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Miyoshi Kyozo

みよし きょうぞう

Miyoshi Kyozo

Aliases: 佐々木久雄
Pen Names: Miyoshi Kyozo（Pen name used for literary works (birth name: Hisao Sasaki)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1931-03-27 （Maesawa, Isawa District, Iwate Prefecture, Japan (now Ōshū)）
Died
2007-05-11 （Ōshū, Iwate, Japan） age 76
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Maesawa (now Ōshū), Iwate, Japan → Ōshū, Iwate, Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Elementary school teacher, Writer on education
Active Years
1962-2007
Affiliations
Japan Writers' Association, Japan PEN Club
Memberships
Japan Writers' Association, Japan PEN Club

Education

Keio University, Faculty of Letters (correspondence course)
Faculty of Letters (correspondence course) / Japanese literature
Degree: 文学士
Period: 通信課程在学（卒業1971）
Year of Graduation: 1971
Country: Japan
Graduated via correspondence course
Former Iwate Prefectural Ichinoseki Middle School (now Iwate Prefectural Ichinoseki First High School)
Period: 旧制中学卒業
Country: Japan
Graduated from the pre-war/old system middle school

Awards

Bungeikai Newcomer Award
1975
Work: Kosodate Gokko (Playing at Parenting)
Organization: Bungeikai (literary magazine)
Result: Winner
Naoki Prize
1976
Work: Kosodate Gokko (Playing at Parenting)
Organization: Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Kosodate Gokko (Playing at Parenting)

1975 Novel

A semi-autobiographical novel based on the upbringing of his adopted daughter Chihiro; explores conflicts around education, family and rural community life.

child-rearingfamilyeducationrural community
Adaptations
  • [Film] Kosodate Gokko

Branch School Diary

1977 Novel

Depicts teacher life at a rural branch school and interactions with children; a realistic portrayal of educational settings.

educationrural lifeteaching experience
Adaptations
  • [Film] Branch School Diary: The Red Roof of Ihatov / 熊谷勲 (1978)

Tōno: Dream Poet

1987 Biography / Historical novel

A biographical work centered on Sasaki Kizen (Sasaki Kyouseki), a narrator of 'Tōno Monogatari'; focuses on folklore and regional history.

folklorebiographyTohoku region

Novel: Murasaki Shikibu

2006 Historical novel

A historical novel about the Heian-period writer Murasaki Shikibu.

historyfemale figuresHeian literature

Bibliography

  • Kosodate Gokko (Playing at Parenting)
  • Branch School Diary
  • Rain on Campus
  • Satisfied Hunger
  • Song of Life
  • Winter River
  • Early Spring Memories
  • Hidehira's Lacquer
  • I Am a Teacher
  • When the Pheasant Calls
  • Indigo Cove
  • The Glacier of Parents and Children
  • Young Reeds
  • Run, Rainbow
  • Chinshō
  • The Pupil's Bride
  • Sin of Honey
  • Crimson Flow (Women of Hiraizumi)
  • Amber Technique: The Story of Mifune Jūdan
  • Delinquent Parent and Child
  • The White Room
  • Deer Hunt
  • Tōno: Dream Poet
  • Frayed Snow
  • Northern Fantasies
  • Live, Yoshitsune
  • Heian Storm: The Tale of Sakura Palace
  • Yoshitsugu's Golden Highway
  • Gate of the Rainbow
  • Northern Cross
  • The Imperial Garden
  • Female Teacher: Three-colored Violet
  • One-eyed Dragon Masamune
  • Legend of Ono no Komachi: A Novel
  • Novel: Murasaki Shikibu

Adaptations

  • Kosodate Gokko (film adaptation)
  • Branch School Diary: The Red Roof of Ihatov (film)

Translations by Author

  • Seasons of Brilliance (translation of William J. Buchanan)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Strong sense of place focused on the Tōhoku regionRealistic depiction of educational settingsReflective social commentary rooted in local culture
Recurring Motifs
education and child-rearingrural lifedialects (Maesawa dialect)family conflicts

Health

  • Cerebral infarction (stroke)
    2007年5月
    Collapsed while bathing, hospitalized and did not regain consciousness; resulted in death

Legacy

A novelist known for works set in the Tōhoku region and for depicting educational settings. He debuted with 'Kosodate Gokko' (1975), winning the Bungeikai Newcomer Award and the Naoki Prize. He left works on local culture and dialects as well as educational essays, though his reputation was affected by a scandal involving his adopted daughter.

Museums

  • Miyoshi Kyozo Memorial Room (former Omori Branch, Kinugawa Elementary School) Ōshū, Iwate Prefecture, Japan (former Kinugawa Village) Opened in 2001

Academic Societies

  • Japan Writers' Association
  • Japan PEN Club

Archives

  • National Diet Library (Authority ID: 00045808)
  • Authority records such as VIAF and ISNI exist

In Popular Culture

  • Film adaptations of 'Kosodate Gokko' and 'Branch School Diary'
  • Scandal involving his adopted daughter reported in the mass media

Quotes

  • I have believed since my youth that I was born and raised in abject poverty.
    Source: Interview / reference (cited in sources such as 'Nedan no Meiji Taisho Showa Fūzoku-shi') (1987)

Trivia

  • Birth name: Hisao Sasaki (佐々木久雄).
  • His relationship with his adopted daughter Chihiro Hirose became a widely reported scandal.
  • The faculty room of the former Omori branch school has been preserved as the 'Miyoshi Kyozo Memorial Room.'
  • Graduated from Keio University Faculty of Letters via correspondence course in 1971.