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Michio Kimura

きむら みちお

Kimura Michio

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1935-10-09 （Makino, Kaminoyama, Yamagata, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Kaminoyama, Yamagata, Japan

Career

Occupations
poet, essayist, journalist, farmer
Active Years
1957-
Affiliations
Farmer's Literature Association, Japan Contemporary Poets Association, Yamagata Poets (editor/representative of the magazine 'Yamagata Shijin')
Memberships
Farmer's Literature Association, Japan Contemporary Poets Association
Influenced By
Hitoshi Makabe, Kenji Miyazawa (influence via lectures/works)
Nominations
Hagiwara Sakutaro Prize (for 'Tobu Otoko', 2012 — nominated)

Education

Yamagata Prefectural Kaminoyama Agricultural High School (night course)
Country: Japan
Graduated from the night course; began writing poetry during high school.

Awards

Kaminoyama City Arts and Culture Merit Award
1970
Organization: Kaminoyama City
Result: winner
Yamagata Poetry Prize
1979
Organization: Yamagata Prefecture
Result: winner
Nomin Bungaku (Farmer's Literature) Prize (30th)
1986
Work: Shishin / To the Village Phantoms
Organization: Farmer's Literature Prize
Result: winner
Yamagata Prefecture Arts and Culture Council Award
1991
Organization: Yamagata Arts and Culture Council
Result: winner
Bansui Prize (32nd)
1992
Work: Magire no
Organization: Bansui Prize
Result: winner
Makabe Jin / Field Culture Prize
1993
Organization: Makabe Jin Field Culture Prize
Result: winner
Saitō Mokichi Cultural Prize
2000
Organization: Saitō Mokichi Cultural Prize
Result: winner
Modern Poets Award (21st)
2003
Work: Iroha ni hoheto chirinuru wo
Organization: Contemporary Poets Prize
Result: winner
Maruyama Kaoru Prize (16th)
2009
Work: Hikaru Asa (Shining Morning)
Organization: Maruyama Kaoru Prize
Result: winner
Yamashin 3P Award – Peace Prize
2016
Organization: Yamagata Shimbun
Result: winner
Japan Contemporary Poets Association — Veteran Poet Recognition
2017
Organization: Japan Contemporary Poets Association
Result: honor
Japan Contemporary Poets Association — Honorary Membership
2023
Organization: Japan Contemporary Poets Association
Result: honor
Hagiwara Sakutaro Prize (nominated)
2012
Work: Tobu Otoko (The Flying Man)
Organization: Hagiwara Sakutaro Prize
Result: nominated

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Memoirs of a Garbage Dealer: Consumption and Destruction Seen by a Farmer

1976 essay/reportage

A reportage-style essay criticizing consumer society and environmental destruction from a farmer's perspective.

consumer societyenvironmental destructionrural life

My August 15 — Michio Kimura Collected Poems

1978 poetry

A poetry collection dealing with postwar rural memory, labor, and community.

rural lifelabormemory

Magire no

1990 poetry

A collection of poems depicting rural life and people; awarded the Bansui Prize.

villagecommunitylocal environment

Iroha ni hoheto chirinuru wo

2002 poetry

A poetry collection that weaves wordplay and classical echoes while looking at contemporary rural life; winner of the Contemporary Poets Prize.

languagetradition and modernityrural life

Hikaru Asa (Shining Morning)

2008 poetry

A collection including poems on hope and community revitalization; winner of the Maruyama Kaoru Prize.

hopecommunity revitalizationnature

Tobu Otoko (The Flying Man)

2012 poetry

A recent collection exploring intersections of the individual and society; shortlisted for the Hagiwara Sakutaro Prize.

individualsocietyflight (metaphor)

Road to the Village

2017 poetry/essays

A recent work collecting poems and essays reflecting on the author's activities and regional history.

localityrecordreminiscence

Bibliography

  • Memoirs of a Garbage Dealer: Consumption and Destruction Seen by a Farmer (1976)
  • My August 15 — Michio Kimura Collected Poems (1978)
  • Mourning Cow Chronicle (1982)
  • Record of the Rice Reduction Trouble: Living in the Village (1985)
  • Chigō — Michio Kimura Poetry Collection (1985)
  • Magire no (1990)
  • Collection Truck 'People's Service' — Consumption and Environmental Destruction Seen by a Farmer (1993)
  • Michio Kimura Poetry Collection (1995)
  • Magino Village — Dream Diary (1995)
  • Iroha ni hoheto chirinuru wo (2002)
  • Peasant's Endurance Chronicle (2002)
  • Hikaru Asa (Shining Morning) (2008)
  • A Red Bird Flew to a Yamagata Village (2010)
  • Tobu Otoko (The Flying Man) (2012)
  • Road to the Village (2017)

Adaptations

  • The Silent Cry: The Makino Story of Farmer-Poet Michio Kimura (dir. Masaki Haramura)
  • Makino Village Story (dir. Shinsuke Ogawa)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
peasant-poetry realismsocially critical essayistic styleuse of dialect and folkloric elements
Recurring Motifs
rural lifelabornature and seasonsconsumption and environmental destructioncollective memory

Legacy

As a farmer-poet based in Yamagata, he significantly influenced regional culture through poems and reportage/essays that questioned society and the environment from a rural perspective. His cooperation with film projects and multiple awards have recognized him as a key figure in regional cultural life.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Contemporary Poets Association

In Popular Culture

  • Documentary film 'The Silent Cry: The Makino Story of Farmer-Poet Michio Kimura'
  • Involvement in Shinsuke Ogawa's film 'Makino Village Story'

Trivia

  • He painted the words '人民服務号' (People's Service) on a used 2-ton truck purchased for waste disposal work.
  • He began writing poetry in high school and vowed to continue after being inspired by Hitoshi Makabe's lecture on Kenji Miyazawa.