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Issaku Nagasawa

ながさわ いっさく

Nagasawa Issaku

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1926-03-01 （Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan）
Died
2013-10-23 （Japan） age 87
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
tanka poet
Active Years
1943-2013
Affiliations
Japan Writers' Association, Modern Tanka Poets' Association, NHK Gakuen (lecturer)
Memberships
Japan Writers' Association, Modern Tanka Poets' Association
Influenced By
Sataro Sato, Mokichi Saito

Awards

Modern Tanka Poets' Association Award
1959
Work: Matsukokohana
Organization: Modern Tanka Poets' Association
Result: winner
Tanka Kenkyu Award
1970
Work: Shuka (30 tanka)
Organization: Tanka Kenkyusha
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Matsukokohana

1959 tanka

First collection of tanka focusing on delicate depictions of nature and seasons; awarded the Modern Tanka Poets' Association Award in 1959.

natureseasonspersonal memory

Jouun

tanka

A tanka collection published by Tanka Kenkyusha. Exact publication year unknown.

seasonal imageryinner landscapes

Fuyu no Akatsuki

tanka

A collection centered on winter scenes and quietude.

wintersilence

Sekkei

tanka

A collection with poems about snow and cold landscapes.

snownatural description

Shurai (Selected Tanka)

tanka

A selected collection gathering representative works.

autumnrecollection

Reknen

tanka

A collection compiling works across many years.

retrospectivepassing of time

Bibliography

Style & Themes

Literary Style
A style that respects classical tanka forms while expressing a modern sensibilityConcise and lyrical expression
Recurring Motifs
seasonal changenature imagerypersonal reminiscence

Health

  • esophageal cancer
    2013年（罹患・入院・死去の時期）
    Affected late-career activity and led to his death in 2013.

Legacy

Issaku Nagasawa was a tanka poet active from the mid-20th century into the early 21st century, known as a disciple of Sataro Sato. He published multiple collections, received awards including the Modern Tanka Poets' Association Award, and his first collection was republished after his death.

Academic Societies

  • Modern Tanka Poets' Association
  • Japan Writers' Association

Quotes

  • To recite a poem aloud is a set phrase.
    Source: Un'ga No.208 (public dialogue 'Mokichi arekore')

Trivia

  • At 17 he first attended an Araragi tanka gathering and reportedly met Mokichi Saito there.
  • Birth name was Nagasawa Kazusaku.
  • Received the Modern Tanka Poets' Association Award for his first collection 'Matsukokohana'.
  • Died of esophageal cancer in 2013.