Japanese Literary Awards

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Taro Kitamura

きたむら たろう

Kitamura Tarō

Aliases: 松村文雄
Pen Names: Taro Kitamura（Pen name (born Matsumura Fumio)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1922-11-17 （Yanaka (former Kita-Toshima District, Tokyo Prefecture; near present-day Nippori), Japan）
Died
1992-10-26 （Toranomon Hospital, Tokyo, Japan） age 69
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Yanaka (near Nippori), Tokyo → Komazawa (Setagaya), Tokyo → Asakusa (Shibasaki-cho / Nishi-Asakusa), Tokyo

Career

Occupations
poet, translator, editor, proofreader
Active Years
1946-1992
Influenced By
Blaise Pascal, Ryūichi Tamura (colleague), Nobuo Ayukawa (colleague)

Education

Tokyo School of Foreign Languages (old system)
French Department
Period: 1941-1944
Year of Graduation: 1944
Country: Japan
Graduated early due to military service
University of Tokyo
Faculty of Letters, Department of French Literature
Period: 1946-1949
Year of Graduation: 1949
Country: Japan
Undergraduate thesis on Blaise Pascal

Awards

Mugen Prize
1976
Work: Prayer of Sleep
Organization: Mugen Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Art Encouragement Prize (Minister of Education Award)
1983
Work: Age of Dogs
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Result: 受賞
Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize
1985
Work: The Success of Laughter
Organization: Fujimura Memorial Association
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Literary Prize
1989
Work: People of the Harbor
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Taro Kitamura: Collected Poems 1947–1966

1966 Poetry collection

A collection covering his poetry from the postwar period to 1966, containing experimental and lyrical pieces.

postwarmemoryeveryday life

Prayer of Sleep

1976 Poetry collection

Contains poems centered on tranquility and dream imagery; recipient of the Mugen Prize.

dreamssilencesleep

Age of Dogs

1982 Essays / Poetry

A work of poems and essays depicting modern sensibilities and solitude; winner of the Art Encouragement Prize (Minister of Education Award).

solitudecityanimals (dogs)

The Success of Laughter

1985 Poetry / Prose

Contains poems and prose mixing humor and irony; recipient of the Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize.

humorsocial critique

People of the Harbor

1988 Poetry collection

Depicts human loneliness and solidarity through harbors and their people; winner of the Yomiuri Literary Prize.

harborcommunityloneliness

Bibliography

  • Taro Kitamura: Collected Poems 1947–1966
  • Winter Night Duty
  • Selected Poems of Taro Kitamura (Modern Poetry Library)
  • Prayer of Sleep
  • The Ending Snow
  • Pascal's Large Eye: Language, Experience, and the End
  • Twilight Darkness
  • The Joy of Reading Poetry
  • Dreams of a Piano Wire
  • Age of Dogs
  • The Success of Laughter
  • People of the Harbor
  • Sentimental Journey: The Life of a Poet

Adaptations

  • Araki no Koi (inspired novel/TV drama based on events involving Kitamura)

Translations by Author

  • Graham Greene, The Confidential Agent (co-translated, 1951)
  • Ernest Hemingway: Short Stories (co-translated, 1955)
  • Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1987)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical modernist stylesymbolic, fragmentary imagery
Recurring Motifs
dogsharborsnightdreams

Health

  • renal failure
    1992
    Hospitalized and died in 1992 from renal failure

Legacy

Recognized as one of postwar Japan's notable poets and translators, Kitamura received major literary awards (including the Yomiuri Literary Prize) and maintained long-standing influence in the poetry world.

In Popular Culture

  • Served as a motif in Shoichi Nejime's novel 'Araki no Koi'; a character modeled on him appeared in the TV drama adaptation broadcast on WOWOW

Trivia

  • Born Matsumura Fumio (legal name).
  • He was born as the elder of twin siblings.
  • Worked at Asahi Shimbun in the proofreading and research departments before leaving the company.
  • Noted for a romantic affair involving the wife of Ryūichi Tamura, an incident that later inspired literary treatment.