Japanese Literary Awards

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Junji Kinoshita

きのした じゅんじ

Kinoshita Junji

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1914-08-02 （Hongo, Tokyo (then Tokyo City; now Bunkyo, Tokyo), Japan）
Died
2006-10-30 （Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan (died at Komagome Hospital)） age 92
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Hongo (Bunkyo, Tokyo) → Kumamoto (hometown)

Career

Occupations
Playwright, Critic, Translator, University lecturer
Active Years
1939-2006
Affiliations
Meiji University (Professor, Faculty of Letters), Japan Playwrights Association (advisor)
Memberships
Japan Playwrights Association (advisor)
Influenced By
Yoshio Nakano, William Shakespeare
Influenced
Postwar Japanese playwrights

Education

Tokyo Imperial University (now University of Tokyo)
Faculty of Letters, English / Department of English Literature
Degree: 修士（文学）
Period: 1936-1941
Year of Graduation: 1941
Country: Japan
Specialized in Shakespeare under the supervision of Yoshio Nakano

Awards

Mainichi Theatre Award
1949
Work: Yuzuru (The Crane Wife)
Organization: Mainichi Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Kishida Drama Award
1954
Work: Furo (Wind and Waves)
Organization: Kishida Drama Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Publishing Culture Award
1959
Work: The World of Drama
Organization: Mainichi Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award
1959
Work: Selected Japanese Folk Tales
Organization: Sankei Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Publishing Culture Award
1966
Work: Mugen Kidō
Organization: Mainichi Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Literary Prize (Drama)
1979
Work: The Meridian Ritual
Category: 戯曲賞
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Literary Prize (Essay)
1985
Work: All Stories About Horses
Category: 随筆部門
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Asahi Prize
1985
Work: Long-standing contributions to drama (e.g. Yuzuru, The Meridian Ritual)
Organization: Asahi Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Art Award
1989
Work: Collected Works of Junji Kinoshita and Shakespeare-related work
Organization: Mainichi Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award (Grand Prize)
1992
Work: Picture Scroll Heike Monogatari
Category: 大賞
Organization: Sankei Shimbun
Result: 受賞
JRA Horse Culture Award
1995
Work: Horse Culture Series (contributions/editions)
Organization: Japan Racing Association (JRA)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Hikoichi Stories

1946 Folk-play / Play

A folk-play based on Kumamoto folktales; part of a group of plays that dramatize popular oral tales.

folk taleslocalitycommunity

Yuzuru (The Crane Wife)

1949 Play

A representative play that reworks folk motifs into modern theatrical form. Premiered by the Budou-no-kai and frequently staged.

folk talesacrificefate
Adaptations
  • [Stage] Yuzuru (Budou Company premiere) (1950)
Translations
  • Yuzuru (translation)

Yamanami (Mountain Range)

1949 Play

A mid-length play symbolically depicting postwar society and human relationships; staged in mingei-influenced theaters.

postwarhuman relationssymbolism

The Meridian Ritual

1978 Epic drama / Group-recitation play

An epic play based on the Heike Monogatari. Introduces the 'group-recitation' style to fuse classical and modern theatrical forms.

historyepicfusion of tradition and modernity

Bibliography

  • Yuzuru (The Crane Wife)
  • Hikoichi Stories
  • Yamanami (Mountain Range)
  • The Man Called Otto
  • The Meridian Ritual
  • All Stories About Horses
  • Picture Scroll Heike Monogatari

Adaptations

  • Yuzuru (numerous stage productions)
  • The Meridian Ritual (stage productions)

Translations by Author

  • Hamlet (translation)
  • Othello (translation)
  • Macbeth (translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Fusion of epic, group-recitation techniques with modern dramaColloquial and popular expression adapting folk narratives for the stage
Recurring Motifs
folk taleshistorical themes (e.g. Heike Monogatari)fatehorses

Health

  • Pneumonia
    2006
    Died after developing pneumonia

Legacy

A leading postwar Japanese playwright known for incorporating folk tales into modern drama and introducing the 'group-recitation' method. Also notable for translations and stagings of Shakespeare, contributions to children's publishing, and advocacy for horse culture.

Museums

  • Tamana City Historical Museum (hosted exhibition on Junji Kinoshita) Tamana, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Japan Playwrights Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library (holds materials)
  • Collected Works published by Iwanami Shoten (held in libraries)

In Popular Culture

  • Frequent school and community stagings of 'Yuzuru'

Trivia

  • He remained unmarried throughout his life.
  • A lover of horsemanship; he donated a personal collection of about 3,000 books on horses to the Horse Culture Foundation.
  • He declined selection as a member of the Japan Art Academy and also declined the honorary Tokyo citizen title.