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Toru Kitagawa

きたがわ とおる

Kitagawa Tooru

Pen Names: Isogai Mitsuru（birth name）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1935-08-09 （Hekinan, Aichi, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Hekinan, Aichi (birthplace) → Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi (residence; Meikogakuin University)

Career

Occupations
poet, literary critic, teacher, university professor
Active Years
1958-
Affiliations
Meikogakuin University (Visiting/appointed professor)
Memberships
Selection Committee Member, Nakahara Chūya Prize
Influenced By
Tōkoku Kitamura, Sakutarō Hagiwara, Chūya Nakahara, Nobuo Ayukawa, Takaaki Yoshimoto

Education

Aichi Gakugei University (now Aichi University of Education)
Faculty of Education / Japanese language
Period: 1954-1958
Year of Graduation: 1958
Country: Japan
Alumnus of the institution now known as Aichi University of Education

Awards

Ono Jūsaburō Prize (Special Prize)
2001
Work: The Present of Poetic Theory (3 vols.)
Organization: Ono Jūsaburō Prize Committee
Result: winner
Takami Jun Prize
2008
Work: Melting, the Alarm Clock
Organization: Takami Jun Prize Committee
Result: winner
Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize
2009
Work: Collected Studies on Nakahara Chūya
Organization: Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize Committee
Result: winner
Chunichi Culture Award
2016
Organization: Chunichi Shimbun
Result: winner
Art Academy Prize of Japan / Imperial Award
2023
Work: Collected Contemporary Poetic Theories
Organization: Japan Art Academy
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Toru Kitagawa: Collected Poems

1972 poetry collection

A collection of early poems demonstrating his linguistic experiments and thematic concerns in contemporary poetry.

contemporary poetrylanguagememory

Melting, the Alarm Clock

2007 poetry collection

A later poetry collection that deals with playfulness of language and the nature of time.

timeplay of languageexistence

The Present of Poetic Theory (3 vols.)

2000 criticism / poetic theory

A three-volume collection of essays on contemporary poetry and poetic theory, discussing methodology and postwar developments.

poetic theorypostwar poetrycriticism

Collected Studies on Nakahara Chūya

2007 criticism / research

A compilation of studies on Nakahara Chūya that examines his poetics and reception.

Nakahara Chūya studiespoeticshistorical context

Bibliography

  • Toru Kitagawa: Collected Poems (Shichosha, 1972)
  • The Beginning of the Anti-River (poems), Shichosha, 1974
  • The Distant Rainy Season (poems), Kokubunsha, 1977
  • Argot Techniques: The Poetry of Toru Kitagawa, Yumitate-sha, 1986
  • How Far Can Poe Change?, Shichosha, 1988
  • To Senjogahara, Shichosha, 1992
  • Continued: Toru Kitagawa Collected Poems (Shichosha, 1994)
  • Democritus's Well, Shichosha, 1995
  • Colloquial Vice School, Sunagoya Shobo, 2003
  • Melting, the Alarm Clock, Shichosha, 2007
  • Asked Why I Continue Writing Poetry, Shichosha, 2015
  • Legendary Tales, Shichosha, 2022

Style & Themes

Literary Style
theoretical and critical stylelanguage-experimental expressionprecise, theory-oriented prose
Recurring Motifs
play of languagetime and memorymethodology of poetry

Legacy

A poet and critic who significantly influenced postwar contemporary poetic theory and practice. Known for studies on Nakahara Chūya, Kitamura Tōkoku and Sakutarō Hagiwara; his essays and collected works earned major honors including the Japan Art Academy Prize and the Imperial Award.

Trivia

  • Birth name is Isogai Mitsuru.
  • Founded the poetry magazine "Ankaruwa" in 1962 and discontinued it in 1990.
  • Served as a professor at Meikogakuin University.