Japanese Literary Awards

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Kazuhiro Nagata

ながた かずひろ

Nagata Kazuhiro

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1947-05-12 （Takashima, Shiga, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
tanka poet, cell biologist, university professor
Active Years
1966-
Affiliations
To (tanka society), Kyoto University Institute for Biomedical Research (Professor Emeritus), Kyoto Sangyo University (Professor Emeritus), Bioresource Institute, JT Life History Museum (Director)
Influenced By
Kuniyo Takayasu
Influenced
Hiroshi Yoshikawa, Kurara Chibana

Education

Kyoto University
Faculty of Science / Department of Physics
Degree: 学士
Period: 1966-1971
Year of Graduation: 1971
Country: Japan
Began writing tanka while an undergraduate
Kyoto University
Graduate School of Science / Graduate School (Doctoral program)
Degree: 博士（理学）
Period: 1971-1979
Year of Graduation: 1979
Country: Japan
PhD for research on quality control of proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum

Awards

Gendai Kajin Shūkai Prize
1975
Work: Möbius Horizon
Organization: Gendai Kajin Shūkai
Result: winner
Terayama Shuji Tanka Prize
1997
Work: Fahrenheit
Organization: Terayama Shuji Tanka Prize Committee
Result: winner
Wakayama Bokusui Prize
1998
Work: Aiba
Organization: Wakayama Bokusui Prize Committee
Result: winner
Yomiuri Literature Prize (Poetry/Haiku)
1999
Work: Aiba
Category: 詩歌俳句賞
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: winner
Japan Tanka Poets Club Prize
2002
Work: Kōjin (The Wild God)
Organization: Japan Tanka Poets Club
Result: winner
Arts Selection Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award
2004
Work: Wind Rank
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Result: winner
Chōkū Prize
2004
Work: Wind Rank
Organization: Chōkū Prize Committee
Result: winner
Saitō Mokichi Tanka Literature Prize
2008
Work: Later Days
Organization: Saitō Mokichi Prize Committee
Result: winner
Order of the Purple Ribbon
2009
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: recipient
Yamamoto Kenkichi Literary Prize
2010
Work: Hiyori (Fine Weather)
Organization: Yamamoto Kenkichi Prize Committee
Result: winner
Kyoto City Cultural Merit
2011
Organization: City of Kyoto
Result: recipient
Kodansha Essay Award
2013
Work: I Will Probably Cry at the Songs: My Wife Yuko Kono's Ten-Year Struggle
Organization: Kodansha
Result: winner
Japan One-Line Poetry Prize
2013
Work: Summer 2010
Organization: Japan One-Line Poetry Prize Committee
Result: winner
Japan Tanka Poets Club Criticism Prize
2015
Work: Modern Masterpieces of Tanka
Organization: Japan Tanka Poets Club
Result: winner
Hans Neurath Award (The Protein Society)
2017
Organization: The Protein Society
Result: recipient
Gendai Tanka Grand Prize
2017
Work: Kazuhiro Nagata Collected Works I
Organization: Gendai Tanka Grand Prize Committee
Result: winner
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays
2019
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: recipient
Mainichi Art Award
2022
Organization: Mainichi Shimbun
Result: recipient
Kyoto Prefecture Culture Award — Special Lifetime Achievement
2022
Organization: Kyoto Prefecture
Result: recipient

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Möbius Horizon

1975 Tanka collection 88 pages

Debut tanka collection containing early works influenced by avant-garde and youthful tones.

youthselfscience

Aiba

1998 Tanka collection 120 pages

A collection of tanka using daily life and memory as material; one of his award-winning major works.

familymemorylandscape

Wind Rank

2003 Tanka collection 140 pages

A mature collection characterized by nostalgia and an attentive view of the everyday.

everyday lifenaturetime

I Will Probably Cry at the Songs: My Wife Yuko Kono's Ten-Year Struggle

2012 Essay/Non-fiction 224 pages

An essay collection chronicling his wife Yuko Kono's illness and the family's life; widely read and appreciated.

lossfamilymemory
Adaptations
  • [TV drama] That Chest Was Far Like a Cape (based on the book) / NHK production (2022)

Bibliography

  • Möbius Horizon
  • Golden Ratio
  • Infinite Orbit
  • Fahrenheit
  • Aiba
  • Kōjin
  • Wind Rank
  • Later Days
  • Hiyori
  • I Will Probably Cry at the Songs

Adaptations

  • NHK drama 'That Chest Was Far Like a Cape' (2022) — based on Nagata's book

Style & Themes

Literary Style
influence of avant-garde tankaclear, intellectual diction
Recurring Motifs
familyscientific perspectivedaily scenes

Legacy

Active both as a tanka poet and a cell biologist. Respected as a theorist in the tanka world and for significant research contributions in cell biology.

Archives

  • National Diet Library (materials related to Kazuhiro Nagata)

In Popular Culture

  • Adapted into an NHK drama in 2022, which introduced his work to a broader public.

Quotes

  • I will probably cry at the songs.
    Source: I Will Probably Cry at the Songs: My Wife Yuko Kono's Ten-Year Struggle (2012)

Trivia

  • His wife was tanka poet Yuko Kono (d. 2010).
  • His son Atsushi Nagata and daughter Kurenai Nagata are also tanka poets.
  • In his scientific research he discovered key ER-related genes such as EDEM1 and ERdj5.