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Koda Shirō

こうだ しろう

Koda Shirō

Pen Names: Koda Shirō（Used as a pen name; birth name is Yamanaka Kazuo）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1936-01-03 （Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
poet, wagashi (Japanese confectionery) shop owner
Active Years
1975-
Affiliations
Choryu Poetry Group, Suisen (Taru-sen), Modern Poets' Association

Education

Chuo University
Country: Japan
Graduated from Chuo University (year unknown)

Awards

Oguma Hideo Prize
1990
Work: The Big Hand Comes
Organization: Oguma Hideo Prize Committee
Result: winner
Ono Jūzaburō Prize
2002
Work: Summer at Jinba Kinjiro's Dry Goods Store
Organization: Ono Jūzaburō Prize Committee
Result: winner
Modern Poets' Prize
2014
Work: Transmission
Organization: Modern Poets' Association
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Morning Greetings: Poems by Koda Shirō

1975 poetry collection

An early collection weaving everyday downtown scenes and small-shop life into verse.

everyday lifedowntown Tokyowork

Afternoon Scenes: Poems by Koda Shirō

1982 poetry collection

Poems depicting the atmosphere of city afternoons and fragments of memory.

memoryurban lifetime

The Big Hand Comes: Poems by Koda Shirō

1989 poetry collection

Includes work that won the Oguma Hideo Prize in 1990; a representative collection.

changehistory and memory

The Couple of Tsukumo Confectionery: Poems

1992 poetry collection

A collection of poems about the daily life and routines of a couple running a wagashi shop.

familysmall businesseveryday life

The Man of Old: Poems

1994 poetry collection

A mid-period collection centered on retrospection and fragments of the past.

reminiscencethe past

Smoke Stings the Eyes

1995 poetry collection

Contains short, sharp poems that evoke the smells and sensations of daily life.

sensory detaileveryday life

Japanese Contemporary Poetry Library: Collected Poems of Koda Shirō

1996 poetry collection / selected works

A selected collection compiling his major works.

selected worksoverview

Summer at Jinba Kinjiro's Dry Goods Store: Poems

2001 poetry collection

A poetical collection with a local narrative set in a shop; won the Ono Jūzaburō Prize in 2002.

localitycommerceseasons

Kurayami-zaka: Poems

2006 poetry collection

Contains poems that explore darkness and the corners of memory.

darknessmemory

Winter's Weak Sun and Angry Udon: Poems

2007 poetry collection

A late-period collection mixing humor and quotidian sensibility.

humordaily life

Transmission: Poems

2013 poetry collection

A work themed on communication and the transmission of language; won the Modern Poets' Prize in 2014.

communicationlanguage

Bibliography

  • Morning Greetings: Poems by Koda Shirō (Choryu Publishing, 1975)
  • Afternoon Scenes: Poems by Koda Shirō (Choryu Publishing, 1982)
  • The Big Hand Comes: Poems by Koda Shirō (Choryu Publishing, 1989)
  • The Couple of Tsukumo Confectionery: Poems (Wani Production, 1992)
  • The Man of Old: Poems (Wani Production, 1994)
  • Smoke Stings the Eyes (Shigakusha, 1995)
  • Japanese Contemporary Poetry Library: Collected Poems of Koda Shirō (Doyobi Art Publishing, 1996)
  • Summer at Jinba Kinjiro's Dry Goods Store: Poems (Wani Production, 2001)
  • Kurayami-zaka: Poems (Wani Production, 2006)
  • Winter's Weak Sun and Angry Udon: Poems (Wani Production, 2007)
  • Transmission: Poems (Wani Production, 2013)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
colloquial style emphasizing everyday descriptionrealistic depictions woven with downtown life
Recurring Motifs
downtown scenerywagashi and small shopschanging seasonsmemory and reminiscence

Legacy

Koda Shirō is a poet known for treating downtown commerce and everyday life in his poems. He has received notable poetry awards such as the Oguma Hideo Prize, Ono Jūzaburō Prize, and the Modern Poets' Prize, and is recognized for incorporating local quotidian sensibilities into Japanese poetry from the late 20th century into the 21st.

Archives

  • National Diet Library (authority data)
  • VIAF (Virtual International Authority File) identifier available

Trivia

  • Birth name is Yamanaka Kazuo.
  • He wrote poetry while running a wagashi (Japanese confectionery) shop.