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Shinichi Matsubara

まつばら しんいち

Matsubara Shin'ichi

Pen Names: Egashira Hajime（birth name）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1940-01-22 （Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan）
Died
2013-08-13 （Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan） age 73
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Kobe, Hyōgo (birthplace) → Kyoto Prefecture (education) → Kurume, Fukuoka (career & death)

Career

Occupations
literary critic, university professor, critic
Active Years
1964-2013
Affiliations
Kurume University (Faculty of Letters; professor, emeritus professor), Kobe University (associate professor), Osaka School of Literature (tutor), Yomiuri Shimbun (literary criticism column, 1993–1996)
Influenced By
Kamei Katsuichiro, Kenzaburo Oe

Education

Kyoto University, Faculty of Education
Faculty of Education / Education
Period: 在籍期間不詳 - 1964年卒業
Year of Graduation: 1964
Country: Japan
After graduation he held positions such as associate professor at Kobe University and professor at Kurume University.

Awards

Gunzo New Writers' Literary Prize (Criticism, 7th)
Work: On Kamei Katsuichiro
Category: 評論部門
Organization: Gunzo (literary magazine)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Thought of Silence

1966 literary criticism

A collection of essays examining the relationship between silence and literature.

silenceliterary theoryphilosophy

The World of Kenzaburo Oe

1967 author study / literary criticism

An author study analyzing the themes and world of Kenzaburo Oe's works.

postwar literaturepolitics and literatureindividual and society

Literary Courage

1969 essays / criticism

An essayistic collection discussing literature, ethics, and the stance of writers.

ethicsauthor studycritical spirit

On Taijun Takeda

1970 author study / literary criticism

A critique and study of Taijun Takeda's works and thought.

author studypostwar literature

The Logic of Conversion

1970 literary criticism

An essay examining the structure of ideological and political conversion from a literary perspective.

conversionhistory of thoughtpolitics and literature

Literature: Those Who Envision the Wilderness

1973 criticism

A collection of criticism discussing literature's social role and its visionary aspects.

literature and societyvision/illusioncriticism

The Thought of the Wanderer: How to Live as a Human

1973 essays / criticism

Essayistic criticism on ways of living and ethical questions.

ways of livingethicsindividualism

The Literature of the 'Fool'

1974 literary criticism

A study of the motif of the 'fool' in literature.

motif analysisliterary thought

The Paradox of Idleness: The Life and Literature of Hirotsu Kazuo

1998 biographical criticism

A critical examination of Hirotsu Kazuo's life and literature.

author studybiographyprewar/postwar literature

Illusory Commune: Examining the 'Circle Village'

2001 criticism

A critical study examining a particular community phenomenon from literary and social perspectives.

communitysocial criticism

Bibliography

  • The Thought of Silence (Kodansha, 1966)
  • The World of Kenzaburo Oe (Kodansha, 1967)
  • Literary Courage (Rokushin Shobo, 1969)
  • On Taijun Takeda (Shinbisha, 1970)
  • The Logic of Conversion (Kodansha, 1970)
  • Literature: Those Who Envision the Wilderness (Sanrio Publishing, 1973)
  • The Thought of the Wanderer: How to Live as a Human (Gakushu Kenkyusha, 1973)
  • The Literature of the 'Fool' (Fuyuki-sha, 1974)
  • The Paradox of Idleness: The Life and Literature of Hirotsu Kazuo (Kodansha, 1998)
  • Illusory Commune: Examining the 'Circle Village' (Sogen-sha, 2001)
  • Postwar Japanese Literature: Chronology (co-authored, Kodansha, 1979)
  • A Point of Origin Exists: Gan Tagokawa Collected Poems and Essays (editor, Kodansha Bungei Bunko, 2009)
  • On Kim Si-jong in the '70s: Living the Japanese Language—Kim Si-jong and Our Days (co-authored, Sunagoya Shobo, 2010)
  • The Voice of Maruyama Yutaka: From the Shining Muddy Land (editor, Gen Shobo, 2012)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
logical and discursive criticismleft-leaning social and political perspectiveargumentation that ties facts and thought together
Recurring Motifs
relationship between politics and literatureexamination of postwar literatureauthor studies (Oe, Takeda, Hirotsu, etc.)critique of the 'inward-looking generation'

Health

  • pancreatic cancer
    罹患期間は公表されていないが、2013年に病院で逝去
    He died of pancreatic cancer in 2013, which ended his professional activities.

Legacy

Shinichi Matsubara was an influential figure in postwar Japanese literary criticism, provoking debate through author studies and postwar literary analysis. He taught at Kurume University and participated in national literary discussions through criticism and essays.

Trivia

  • His legal name was Egashira Hajime.
  • His eldest daughter is screenwriter Michiru Egashira.
  • Graduated from Kyoto University Faculty of Education in 1964.
  • Won the 7th Gunzo New Writers' Literary Prize (Criticism) for 'On Kamei Katsuichiro' (year not specified in source).
  • Served as a literary critic columnist for the Yomiuri Shimbun from 1993 to 1996.
  • Known in his early career as a critic of Tomishima Takeo.