Japanese Literary Awards

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Masaaki Kawanishi

かわにし まさあき

Kawanishi Masaaki

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1941-08-05 （Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan）
Died
2016-08-26 age 75
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan → Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan

Career

Occupations
literary critic, editor
Active Years
1965-2016
Affiliations
Kawade Shobo Shinsha
Memberships
Japan Writers' Association, Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association

Education

Chuo University
Faculty of Commerce
Year of Graduation: 1965
Country: Japan

Awards

Hirabayashi Taiko Literary Prize
1997
Work: Waga Maboroshi no Kuni
Organization: Hirabayashi Taiko Literary Prize
Result: 受賞
Ito Sei Literary Prize
2006
Work: Biography of Takeda Taijun
Category: 評論部門
Organization: Ito Sei Literary Prize
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Fate of Unfulfilled Ambition: Fragmentary Considerations on Kazumi Takahashi

1974 literary criticism

A collection of essays on the works of Kazumi Takahashi, offering fragmentary analyses of postwar literature and the author's image.

Kazumi Takahashipostwar literatureauthor studies

Biographical Study: Kazumi Takahashi

1981 biography / critical biography

A detailed biographical and critical study of writer Kazumi Takahashi. A revised edition was published in 1995.

author biographypostwar literary historypersonal history

Waga Maboroshi no Kuni

1996 essays / criticism

A collection of essays and reflections on society and literature. Won the Hirabayashi Taiko Literary Prize in 1997.

essaysliterary criticismpostwar memory

Biography of Takeda Taijun

2005 biography / critical biography

A meticulous biographical study of Takeda Taijun's life and works. Awarded the Ito Sei Literary Prize (criticism category) in 2006.

biographyauthor studypostwar literature

A History of Showa Literature (Vol. I–III)

2001 literary history

A three-part literary history surveying major trends and authors in Showa-period Japanese literature.

Showa literary historyperiod studiesauthor studies

New History of the Japanese Literary World (10 volumes)

2010 literary history / comprehensive study

A major multi-volume series re-examining the Japanese literary world (published 2010–2013).

literary world historycomprehensive researchfrom Showa to contemporary

Memories of Journey Companions: Biographies of Yoshiura Akira and Tsumura Setsuko

2014 biography / critical biography

A biographical study of Yoshiura Akira and Tsumura Setsuko, using a comparative biographical approach to trace their literary paths.

author biographycomparative biographycontemporary literature

Shōhei Ōoka: The Trajectory of a Literary Life

2016 biography / study

A comprehensive study of Shōhei Ōoka's literary trajectory. Published posthumously in 2016.

author biographypostwar literatureliterary history

Bibliography

  • The Fate of Unfulfilled Ambition: Fragmentary Considerations on Kazumi Takahashi (Kodansha, 1974)
  • On Kenzaburo Oe: The Unfulfilled Dream (Kodansha, 1979)
  • A Single Fate: Hara Tamiki (Kodansha, 1980)
  • Biographical Study: Kazumi Takahashi (Kodansha, 1981; revised 1995)
  • Reading Books: Fourteen Chapters on Contemporary Writers (Shueisha, 1982)
  • The Solitary Guest: The Man and Literature of Funayama Kaoru (Hokkaido Shimbun, 1982)
  • A Distant Land of Beauty: On Taijun (Fukutake Shoten, 1987)
  • My Transformations (Fukutake Shoten, 1991)
  • The Legend of Lilac Chill: The World of Junichi Watanabe (Shueisha, 1993)
  • The World of Junichi Watanabe (Shueisha Bunko, 1997; revised edition)
  • Biographical Study: Junichi Watanabe (Shueisha Bunko, 2015)
  • From 'Shiryo' to 'Kitchen' — 50 Years of Postwar Japanese Literature (Kodansha Gendai Shinsho, 1995)
  • Solving the Mystery of 'Shiryo' (Kawade Shobo Shinsha, 1996; revised 2006)
  • Waga Maboroshi no Kuni (Kodansha, 1996)
  • Biographical Study: Yanagi Yutaka Haniya (Kawade Shobo Shinsha, 1997)
  • A History of Showa Literature (Vols. I–III) (Kodansha, 2001)
  • Writers and Adultery (Shueisha Shinsho, 2003)
  • Kurama Tengu (Iwanami Shinsho, 2003)
  • The End of the Novel (Iwanami Shinsho, 2004)
  • Biography of Takeda Taijun (Kodansha, 2005)
  • Yoshimura Akira (Kawade Shobo Shinsha, 2008)
  • New History of the Japanese Literary World (10 vols.) (Iwanami Shoten, 2010–2013)
  • Memories of Journey Companions: Biographies of Yoshimura Akira and Tsumura Setsuko (Iwanami Shoten, 2014)
  • Shōhei Ōoka: The Trajectory of a Literary Life (Kawade Shobo Shinsha, 2016; posthumous)
  • Editor: Taijun Takeda, Collected Essays: 'On Destruction' and 30 Other Essays (Iwanami Bunko, 1992)
  • Editor: 'Physical and Mental Pleasure: Selected Essays of Taijun Takeda' (Kodansha Bungei Bunko, 2003)
  • Editor: 'Essays of Yasunari Kawabata' (Iwanami Bunko, 2013)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
logical criticism based on meticulous source examinationcareful verification of facts and context in biographical studiesaccessible, essayistic prose
Recurring Motifs
lineage of postwar literatureconnections between an author's life and worksboundaries between popular and literary fiction

Legacy

A literary critic noted for extensive work on postwar Japanese literature and critical biographies. His histories of the Showa literary world and biographical studies are widely referenced in scholarship.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Writers' Association
  • Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association

Trivia

  • Born August 5, 1941; died August 26, 2016 (aged 75).
  • Graduated from Chuo University (Faculty of Commerce) and joined Kawade Shobo Shinsha as an editor.
  • As an editor he edited collections of Kazumi Takahashi and Yutaka Haniya; he was in charge of Junichi Watanabe.
  • Left the publisher in 1972 to devote himself to literary criticism.
  • Won the Hirabayashi Taiko Literary Prize in 1997 for 'Waga Maboroshi no Kuni'.
  • Won the Ito Sei Literary Prize (criticism) in 2006 for 'Biography of Takeda Taijun'.
  • Was a member of the Japan Writers' Association and the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association.