North Japan Literary Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 21 (1986) award
Isao Morita
もりた いさお
Morita Isao
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1926-06-16 （Takehara Village, Ichishi District, Mie Prefecture (now Tsu, Mie, Japan)）
- Died
- 1998-03-03 age 71
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
Career
- Occupations
- physician, writer
- Active Years
- 1953-1998
- Affiliations
- Juntendo University, Department of Pathology, Mitakadai Clinic
- Memberships
- Japan Writers' Association, Japanese Society of Pathology
- Influenced By
- Toshio Banno (Toshio Tomo)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hiroshima Higher School (pre-war) | — | Science | — | 1945 (入学、被爆により学業中断) | Japan |
| Mie Prefectural Medical University (now Mie University, Faculty of Medicine) | Faculty of Medicine | School of Medicine | 医学士 | 1949-1953 | Japan |
| Juntendo University, Faculty of Medicine | Faculty of Medicine | Department of Pathology | 医学博士 | 1955-1967（在職）、1961年医学博士取得 | Japan |
Hiroshima Higher School (pre-war)
Science
Period:
1945 (入学、被爆により学業中断)
Country:
Japan
Entered Hiroshima Higher School in 1945 (science), but studies were interrupted by atomic bombing exposure.
Mie Prefectural Medical University (now Mie University, Faculty of Medicine)
Faculty of Medicine
/ School of Medicine
Degree:
医学士
Period:
1949-1953
Year of Graduation:
1953
Country:
Japan
Graduated under difficult financial circumstances.
Juntendo University, Faculty of Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
/ Department of Pathology
Degree:
医学博士
Period:
1955-1967（在職）、1961年医学博士取得
Year of Graduation:
1961
Country:
Japan
Completed doctoral research under Prof. Toshio Banno (Toshio Tomo); promoted to lecturer in pathology in 1961, opened Mitakadai Clinic in 1961, left Juntendo in 1967 to focus on clinical practice.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | North Japan Literary Award | Afterimage | — | Kitanippon Shimbun | winner |
North Japan Literary Award
1987
Work:
Afterimage
Organization:
Kitanippon Shimbun
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
A Doctor in a Doctorless Village
1976 medical fictionDebut work depicting a physician working in areas lacking medical care, portraying the realities of clinical practice and local healthcare issues.
rural medicinemedical ethicsdoctor-patient relationships
The Demon Hand of the Underworld
1978 medical fictionSet in the Department of Pathology at Juntendo University; depicts the pathology field and the lives of researchers.
pathologymedical researchworkplace human relations
The Four Seasons of a Clinic
1979 essays / medical essaysAn essay collection chronicling a year at a clinic and interactions with patients, conveying both warmth and hardships of community medicine.
clinic lifeeveryday practicecommunity
Afterimage
1987 fictionA work interweaving atomic-bomb survivor experience and medical perspective; recipient of the North Japan Literary Award.
atomic bomb exposurememorymedicine and mortality
A Quack's Walk
1995 essaysAn essay collection recounting clinic episodes and the author's reflections, blending humor with introspection.
clinic lifeself-deprecating physician voiceeveryday observation
Bibliography
- A Doctor in a Doctorless Village
- The Demon Hand of the Underworld
- The Four Seasons of a Clinic
- Murmurs of a Quack
- White Epitaph
- A Quack Doctor's True Thoughts
- Afterimage
- A Quack's Justification
- Tears of a Quack
- Shining Waveforms
- A Quack's One Remark
- A Quack's Hope
- Tales of the Grass Path
- A Quack's Walk
- A Quack's Crucial Moment
- Just Nausea (Monthly Health)
- Town Doctor Rolls Up His Sleeves (posthumous)
- Forty Years as a Town Doctor (posthumous)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- realistic, plain narrative styledetailed depictions grounded in clinical experienceessayistic tone mixing humor and self-reflection
- Recurring Motifs
- clinical settingsrural clinicsatomic bomb survivor experiencelife and death
Health
-
Hiroshima atomic bomb exposure1945-終生Exposed to the atomic bombing while at Hiroshima Higher School; subsequently suffered repeated unexplained hemorrhages and lived with concern about developing leukemia.
-
colon cancer〜1998Died of colon cancer in 1998.
Legacy
Recognized as a physician-writer who drew on clinical experience and atomic-bomb survivor memories to portray rural medicine and pathology. He began his literary career after age 50 and left a body of work documenting the realities of community healthcare.
Academic Societies
- Japan Writers' Association
- Japanese Society of Pathology
Trivia
- Began his writing career at age 50 (debuted in 1976 with 'A Doctor in a Doctorless Village').
- Exposed to the Hiroshima atomic bombing while at school; the experience influenced his writing.
- Earned a medical doctorate at Juntendo University, served as a pathology lecturer, then opened a clinic.
- Won the North Japan Literary Award in 1987 for 'Afterimage'.