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Shozo Ogitani

おうぎや しょうぞう

Ogitani Shozo

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1913-03-28 （Wakuya, Tōda District, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan）
Died
1992-04-10 age 79
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Wakuya, Tōda District, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan → Aomori Prefecture (worked at Asahi Shimbun Aomori bureau) → Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture (worked at Asahi Shimbun Sendai bureau) → Tokyo, Japan (worked at The Asahi Shimbun; later writing career)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Editor, Journalist, TV host
Active Years
1935-1992
Affiliations
The Asahi Shimbun, Weekly Asahi, Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV)
Memberships
Member, Central Council for Education (Japan)
Influenced By
Soichi Oya, ,
Influenced
, Postwar weekly magazine editors

Education

Ishinomaki Middle School (prewar)
Country: Japan
A prewar secondary school. Exact attendance period unknown.
Second Higher School (prewar)
Country: Japan
A prewar higher school. Details unknown.
Tokyo Imperial University (now University of Tokyo)
Faculty of Letters / Department of National History
Degree: 学士 (Bachelor of Arts)
Period: 1931-1935
Year of Graduation: 1935
Country: Japan
Graduated from the Department of National History. Institution is now the University of Tokyo.

Awards

Kikuchi Kan Prize
1953
Organization: Kikuchi Kan Prize Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Rising Philippines

1943 War reportage / Military history

A wartime report based on his experiences as a war correspondent in the Philippines.

WarWar correspondencePhilippines

Pencil Life

1951 Essays

A collection of light essays reflecting on daily life and workplace observations.

EssaysDaily lifeWorkplace

Introduction to Modern Mass Media

1977 Journalism / Non-fiction

Based on his experience as editor of Weekly Asahi, discusses practical aspects and issues of modern mass media.

Mass mediaEditingReporting

The Penman of Sunset: My Media Memoirs

1989 Memoir

A memoir recounting his postwar media relationships and experiences as an editor.

MemoirMedia networksRole as an editor

Bibliography

  • Rising Philippines (1943)
  • Our Newspaper (1949)
  • Pencil Life (1951)
  • Pencil War Chronicle (1952)
  • Life's Suitcase: Essays (1955-56)
  • Modern Mass Media: Memoirs of the Weekly Asahi Editor (1957)
  • My University: Dedicated to the Next Generation (1958)
  • An Outsider's View of the West (1959)
  • Sweet-and-Sour Travelogue (1961)
  • Media Social Interactions (1963)
  • Grit of the Salaryman (1964)
  • How to Write Modern Japanese: 12 Principles (1965)
  • An Experiential Theory of the Salaryman (1965)
  • Young People! There Is No Night Without Morning (1966)
  • From Father to Daughter: Wisdom to Be Loved (1966)
  • How to Read Newspapers Well (1966)
  • Introduction to Being a Journalist (1966)
  • My Youth Days (1967)
  • Speeches That Move People: How to Become a Compelling Speaker (1969)
  • Only the Silkworm Spits Silk (1970)
  • People Are the True Treasure (1970)
  • The Epic of the 'Do-It-Now' Section (1971)
  • Experience Is My Teacher (1971)
  • Best Wedding Speeches: A Bouquet of Love and Emotion (1971)
  • To Those Who Follow (1972)
  • Be Blown by the Outer Wind: Conversations (1972)
  • Introduction to Modern Journalism (1972)
  • Be Responsible for Your Own Face (1973)
  • Tomorrow the Wind Will Blow: Dialogues (1973)
  • Small Change of Modern History (1973)
  • Know the Morning Before the Sun Rises: Conversations (1974)
  • Life: Much to Learn — Conversations (1974)
  • Flowers, Towns, People: Second Modern History Small Change (1974)
  • Red Plum Is Red to the Core: Conversations (1974)
  • Gentlemen! Don't Work by Your Business Card (1975)
  • Lessons of Momotaro: Surviving an Era of Economic Slowdown (1976)
  • The Owl Bulletin (1977)
  • What Is Ikigai? Conversations (1978)
  • New Collection of Business Aphorisms (1979)
  • Modern Business Aphorisms (1979)
  • Good Listener, Good Speaker: A Course for Citizens (1979)
  • 300 Example Greetings for Troubled Times (1979)
  • Three Strategies to Survive the 1980s (1980)
  • On Business Writing: Continued Modern Writing Methods (1980)
  • Forty and a Mademoiselle: Madame Aphorisms (1981)
  • Turning Inferiority into Strength: Continued Business Aphorisms (1981)
  • Everyone But Myself Is My Teacher: Conversations (1981)
  • Arrogance of Ignorance: Critique of Modern Newspapers (1982)
  • Keys to Overcoming a Businessman's Crisis (1982)
  • 12 Chapters Dedicated to Young Samurai (1983)
  • 365 Stories as an Asset (1983)
  • Conditions of a Leader: 'Forgiveness' as Everything (1983)
  • Conditions of a Great Salaryman: Conversations (1983)
  • The New-Sensitivity Era (1985)
  • If You Pray, Flowers Bloom: 12 Women on Conditions for Success (1985)
  • Manners of Language Use (1986)
  • What Is Problem Awareness? Learning from the City (1987)
  • A Man with a Wake: Future Managers (1987)
  • Why Masamune Now: Exploring Tomorrow's Male Image (1987)
  • Smile with Your Face, Cry with Your Heart (1989)
  • The Penman of Sunset: My Media Memoirs (1989)
  • A Lady with a Dog: Selected Essays (1990)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Plain, conversational proseEssayistic and accessible stylePractical, self-help oriented tone
Recurring Motifs
Media criticismSalaryman ethosReflections on life / self-improvement

Health

  • Stuttering
    He is recorded as having a stutter. It reportedly affected public speaking to some degree, but he continued hosting and giving lectures.

Legacy

As a long-serving editor of Weekly Asahi he influenced postwar magazine culture. Through his writings on mass media and self-help books he became widely known; he also appeared as a TV host, leaving a mark as an editor and journalist.

Archives

  • National Diet Library (holdings)
  • The Asahi Shimbun Archives

In Popular Culture

  • Known by the nickname 'Demon of Weekly Magazines'
  • Served as host of the TV program 'Shunkashūtō'

Quotes

  • There is no night without morning.
    Source: 'Young People! There Is No Night Without Morning' (book) (1966)

Trivia

  • Served as a war correspondent during the Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War.
  • Received the Kikuchi Kan Prize in 1953.
  • Known by the nickname 'Demon of Weekly Magazines'.
  • Served as a member of the Central Council for Education in 1972.