Chōkū Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 3 (1969) award
Kondo Yoshimi
こんどう よしみ
Kondo Yoshimi
Aliases:
近藤 芽美
Pen Names:
Yoshimi Kondo（Pen name (legal name Kondo Memi/近藤芽美)）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1913-05-05 （Masan, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea (then under Japanese rule)）
- Died
- 2006-06-21 （Shiseikai Daini Hospital, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan） age 93
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Hiroshima City (raised) → Tokyo (later life) → Kanagawa Prefecture (while teaching at Kanagawa University)
Career
- Occupations
- tanka poet, architect, university professor
- Active Years
- 1932-2006
- Affiliations
- Mirai (tanka society), Modern Tanka Poets Association, Shimizu Corporation (former employer), Kanagawa University (former professor)
- Memberships
- Mirai Tanka Society, Modern Tanka Poets Association
- Influenced By
- Nakamura Kenkichi, Tsuchiya Fumio (Bunmei Tsuchiya)
- Influenced
- Hagiwara Shinichiro, Ri Masako (Lee Masako)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Institute of Technology | Faculty of Engineering | Department of Architecture | — | — | Japan |
| Former Hiroshima High School (attended) | — | — | — | — | Japan |
Tokyo Institute of Technology
Faculty of Engineering
/ Department of Architecture
Country:
Japan
Enrollment years not specified. Later earned Doctor of Engineering (1961).
Former Hiroshima High School (attended)
Country:
Japan
Became interested in tanka while attending the former Hiroshima High School.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Choko (Chouku) Prize | Black Panther | — | Choko Prize Selection Committee | 受賞 |
| 1986 | Shika Bungakukan Prize | Kinen ni (In Remembrance) | — | Poetry and Verse Museum | 受賞 |
| 1991 | Gendai Tanka Grand Prize | Ei-i (Enterprise/Activity) | — | Gendai Tanka Grand Prize Selection Committee | 受賞 |
| 1994 | Saito Mokichi Tanka Literary Prize | Kikyū (Aspiration) | — | Saito Mokichi Prize Selection Committee | 受賞 |
| 1996 | Person of Cultural Merit | — | — | Government of Japan | 選出 |
| 2006 | Junior Fourth Rank (posthumous) | — | — | Government of Japan | 叙位（死後） |
| 2006 | Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon (posthumous) | — | — | Government of Japan | 授与（死後） |
Choko (Chouku) Prize
1969
Work:
Black Panther
Organization:
Choko Prize Selection Committee
Result:
受賞
Shika Bungakukan Prize
1986
Work:
Kinen ni (In Remembrance)
Organization:
Poetry and Verse Museum
Result:
受賞
Gendai Tanka Grand Prize
1991
Work:
Ei-i (Enterprise/Activity)
Organization:
Gendai Tanka Grand Prize Selection Committee
Result:
受賞
Saito Mokichi Tanka Literary Prize
1994
Work:
Kikyū (Aspiration)
Organization:
Saito Mokichi Prize Selection Committee
Result:
受賞
Person of Cultural Merit
1996
Organization:
Government of Japan
Result:
選出
Junior Fourth Rank (posthumous)
2006
Organization:
Government of Japan
Result:
叙位（死後）
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon (posthumous)
2006
Organization:
Government of Japan
Result:
授与（死後）
Awards & Nominations
Shiika Bungakukan Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 1 (1986) award
Contemporary Tanka Grand Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 14 (1991) award
Saito Mokichi Tanka Literary Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 6 (1994) award
Works
Major Works
Early Spring Songs
1948 tankaDebut collection reflecting affection for his wife and everyday emotions.
lovedaily lifepersonal feeling
Dust-blown City
1948 tankaA set of poems using postwar urban scenes and hardship as material; influential in shaping postwar tanka.
postwarurban lifehardship
Black Panther
1968 tankaA collection featuring powerful expression and sharp social critique. Awarded the Choko Prize.
critiqueeraindividual and society
In Remembrance
1985 tankaA collection themed on remembrance and prayer; recipient of the Shika Bungakukan Prize.
prayerrecollectionmemorial
Ei-i (Enterprise/Activity)
1990 tankaA mature collection observing humans and society; winner of the Gendai Tanka Grand Prize.
maturitysocial viewhuman nature
Aspiration
1994 tankaA philosophically oriented collection; awarded the Saito Mokichi Tanka Literary Prize.
thoughtsearchhope
Bibliography
- Early Spring Songs
- Dust-blown City
- Quiet Will
- History
- The New Rules of Tanka
- Winter Milky Way
- Black Panther
- The Stranger
- In Remembrance
- Ei-i (Enterprise/Activity)
- Aspiration
- Collected Works of Yoshimi Kondo (10 volumes)
- Crossroads
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- materialist approachrealismdirect and concise diction
- Recurring Motifs
- war and memorycity and hardshipfamily and lovesocial critique
Health
-
prostate cancer晩年（罹患年不詳）Had prostate cancer in later years; cited as a contributing factor to death.
-
heart failure2006年（死没時）Reported to have died of heart failure in June 2006.
Legacy
A leading postwar tanka figure whose materialist tanka theory and long tenure as a selector influenced the wider poetic community; also recognized as an architect and Doctor of Engineering, he is respected in both academic and cultural spheres.
Academic Societies
- Modern Tanka Poets Association
Archives
- Materials held by the National Diet Library (Japan)
In Popular Culture
- Long-serving selector for Asahi Kadan, influencing amateur poets through newspaper tanka columns.
Trivia
- Served as a selector for Asahi Kadan (Asahi Newspaper's tanka column) from 1955 to January 2005—about half a century.
- Worked as an architect at Shimizu Corporation and later served as a professor in the Department of Architecture at Kanagawa University.
- Collected Works of Yoshimi Kondo (10 volumes) published by Iwanami Shoten between 2000 and 2001.