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Kiyoshi Kawashima

かわしま きよし

Kawashima Kiyoshi

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1926-10-29 （Torigoe, Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan）
Died
2007-04-24 age 80
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Torigoe, Asakusa, Tokyo (birthplace) → Minami-Aoyama (place where he studied under Sato Sataro) → Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo (location of Kawashima Shoten) → Nikaho, Akita Prefecture (site of his uta-hi / monument)

Career

Occupations
tanka poet, publisher, editor
Active Years
1946-2007
Affiliations
Modern Tanka Poets Association, Un'ga no Kai (Un'ga Association), Kawashima Shoten (publishing)
Memberships
Member of the Modern Tanka Poets Association, Founding member of Un'ga no Kai
Influenced By
Sataro Sato

Education

Toyoshima Commercial School (Toyoshima Gakuin High School)
Period: 編入・卒業（年代詳細不明）
Country: Japan
Entered in Showa 18; graduated (exact graduation year not specified here)
Meiji University, Specialized Department of Political Economy
Specialized Department / Department of Political Economy
Period: 昭和22年入学 - 昭和25年3月卒業
Year of Graduation: 1950
Country: Japan
Graduated March 1950

Awards

Modern Tanka Poets Association Prize (14th)
1969
Work: Hado (Wave Motion)
Organization: Modern Tanka Poets Association
Result: 受賞
Tanka Kenkyu Prize (17th)
1981
Work: Fuyu-machi: 30 tanka (published in Tanka Kenkyu, April 1980 issue)
Organization: Tanka Kenkyu (Tanka Research)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Hado

1969 tanka

First tanka collection containing realistic observations blended with personal sentiments.

realismlife and everydaycity and nature

Soto

1975 tanka

Second collection showing deeper introspection and sense of everyday life.

introspectionmemory

Seiun

1983 tanka

Third collection including poems that evoke dialogue with nature and the cosmos.

naturecosmos

Hito no Ka

1986 tanka

Fourth collection focusing on nuances of human relationships and emotions.

humanityemotion

Mizu no Utsuwa

1994 tanka

Fifth collection exhibiting mature poetic perspective.

maturitytranquility

Shoseki

1998 tanka

Sixth collection weaving together passing time and memory.

memorytime

Chinmoku

2005 tanka

Seventh collection reflecting late-life silence and contemplation.

silencecontemplation

Bibliography

  • Hado
  • Soto
  • Seiun
  • Hito no Ka
  • Mizu no Utsuwa
  • Shoseki
  • Chinmoku
  • Collected Songs: Kiyoshi Kawashima (ed. Takai Terui)
  • Publishers' Manyoshu

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realistic tankain the tradition of 'pure tanka'calm and supple diction
Recurring Motifs
contrast of city and natureobservations of life and everydaymemory and time

Health

  • corticobasal degeneration
    2004–2007
    Significantly affected his late-life creative output and daily life.

Legacy

A disciple of Sataro Sato who developed a realist tanka voice, publishing seven collections and thousands of poems from the postwar period into the Heisei era. Also active as a publisher, his legacy includes a memorial uta-hi and contributions to regional and literary communities.

Academic Societies

  • Modern Tanka Poets Association

Archives

  • Held in the National Diet Library
  • Held in the Museum of Modern Japanese Tanka and Poetry

In Popular Culture

  • Uta-hi (poem monument) at Kashozan Zenrin-ji in Nikaho, Akita (erected 1999)

Quotes

  • When the great temple shoulders the mountain, morning wanes and I entrust myself to tranquility.
    Source: Inscription on the uta-hi at Kashozan Zenrin-ji (poem monument) (2000)

Trivia

  • Total of 3,337 published tanka (across his collections)
  • Over 800 unpublished poems remained from his late years
  • Also the founder of Kawashima Shoten publishing house
  • Served five months in military service shortly after the end of WWII (Showa 20)