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Fumio Okabe

おかべ ふみお

Okabe Fumio

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1908-04-25 （Shika, Hakui District, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan）
Died
1990-08-09 age 82
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Shika, Hakui District, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan → Various locations in the Hokushin'etsu region, Japan → Harue, Sakai District, Fukui Prefecture, Japan

Career

Occupations
tanka poet, editor (tanka journal)
Active Years
1927-1990
Influenced By
Tetsuhisa Tsubono, Chikashi Koizumi, Kiyozō Fujisawa

Education

Nishogakusha Vocational School
Period: 1920年代 - 中退
Country: Japan
Did not complete degree (dropped out)

Awards

Japan Poets Club Prize
1981
Work: Late Winter
Organization: Japan Poets Club
Result: winner
Tanka Kenkyu (Tanka Research) Prize
1983
Work: Yuki (Snow); Koi (Carp)
Organization: Tanka Kenkyu (Tanka Research)
Result: winner
Choko (Toko) Prize
1987
Work: Yukiten (Snowy Sky)
Organization: Choko Prize Committee
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Cry from the Abyss

1930 Tanka collection

Early proletarian tanka collection; includes pieces that were banned at the time.

proletariansocial issues

Rock Drillers

1930 Tanka collection

Proletarian tanka depicting labor and the lower strata of society; was banned.

laborclass

A Horde of Ashen Whites

1939 Tanka collection

A collection from the late 1930s showing shifts in style.

naturesociety

Cold Pheasant Collection

1946 Tanka collection

Postwar collection incorporating regional and seasonal sensibilities.

winterlocality

Wind

1948 Tanka collection

Published in 1948; includes works from around the time he founded the journal Kaichō.

naturelandscape

Deep Winter

1948 Tanka collection

A winter-themed collection published as part of the Himi cultural series.

wintersolitude

Snow Flame

1949 Tanka collection

Published in 1949; many poems use snow and winter as motifs.

snowseason

Canal

1949 Tanka collection

One collection that takes urban waterways as subject matter.

canalsurban life

On the Stone

1952 Tanka collection

Published by Kaichō Tanka Society; notable for rooted regional perspectives.

stonehomeland

Aoyuzu Collection

1975 Tanka collection

A collection compiling tanka published in the 1970s.

maturityretrospection

Frost on the Stone

1977 Tanka collection

Collection from the late period; includes winter scenes and reflections on life.

winterreflection

Late Winter

1980 Tanka collection

Published in 1980; includes the works that won the 8th Japan Poets Club Prize.

winterold age

Snowmelt

1982 Tanka collection

A collection focused on snow and seasonal transitions.

snowseasonal change

Noto

1985 Tanka collection

Poems evoking the Noto and Hokuriku landscapes, including his native region.

localitynature

Snowy Sky

1986 Tanka collection

A group of poems themed on snow; includes works that won the 21st Choko Prize.

snowwinter landscape

Himi

1992 Tanka collection (editor)

Edited by the Kaichō Tanka Society; published posthumously in 1992, compiling his works and related material.

localityeditorial compilation

Collected Tanka of Fumio Okabe

2008 Collected works

A complete collection compiled and published by Tanka Shimbunsha in 2008.

collected worksretrospective

Bibliography

  • Cry from the Abyss (tanka collection, Kogyokudo, Feb 1930)
  • Rock Drillers (proletarian tanka collection, Kogyokudo, Sep 1930)
  • Ishikawa (co-authored with Kenji Yamamoto, Aogaki-kai, Oct 1937)
  • A Horde of Ashen Whites (tanka collection, Shinpu-shisha, Jun 1939)
  • Cold Pheasant Collection (tanka collection, Aogaki-kai, Sep 1946)
  • Wind (tanka collection, Takamine Shobo, Jul 1948)
  • Deep Winter (tanka collection, Himi Shinbunsha, Feb 1948)
  • Snow Flame (tanka collection, Tateyama Tosho Shuppansha, Sep 1949)
  • Canal (tanka collection, Shinkyo Publishing, 1949)
  • On the Stone (tanka collection, Kaichō Tanka Society, Dec 1952)
  • Aoyuzu Collection (tanka collection, Tanka Shimbunsha, May 1975)
  • Frost on the Stone (tanka collection, Tanka Shimbunsha, Apr 1977)
  • Late Winter (tanka collection, Tanka Shimbunsha, Apr 1980)
  • Snowmelt (tanka collection, Tanka Shimbunsha, May 1982)
  • Noto (tanka collection, Tanka Shimbunsha, Jun 1985)
  • Snowy Sky (tanka collection, Tanka Shimbunsha, Oct 1986)
  • Himi (tanka collection, edited by Kaichō Tanka Society, Tanka Shimbunsha, Oct 1992)
  • Collected Tanka of Fumio Okabe (Tanka Shimbunsha, Aug 2008)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Moved from colloquial and free-form tanka back toward classical fixed-form tankaBlend of proletarian tanka influence with regional and seasonal imagery
Recurring Motifs
snowwinterstonecanalsNoto (homeland)

Legacy

Fumio Okabe began as a proletarian tanka poet and later founded the tanka journal Kaichō, returning to classical fixed-form tanka. He is noted for regional and seasonal imagery—especially winter—and received several major tanka awards.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Poets Club
  • Tanka Research-related organizations

Trivia

  • His early collections Cry from the Abyss and Rock Drillers were banned.
  • Influenced by fellow townsman Tetsuhisa Tsubono and active on the tanka scene from around 1927.
  • After retirement he lived in Harue, Fukui Prefecture.