Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Kazuo Kikuta

きくた かずお

Kikuta Kazuo

Pen Names: Kazuo Kikuta (birth name)（Birth name）, Atsushi Ojika（Former stage name (used 1961–62 and 1971)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1908-03-01 （Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan）
Died
1973-04-04 （Keio University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan） age 66
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Religion
Buddhism
Residence History
Yokohama (birthplace) → Taiwan (early childhood) → Osaka (apprenticeship and early work) → Kobe (Motomachi; attended night commercial school) → Esashi, Iwate (wartime evacuation) → Tokyo (later life; died at Keio University Hospital)

Career

Occupations
Playwright, Lyricist, Screenwriter, Novelist, Producer
Active Years
1923-1973
Affiliations
Asakusa International Theatre (Literary Department), Toho Co., Ltd. (Literary Department; Executive in charge of theatre), Gekijoza (theatre founded/operated)
Memberships
Four Playwrights' Association
Influenced By
Sakutaro Hagiwara, Hachiro Sato, Fumiko Hayashi, Jusaburo Ono, Yuji Koseki (composer; collaborator), Roppa Furukawa (leader of the troupe he worked with)
Influenced
Japanese musical theatre (influenced postwar development), Later generation playwrights and screenwriters, Staging and adaptations in the Takarazuka Revue
Nominations
Yomiuri Literary Prize (Drama) nominee — 'Gametsui Yatsu' (1959), Noma Literary Prize nominee — 'Gametsui Yatsu' (1960)

Education

Night Commercial Vocational School (now Kobe Municipal Shinko High School)
Period: 1920年代（夜間学校在学）
Country: Japan
Attended a night commercial school while working as an apprentice; later pursued literature and playwriting.

Awards

Kikuchi Kan Prize
1959
Work: Gametsui Yatsu
Organization: Kikuchi Kan Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Art Encouragement Prize — Minister of Education (Theatre)
1960
Work: Gametsui Yatsu; Gashintare
Category: 演劇
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Literary Prize (Drama) - nominee
1959
Work: Gametsui Yatsu
Category: 戯曲
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 候補
Noma Literary Prize (nominee)
1960
Work: Gametsui Yatsu (book edition)
Organization: Noma Literary Prize Committee
Result: 候補

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Gametsui Yatsu

1959 Stage play (drama)

A stage play first presented in 1959. A popular-theatre style drama set in Osaka portraying merchants and ordinary people's ambition and emotion.

OsakaHuman sentimentAmbition and greedPostwar society
Adaptations
  • [Book] Gametsui Yatsu (book edition) (1960)

Kimi no Na wa (The 'Your Name' radio/film series)

1952 Radio drama / Film / Series

A radio drama series that caused a major boom; later adapted into films and stage productions. Several theme and insert songs became hits.

RomanceForgetting/MemoryFamily and reunionPopular entertainment
Adaptations
  • [Film] Kimi no Na wa (film adaptation)

The Hill Where the Bells Ring (Kane no Naru Oka)

1947 Radio drama / Film / Children's story

A radio series that became very popular, later adapted into films and picture books. It became one of the representative works of postwar popular culture.

Postwar reconstructionChildren and familyHope
Adaptations
  • [Picture book / Film] Kane no Naru Oka (picture book / film adaptations)

The Harbor Where Flowers Bloom (Hanazaku Minato)

1943 Stage play / Film

Originally a stage piece later adapted to film and television. Known for its sentimentality and strong dramatic elements.

Human sentimentPort townRenewal
Adaptations
  • [Film (Shochiku)] Jigoku no Kao (film title used by Shochiku) (1947)

Iyomante no Yoru (lyrics)

1949 Popular song (lyrics)

One of the hit songs for which he wrote lyrics, widely beloved as a popular song.

NostalgiaLyricism

Gone with the Wind (stage adaptation)

1966 Stage (adaptation)

A stage adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's novel. Noted as one of the early Japanese stage versions of the novel, staged internationally later.

Epic romanceWar and reconstructionPersonal renewal
Adaptations
  • [Musical (Japanese staging)] Scarlett (musical — Japanese production) / Horton Foote (English version script credited for English version) (1970)
  • [Musical (West End staging)] Scarlett (West End) (1972)

Bibliography

  • Wagaya no Kofuku (Our Home's Happiness) — 1942
  • Kane no Naru Oka (The Hill Where the Bells Ring) — radio series and book editions (1948–1953)
  • Kimi no Na wa (NHK serial radio drama, 1952–1954)
  • Gashintare — 1959
  • Gametsui Yatsu (book edition, 1960)

Adaptations

  • Kimi no Na wa — adapted to film and stage (from radio drama)
  • Kane no Naru Oka — multiple film and picture-book adaptations

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Popular-appeal narrationDialogue-driven, stage-friendly structureClear plotting with sentimental humanism
Recurring Motifs
Human sentiment set in OsakaPort towns, reunion and separationPostwar reconstruction and ordinary people

Health

  • Diabetes mellitus
    晩年（数年）
    Suffered from diabetes for several years; suffered a stroke in 1973 that led to his death.

Legacy

A playwright and lyricist who contributed greatly to postwar popular theatre and Japanese musical theatre. Through his work at Toho, founding of Gekijoza, and numerous stagings by the Takarazuka Revue, he left a wide influence. The 'Kikuta Kazuo Theatre Prize' was established by Toho in 1975 in his honor.

Museums

  • Kikuta Kazuo Memorial Museum Oshu, Iwate, Japan

Archives

  • NHK Archives (person file)
  • Yomiuri Shimbun Archives (related materials)

In Popular Culture

  • Numerous adaptations and arrangements by the Takarazuka Revue (e.g., 'Hanaren')
  • The radio drama 'Kimi no Na wa' became a major hit and led to film adaptations and hit songs.

Quotes

  • There is no field where rises and falls are so intense as the entertainment world. And for each rise and fall there are clear reasons... 'To kill an actor you don't need a blade; praise him three times and that's enough.'
    Source: Kazuo Kikuta, 'Engeki Yowa: Shibai-zukuri' — essay series, Yomiuri Shimbun (1961) (1961)

Trivia

  • Shortly after birth he was given up for adoption and was raised by several families before being adopted by the Kikuta family at age five.
  • During his youth he worked as an indentured apprentice and errand boy while attending night school.
  • In 1975 Toho established the 'Kikuta Kazuo Theatre Prize' as a posthumous honor commemorating his achievements.