Japanese Literary Awards

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Yukari Kojima

こじま ゆかり

Kojima Yukari

Aliases: 横井ゆかり

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1956-09-01 （Nagoya, Aichi, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Nagoya (birth) → Tokyo (education/activity)

Career

Occupations
tanka poet, college lecturer, poetry selector/judge, editor, book reviewer
Active Years
1978-
Affiliations
Cosmos Tanka-kai, Aoyama Gakuin Women's Junior College (lecturer), Tanka Kenkyusha (associated)
Memberships
Cosmos Tanka-kai, Tanka Kenkyukai (university)
Influenced By
Shuji Miya

Education

Aichi Prefectural Asahigaoka High School
Period: 1971-1975
Year of Graduation: 1975
Country: Japan
Waseda University, Faculty of Letters
Faculty of Letters / Department of Japanese Literature
Period: 1975-1979
Year of Graduation: 1979
Country: Japan
Member of the Tanka Study Group during university

Awards

Cosmos Newcomer Prize (Kiri no Hana Prize)
1982
Organization: Cosmos Tanka-kai
Result: winner
Cosmos Prize
1995
Organization: Cosmos Tanka-kai
Result: winner
Kono Aiko Prize
1997
Work: Hebrew Calendar
Organization: Kono Aiko Prize Committee
Result: winner
Wakayama Bokusui Prize
2000
Work: Hope
Organization: Wakayama Bokusui Prize Committee
Result: winner
Choko Award
2006
Work: Melancholic Spring
Organization: Choko Award Committee
Result: winner
Ono City Poetry and Literature Prize
2014
Work: Pure White Light: Tanka Diary 2012
Organization: Ono City
Result: winner
Japan One-Line Poetry Grand Prize
2014
Work: Pure White Light: Tanka Diary 2012
Organization: Japan One-Line Poetry Committee
Result: winner
Saito Mokichi Tanka Literature Prize
2015
Work: Mud and Green Leaves
Organization: Saito Mokichi Prize Committee
Result: winner
Arts Selection (Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award)
2017
Work: On Horseback
Organization: Japan Arts Council / MEXT
Result: winner
Medal with Purple Ribbon
2017
Organization: Cabinet Office
Result: recipient
Tanka Kenkyu Prize
2018
Work: Sand-Colored Sunshine
Organization: Tanka Kenkyu-sha
Result: winner
Shika Bungakukan Prize
2019
Work: Rokuroku Fish
Organization: Poetry and Literature Museum
Result: winner
Maekawa Samio Prize
2019
Work: Rokuroku Fish
Organization: Maekawa Samio Prize Committee
Result: winner
Ooka Makoto Prize
2022
Work: Yukimaro
Organization: Ooka Makoto Prize Committee
Result: winner
Mainichi Art Award
2024
Work: Distant Rainbow
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers / Mainichi Art Award Committee
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Mizukagero

1987 tanka

Debut collection of tanka poems, capturing delicate everyday scenes.

natureeveryday life

Hebrew Calendar

1996 tanka

A collection incorporating religious and historical motifs; winner of the Kono Aiko Prize.

historyreligious motifs

Hope

2000 tanka

A collection themed on hope and renewal; winner of the Wakayama Bokusui Prize.

hoperenewal

Melancholic Spring

2005 tanka

A collection meditating on uneasy springtime feelings and introspection; winner of the Choko Award.

seasonsintrospection

Distant Rainbow

2024 tanka

A recent major collection spanning a wide range of themes; winner of the Mainichi Art Award.

familymemorynature

Bibliography

  • Mizukagero
  • Gekkou Park
  • Hebrew Calendar
  • Leo Meteor Shower
  • Hope
  • Etopirika
  • Melancholic Spring
  • Perfectly Natural Love
  • Rain at the Time
  • Sakura
  • Pure White Light: Tanka Diary 2012
  • Mud and Green Leaves
  • On Horseback
  • Rokuroku Fish
  • Yukimaro
  • Distant Rainbow

Style & Themes

Literary Style
concise and symbolic tanka expressionoverlaying personal scenes with historical and religious motifs
Recurring Motifs
naturefamilymemoryseasons

Legacy

One of the leading contemporary tanka poets in Japan, noted for delicate imagery and wide-ranging themes; recipient of multiple major awards.

Academic Societies

  • Tanka Kenkyukai

Trivia

  • Real name is Yukari Yokoi.
  • Her eldest daughter, Nao Kojima, is also a tanka poet and won the Kadokawa Tanka Prize.
  • Served as a summoned person (shounin) at the 2023 Utakai Hajime ceremony.