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Masashi Miura

みうら まさし

Miura Masashi

Pen Names: Imai Hiroyasu（Pen name used for writing between 1978 and 1980）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1946-12-17 （Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan → Tokyo, Japan → New York, USA (during visiting appointment at Columbia University)

Career

Occupations
Editor, Literary critic, Dance researcher, Author, University professor
Active Years
1969-
Affiliations
Seidosha, Shinshokan, Rikkyo University, Japan Art Academy
Memberships
Japan Art Academy, Japan Writers' Association, Suntory Prize Selection Committee (member)
Influenced
Akira Asada

Education

Aomori Prefectural Hirosaki High School
Country: Japan

Awards

Suntory Academic Award
1984
Work: The Watercourse of Melancholy
Organization: Suntory Foundation for the Arts
Result: Winner
Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize
1991
Work: The Novel as Colony
Organization: Fujimura Memorial Foundation
Result: Winner
Yomiuri Literary Prize
1996
Work: The Zero Degree of the Body
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: Winner
Art Encouragement Prize (Minister of Education)
2002
Work: The End of Youth
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs (Japan)
Result: Winner
Itoh Sei Literary Award
2002
Work: The End of Youth
Organization: Itoh Sei Literary Award Committee
Result: Winner
Medal with Purple Ribbon
2010
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: Recipient
Japan Art Academy Prize
2012
Organization: Japan Art Academy
Result: Winner
Onshi (Imperial) Prize
2012
Organization: Japan Art Academy
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Watercourse of Melancholy

1984 Criticism / Essays

A collection of essays from the 1980s that examines representations of melancholy in literature and culture, discussing the emotional history of modernity and possibilities for literary criticism.

melancholymodernityliterary criticism

The Novel as Colony

1991 Literary theory

An essay collection that analyzes the novel as a form using the metaphor of 'colony', addressing the politics of literature and cultural power relations.

theory of the novelculture and powerpostcolonial perspectives

The Zero Degree of the Body: What Established Modernity

1994 Philosophy / Cultural studies

An inquiry into the conditions of modernity centered on the body. It examines relations between the body, institutions, and norms, critically considering the formation of the modern subject.

theory of the bodycritique of modernityinstitutions and subjectivity

Thinking Body

1999 Criticism

A collection of essays interpreting thought and representation from the standpoint of the body. It also addresses the relationship between dance, artistic expression, and corporeality.

bodydancerepresentation

The End of Youth

2001 Criticism / Cultural sociology

A cultural study on the concept of 'youth' and its decline. It critically examines generational culture and narratives of youth.

generationcultural critiquedecline of youth

Life as a Work

2010 Criticism / Essays

A set of essays rethinking life as a 'work'. It discusses intersections of self, expression, everyday life, and art.

selfexpressionlife and art

Bibliography

  • The Phenomenon Called 'I': Reading the Contemporary
  • The Phantom Other: Notes on Contemporary Art
  • Transformation of Subjectivity: Notes on Contemporary Literature
  • The Bright Mirror of Dreams: Editorial Afterwords 1970.7–1981.12
  • The Watercourse of Melancholy
  • On the Fact That I Will Die: Reading Notes 1978–1984
  • Shuji Terayama: Words in the Mirror
  • The Gaze of Death: Cross-sections of 1980s Literature
  • Toward a Meshwork of Questions
  • The Novel as Colony
  • The Zero Degree of the Body: What Established Modernity
  • The Modernity of Ballet
  • Thinking Body
  • Introduction to Ballet
  • Criticism as Melancholy
  • The End of Youth
  • Another America of Haruki Murakami and Motoyuki Shibata
  • The Secret of Birth
  • Soseki: The Child Not Loved by His Mother
  • Life as a Work
  • The Invention of Solitude: Or the Politics of Language
  • The Counterattack of Youjiro Ishizaka
  • The Imagination of Studio Ghibli: What Is the Horizon?

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Critical, interdisciplinary essaysDetailed analyses centered on the body and the artsA style positioned between essay and scholarly argument
Recurring Motifs
the bodymelancholymodernitydance / ballet

Legacy

As an editor he helped shape magazines such as Eureka and Gendai Shisō and, as a critic, made major contributions to Japanese literary and art criticism. He promoted research on dance and ballet and bridged scholarship and practice. A member of the Japan Art Academy, he has received major awards and honors; his work is recognized in contemporary thought and criticism.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Art Academy
  • Japan Writers' Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library (Japan)

Trivia

  • Used the pen name Imai Hiroyasu between 1978 and 1980.
  • His younger sister is lyricist Tokuko Miura (三浦徳子).
  • Served as editor-in-chief of Eureka and Gendai Shisō and was involved in editorial promotion of the 'New Academic' movement in Japan.
  • Founded the monthly Dance Magazine in 1991 and served as its editor-in-chief and later as an advisor.
  • Received the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2010 and the Japan Art Academy Prize and Onshi Prize in 2012.
  • In 2013 a certain advisory contract was not renewed (reason not public).