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Kiichiro Takahashi

たかはし きいちろう

Takahashi Kiichiro

Aliases: 高橋 良雄
Pen Names: Kiichiro Takahashi（Pen name (birth name Yoshio)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1928-04-10 （Utashinai (Kami-uta), Hokkaido, Japan）
Died
2007-01-31 age 78
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Utashinai (Kami-uta), Hokkaido, Japan → Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Illustrator, Elementary school teacher (substitute)
Active Years
1973-2006
Nominations
Akutagawa Prize nominee (1977) 'Kannonriki Shissou'

Education

Hokkaido First Normal School (now Hokkaido University of Education, Sapporo campus)
Period: 在籍（中退）
Country: Japan
Attended but dropped out; later entered employment at Sumitomo Coal Mining.

Awards

Bungakukai Newcomer Award
1973
Work: Popura to Gunshin
Organization: Bungakukai
Result: Winner
Hokkaido Shimbun Literature Award
1977
Work: Kannonriki Shissou
Organization: Hokkaido Shimbun
Result: Winner
Akutagawa Prize
1978
Work: Shinyo
Organization: Akutagawa Prize Selection Committee
Result: Winner
Sapporo Citizen's Arts Award
1978
Organization: Sapporo City
Result: Winner
Hokkaido Cultural Award
1991
Organization: Hokkaido Prefecture
Result: Winner
Jiro Nitta Literary Award
1992
Work: Tomoko
Organization: Jiro Nitta Literary Award Committee
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Popura to Gunshin

1973 Fiction (short story)

A short story set in a coal-mining town; his debut, realistically portraying everyday life and labor.

coal mininglaboreveryday life of common people

Kannonriki Shissou

1978 Fiction

A work noted for featuring a female protagonist; it won the Hokkaido Shimbun Literature Award and portrays coal mines and local people.

coal miningwomencommunitylabor

Shinyo

1978 Fiction

The 1978 Akutagawa Prize-winning work; delves into the inner lives of people in a coal-mining town.

Akutagawa Prize-winning workcoal miningpsychological portraitregionalism

Tomoko

1991 Fiction (autobiographical)

An autobiographical novel depicting family and memory through the lives of coal-mining community members.

autobiographycoal miningfamilymemory

Bibliography

  • Kannonriki Shissou / Deku Ogami
  • Shinyo
  • Kozawa Mugen
  • Kita no Hiun
  • Wakare Banashi
  • Clowns of the North
  • Green Grass Garden
  • Hidden in Steam
  • Summer Moon
  • Ripples
  • Evening Sounds
  • Groundcover Flowers
  • Ode to the Dancing Insect
  • Coal Fire Ablaze
  • Rain Shelter
  • Flower Raft
  • Strings of the North
  • Festival Makeup
  • Frog Chorus
  • Plum of Building No.5
  • Pencil Flowers
  • Tomato of the Villain
  • Rope Curtain Talk
  • Tomoko
  • Boy Waiter
  • Nigi Nigi
  • Sunny Spot Movie
  • We Shall Travel as a Couple
  • Popura to Gunshin

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Realistic styleRegional literature focusing on ordinary peopleEmphasis on dialogue and everyday life depiction
Recurring Motifs
coal mineslaborfamilynostalgiadecline of industry and community

Health

  • Pneumonia
    2007年1月
    Died of pneumonia at age 78

Legacy

A leading author of coal-mine literature known for portraying ordinary people. He won the Akutagawa Prize in 1978 and is an honorary citizen of Utashinai; commemorations include a literary monument in Utashinai Park and the 'Tsurara-ki' memorial.

Archives

  • Utashinai City (related materials / literary monument)

In Popular Culture

  • Tsurara-ki - memorial event on his death anniversary
  • Literary monument in Utashinai Park (inscription: 'Without Utashinai, my literature would not exist')

Quotes

  • Without Utashinai, my literature would not exist
    Source: Literary monument at Utashinai Park

Trivia

  • Birth name: Yoshio Takahashi.
  • Born in a miner's tenement in Utashinai; honorary citizen of Utashinai.
  • Won the Akutagawa Prize in 1978 for 'Shinyo'; considered the first Akutagawa winner resident in Hokkaido.
  • His memorial day was named 'Tsurara-ki' and is commemorated locally.
  • Debuted in 1973 with 'Popura to Gunshin'.