Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Makoto Oda

おだ まこと

Oda Makoto

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1932-06-02 （Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan）
Died
2007-07-30 （Tokyo, Japan） age 75
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Writer, Political activist, Essayist
Active Years
1951-2007
Affiliations
Citizens' League for Peace in Vietnam (Beheiren), Article 9 Association (Kyujo no Kai) — co-initiator
Influenced By
Shunsuke Tsurumi, Ken Kaikō, Kenzaburō Ōe

Education

University of Tokyo, Faculty of Letters
Faculty of Letters / Department of Linguistics
Country: Japan

Awards

Lotus Prize
1988
Work: HIROSHIMA
Organization: Afro-Asian Writers' Conference
Result: 受賞
Kawabata Yasunari Literary Prize
1997
Work: "Abuji" o Fumu
Organization: Kawabata Yasunari Prize Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

I'll See Everything

1961 Travelogue / Essay

A travelogue recounting a round-the-world trip undertaken with a single return ticket and limited funds. Staying in youth hostels and meeting people worldwide, the book became a bestseller and influenced young readers.

travelencounteryouth culture

HIROSHIMA

1981 Non-fiction

A non-fiction work centered on Hiroshima, reflecting on war, the atomic bombing and peace. It received international recognition and contributed to his Lotus Prize accolade.

waratomic bombingpeace

Hiemono

1975 Novel

A novel addressing Zainichi Koreans and marginalized Buraku communities. Its language and depictions sparked protests and controversy.

discriminationsocial criticismmarginalization

Stepping on "Abuji"

1997 Short story

A short story exploring family, memory and social relations. This work won the Kawabata Yasunari Literary Prize in 1997.

familymemoryidentity

Bibliography

  • A Diary of the Day After Tomorrow (1951)
  • The Time of My Life (1956)
  • I'll See Everything (1961)
  • America (1962)
  • Hiemono (1975)
  • HIROSHIMA (1981)
  • Stepping on "Abuji" (1997)
  • Revival of the Middle Class (2007)

Translations by Author

  • Sonmi — translation of Seymour Hersh (Soshisha, 1970)
  • Unbearable Memories — translation of Edmund Desnoes (Chikuma Shobo, 1972)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
essayistic narrationdirect, participatory polemicon-the-ground observational prose
Recurring Motifs
travelcitizen actionpeace and anti-war

Health

  • Stomach (gastric) cancer
    不明（最終的に胃がんにより2007年に死去）
    Died of stomach cancer in 2007; no further new literary activity after illness and death.

Legacy

A writer and public intellectual who influenced youth and civic movements through travelogues, essays and fiction. He played a leading role in anti-Vietnam and citizen movements, while also generating controversy over comments about North Korea and disputed depictions that led to criticism.

Archives

  • Makoto Oda Collected Works (Kodansha, digital edition)
  • NHK Archives — Makoto Oda profile

In Popular Culture

  • Influence on backpacker culture (via 'I'll See Everything')

Quotes

  • Discussion programs normally invite one from the 'right', one from the 'left', and a 'neutral' moderator; I was often invited as a representative of the 'right'.
    Source: Makoto Oda, afterword chronology, in Collected Criticism Vol. 4, Chikuma Shobo, 2002 (2002)
  • If Japan had moved toward normalizing relations with North Korea as it did with South Korea in 1963, the abductions would not have occurred.
    Source: Tokyo Shimbun (expert comment), 18 Sep 2002 (2002)

Trivia

  • Became famous for the travelogue 'I'll See Everything', written after a round-the-world trip on a single return ticket and $200.
  • Was a founding member and leading figure of the anti-Vietnam citizen group Beheiren.
  • Wife was the painter Hyun Sun-ae (Gen Jun-e).
  • His writings and comments about North Korea from the 1970s onward prompted mixed reactions and controversy.