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Tetsuo Nakagami

なかがみ てつお

Nakagami Tetsuo

Aliases: 佐野哲夫
Pen Names: Tetsuo Nakagami（Pen name used for his literary work. Birth name is Sano Tetsuo.）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1939-03-06 （Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Osaka City → Tokyo

Career

Occupations
poet, translator
Active Years
1966-
Influenced By
Allen Ginsberg, Beat Generation poets

Education

Tokyo Keizai University
Faculty of Commerce
Country: Japan
Reported to have graduated from the Faculty of Commerce; graduation year not specified.

Awards

Takami Jun Prize
2004
Work: The Night Elvis Died
Organization: Takami Jun Prize Committee
Result: winner
Maruyama Yutaka Memorial Contemporary Poetry Prize
2004
Work: The Night Elvis Died
Organization: Maruyama Yutaka Memorial Prize Committee
Result: winner
Shiika Bungakukan Prize
2013
Work: Jazz Age
Organization: Museum of Modern Japanese Poetry
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Greeting Through the Window of the Down Train

1966 poetry

An early privately printed collection showing experimental and personal poetic voice.

travelmemorydaily life

Memory and Scream

1980 poetry

A 1980 poetry collection mixing introspective motifs with social sensibility.

introspectionsociety

Iowa Winter Tales

1983 poetry

A collection reflecting interest in America and jazz.

American culturemusic

Trees, Water and Family

1996 poetry

A volume of poems themed on family and nature.

familynature

The Night Elvis Died

2003 poetry

A set of poems drawing on American culture and pop imagery; one of his prize-winning major works.

pop culturememory

Jazz Age

2013 poetry

A poetry collection centered on jazz and urban scenes. Winner of the Shiika Bungakukan Prize.

jazzurban life

Modern Poetry Library: Collected Poems of Tetsuo Nakagami

2015 poetry (collected works)

A collected edition of Nakagami's representative poems published by Shicho-sha.

retrospectiveselected works

Bibliography

  • Greeting Through the Window of the Down Train (privately printed, 1966)
  • Memory and Scream (Chuseisha, 1980)
  • Iowa Winter Tales (Doyobi Bijutsusha, 1983)
  • Trees, Water and Family (Furansudo, 1996)
  • The Night Elvis Died (Shoshi Yamada, 2003)
  • Jazz Age (Karinsha, 2013)
  • Modern Poetry Library: Collected Poems of Tetsuo Nakagami (Shicho-sha, 2015)

Translations by Author

  • Michael Raidon 'Rolling Stones' (Shobunsha, 1971)
  • Duke Ellington 'Take the A Train - Duke Ellington Autobiography' (Shobunsha, 1985)
  • Richard Brautigan 'The Days of the Angel who Came Suddenly' (Shicho-sha, 1991)
  • Jack Kerouac 'Desolate Angels' (Shicho-sha, 1994)
  • Jack Kerouac 'Big Sur' (Shinjuku Shobo, 1994/2000, co-translated with Hiroshi Watanabe)
  • Aram Saroyan 'Growing Up in New York - My 1960s' (Shobunsha, 1996)
  • Jack Kerouac 'The Lonely Traveler' (Shinjuku Shobo, 1996)
  • Jack Kerouac 'Paris Satori' (Shicho-sha, 2004)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
free verse influenced by the Beat movementcolloquial and rhythmic expression
Recurring Motifs
jazzAmerican culturetravelmemory

Legacy

A poet shaped by influences from the Beat Generation who developed a distinctive voice in Japanese poetry. Also contributed as a translator introducing American contemporary literature; recipient of multiple poetry awards.

Trivia

  • His birth name is Sano Tetsuo; he uses the pen name Nakagami Tetsuo.
  • Authority identifiers such as ISNI and VIAF are registered for him.