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Yotaro Konaka

こなか ようたろう

Konaka Yotaro

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1934-09-09 （Kobe, Hyogo, Japan）
Died
2024-12-03 （Meguro, Tokyo, Japan） age 90
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Religion
United Church of Christ in Japan
Residence History
Kobe, Hyogo, Japan (birth) → Shanghai (childhood) → Tokyo (residence and activity base) → United States (stayed as visiting professor) → Visited Paris, Hanoi and Stockholm

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Critic, Translator, University professor, Journalist, Broadcast director
Active Years
1958-2024
Affiliations
Japan PEN Club (Executive Director), Beheiren (Citizens' League for Peace in Vietnam), Hosei University (lecturer), Chubu University (professor)
Memberships
Japan PEN Club
Influenced By
Kazuo Watanabe, Akiyuki Nosaka, Makoto Oda

Education

University of Tokyo
Faculty of Letters / Department of French Literature
Degree: 学士
Period: 1954-1958
Year of Graduation: 1958
Country: Japan
Studied under Kazuo Watanabe

Awards

Nomura Kodō Literary Award
2013
Work: Tobe yo Gennai
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Tobe yo Gennai

2012 Historical novel (fiction)

A historical novel centered on Hiraga Gennai, depicting his life and the historical context.

historybiographyEdo period

Love and Parting

1964 Novel

An early novel work, including short and mid-length pieces that explore relationships and parting.

loveseparationhuman relationships

Shanghai Story (or the Zorge Boy Detective Group)

2016 Novel

A story set in Shanghai that weaves fictional elements related to Zorge (the Sorge case).

Shanghaiespionageyouth

Bibliography

  • Love and Parting (1964)
  • Handmade Logic (1969)
  • The Tale of the Tenchū Group (1970)
  • Entertainers of the Kingdom (1972)
  • The Vietnam War Inside Me (1973)
  • Novel: Nada High School (1974)
  • The Jeans Heike (1979)
  • Novel: The School Report Trial (1980)
  • I Traveled in Poland (1983)
  • Yotaro Konaka's American Column (1988)
  • Tobe yo Gennai (2012)
  • Shanghai Story (or the Zorge Boy Detective Group) (2016)

Translations by Author

  • Steal This Book (Abbie Hoffman, 1972)
  • Eva's Diary - From a Spanish Prison (1978)
  • The Ants (Bernard Werber, co-translated, 1995)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
reportage-stylesocial criticismconversational/columnar narration
Recurring Motifs
peace movement / anti-warmedia criticismeducation and familyJapan–US relations

Legacy

A writer and critic active from the postwar period to the present, known for reportage and social criticism. He was involved in education, media critique and peace activism, and contributed to training younger generations as a university professor and through work with the Japan PEN Club.

Museums

  • Hyogo-related Writers (Net Museum / displays related to Hyogo literature) Hyogo Prefecture, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Japan PEN Club
  • Organizations related to the United Church of Christ in Japan

Archives

  • National Diet Library
  • Holdings in University of Tokyo libraries and related collections

In Popular Culture

  • TV appearance: guest contestant on 'Sekai Marugoto HOW Match'
  • TV appearance: commentator on 'Super Wide'
  • Film appearance: acted as a university lecturer in '18-Years-Old, To the Sea'

Trivia

  • Spent his childhood in Shanghai.
  • Participated in the 1960s anti-Vietnam War movement (Beheiren) and was active in international solidarity.
  • Worked as an NHK director and was involved with programs such as 'Yume de Aimashou'.
  • Won the 1st Nomura Kodō Literary Award in 2013 for 'Tobe yo Gennai'.
  • Died of senility on December 3, 2024, at age 90.