Kadokawa Tanka Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 13 (1967) nominee
Kosaku Okumura
おくむら こうさく
Okumura Kōsaku
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1936-06-14 （Iida, Nagano, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
Career
- Occupations
- tanka poet, teacher
- Active Years
- 1960-
- Influenced By
- Tachibana Akebono, Miya Shūji
- Influenced
- Ōmatsu Tatsuchi, Manami Honjō
- Nominations
- Nominated for the 13th Kadokawa Tanka Prize ("Karyō taru fūkei")
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nagano Prefectural Iida High School | — | — | — | — | Japan |
| University of Tokyo, Faculty of Economics | Faculty of Economics | Department of Economics | — | 1958-1962 | Japan |
Nagano Prefectural Iida High School
Country:
Japan
University of Tokyo, Faculty of Economics
Faculty of Economics
/ Department of Economics
Period:
1958-1962
Year of Graduation:
1962
Country:
Japan
Entered Mitsui & Co. after graduation; later left and obtained a teaching license
Awards & Nominations
Chōkū Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 58 (2024) nominee
Works
Major Works
The Roots of the Reclusive Tanka Poets (Shikishi Naishinnō, Nōin, Saigyō)
1975 tanka studies / criticismA critical study tracing the lineage of reclusive tanka poets, referencing medieval and classical waka.
waka historyreclusionlamentation
Toki-iro no Ashi (Tawny-pink Feet) — Tanka Collection
1988 tankaA collection of tanka that sharply captures everyday details and bodily sensations.
everyday lifethe bodyobservation
Collected Tanka of Kosaku Okumura
2004 tankaA compendium of his long career in tanka, collecting works from multiple periods.
remembranceurban spacefamily
Tanka Collection: Eighty-one Springs
2019 tankaA collection of poems woven from the perspective of advanced age, including elegies and reflective pieces.
old agelossreflection
Bibliography
- The Roots of the Reclusive Tanka Poets (Shikishi Naishinnō, Nōin, Saigyō). Kasama Shoin, 1975
- Modern Tanka: Kosaku Okumura's Essays on Tanka. Tanka Shimbunsha, 1977
- Sanrei Yōchū (Three-age Larva) — Tanka Collection. Shiratama Shobō, 1979
- Utsu to Sora (Melancholy and Sky) — Tanka Collection. Ishikawa Shobō, 1983
- Toki-iro no Ashi. Hon'ami Shoten, 1988
- Father's Songs — Tanka Collection. Nagarami Shobō, 1991
- Ants and Gulliver — Tanka Collection. Nagarami Shobō, 1993
- Lyricism and 'Tada-goto' — Essays on Tanka. Hon'ami Shoten, 1994
- Urban Space — Tanka Collection. Nagarami Shobō, 1995
- Kamo no Mabuchi: Biography and Poems. Tanka Shimbunsha, 1996
- Collected Works of Kosaku Okumura. Gan Shokan, 1998
- The Man's Eye — Tanka Collection. Gan Shokan, 1999
- Pishiri to Kimaru — Tanka Collection. Hokutōsha, 2001
- Dangerous Water Level — Tanka Collection. Tanka Kenkyūsha, 2003
- Collected Tanka of Kosaku Okumura. Sunagoya Shobō, 2004
- Skiing Is Just Riding on a Board — Tanka Collection. Kadokawa Tanka Series, 2005
- The Lineage of 'Tada-goto' Songs: A Stroll through Early Modern Waka. Hon'ami Shoten, 2006
- Many — Sequenced Poems. Nagarami Shobō, 2008
- Many — Everyday Songs. Nagarami Shobō, 2009
- Aogusa — Tanka Collection. Hiiragi Shobō, 2011
- A Strongly Made Umbrella — Tanka Collection. Seiji-sha, 2014
- Vivid Movement — Tanka Collection. Rokka Shorin, 2016
- Eighty Summers — Tanka Collection. Bungeisha, 2017
- Eighty-one Springs — Tanka Collection. Bungeisha, 2019
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- concise tanka style influenced by early-modern waka with suggestive silencescombines observational description with lyricism
- Recurring Motifs
- tada-goto (plain, everyday subjects)details of daily lifeurban scenes and bodily sensation
Legacy
Established the 'tada-goto' tanka style informed by early-modern waka and exerted influence through the Cosmos tanka magazine; an educator who mentored later poets and left numerous collections.
Academic Societies
- Cosmos Tanka Association
Archives
- National Diet Library
In Popular Culture
- Read and admired by Manami Honjō; his tanka collection was featured in the "Smith's Bookshelf" segment on the TV program World Business Satellite.
Quotes
-
Drivers of the cars that rush past one after another all look forward
Source: Tanka collection 'Sanrei Yōchū' (1979) -
People disdainfully call them dogs or cats, but dogs and cats complete a life of non-possession
Source: Tanka collection 'Toki-iro no Ashi' (1988)
Trivia
- After graduation he joined Mitsui & Co. but left after about two years, later obtaining a teaching license to become a secondary school teacher.
- Served as a selector for the tanka magazine 'Cosmos'.
- His son, Tsuyoshi Okumura, is a physicist and professor at Ochanomizu University.