Archives (personnel records)
  • National Diet Library (bibliographic records)

In Popular Culture

  • The major hit film Aizen Katsura (1938) and numerous subsequent film and TV adaptations
  • Produced representative Shinpa theatre pieces and influenced the postwar film industry
  • Appears as a model for characters in later works such as Yasutaka Tsutsui's novel

Quotes

  • I think of myself as a storyteller. I have heard that in imperial times there was a profession called 'kataribe' (storyteller); I want to be that 'kataribe'.
    Source: Afterword to 'Shingo Jūban Shōbu' (1959)

Trivia

  • Winner of the inaugural Naoki Prize (1935).
  • His second wife was actress Aiko Mimasu; his eldest son is actor Hiroshi Kawaguchi.
  • After the war he served as a production executive and auditor at Daiei Film.
  • Served as chairman of judging panels for Miss Universe Japan and Miss World Japan in the 1950s.
  • Buried at Zōshigaya Cemetery.
  • The heavy, luxury building 'Kawaguchi Apartment' built as his home in Kasuga is said to still exist.