Bungakukai Newcomer Award
1 appearances
Kazuo Okamatsu
おかまつ かずお
Okamatsu Kazuo
Pen Names:
Aoyagi Kazuo（Pen name used during his student years; used for a publication in Bungei magazine.）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1931-06-23 （Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan）
- Died
- 2012-01-21 （Japan） age 80
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Scholar of Japanese literature, High school teacher, University lecturer
- Active Years
- 1955-2012
- Affiliations
- Yokohama Gakuen High School, Kanto Gakuin Junior College (Department of Japanese Literature), Kanto Gakuin University (corresponding later affiliation)
- Influenced By
- Ikkyū Sōjun (important research subject)
- Nominations
- 70th Akutagawa Prize nominee — 'Ochiru Otoko' (1974), 71st Akutagawa Prize nominee — 'A Village with Small Crabs' (1974), 72nd Akutagawa Prize nominee — 'Kumano' (1975), 12th Kawabata Yasunari Literature Prize nominee — 'Omokage' (1985)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fukuoka Prefectural Fukuoka High School (incl. prewar system) | — | — | — | — | Japan |
| University of Tokyo, Faculty of Letters | Faculty of Letters | Department of Japanese Literature (records indicate initial enrollment/association with French literature) | 学士 | 1954-1956 | Japan |
Fukuoka Prefectural Fukuoka High School (incl. prewar system)
Country:
Japan
University of Tokyo, Faculty of Letters
Faculty of Letters
/ Department of Japanese Literature (records indicate initial enrollment/association with French literature)
Degree:
学士
Period:
1954-1956
Year of Graduation:
1956
Country:
Japan
Entered in 1954 and graduated from the Department of Japanese Literature in 1956. Some records note association with the Department of French Literature.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Bungei National Student Novel Contest — Honorable Mention (First Place) | Memory of the Lily | — | Bungei (magazine) | 佳作第一席 |
| 1959 | Bungakukai New Author Prize | Wall | — | Bungakukai (magazine) | 受賞 |
| 1976 | Akutagawa Prize | Shikashima (Shika Island) | — | Bungeishunjū (selection committee) | 受賞 |
| 1986 | Nitta Jirō Literature Prize | Song of a Foreign Land | — | Nitta Jirō Literature Prize Committee | 受賞 |
| 1998 | Kiyama Shōhei Literature Prize | A Dwelling on the Pass | — | Kiyama Shōhei Literature Prize Committee | 受賞 |
Bungei National Student Novel Contest — Honorable Mention (First Place)
1955
Work:
Memory of the Lily
Organization:
Bungei (magazine)
Result:
佳作第一席
Bungakukai New Author Prize
1959
Work:
Wall
Organization:
Bungakukai (magazine)
Result:
受賞
Akutagawa Prize
1976
Work:
Shikashima (Shika Island)
Organization:
Bungeishunjū (selection committee)
Result:
受賞
Nitta Jirō Literature Prize
1986
Work:
Song of a Foreign Land
Organization:
Nitta Jirō Literature Prize Committee
Result:
受賞
Kiyama Shōhei Literature Prize
1998
Work:
A Dwelling on the Pass
Organization:
Kiyama Shōhei Literature Prize Committee
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Akutagawa Prize
1 appearances
Nitta Jiro Literary Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 5 (1986) award
Kiyama Shohei Literary Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 2 (1998) award
Works
Major Works
A Village with Small Crabs
1974 Fiction (short stories)A collection of short stories depicting rural landscapes and interpersonal relationships, characterized by nostalgia and vivid natural imagery.
NostalgiaNatureHuman relationships
Kumano
1974 NovelA novel set against the nature and history of Kumano, exploring the relationship between land and people.
Regional identityHistoryNature
Shikashima (Shika Island)
1976 NovelSet on an island by the sea, this work portrays human loneliness and memory. Winner of the Akutagawa Prize.
LonelinessMemorySea
Song of a Foreign Land
1985 NovelA work thematizing overseas stays and the sense of being in a foreign land. Winner of the Nitta Jirō Literature Prize.
Sense of foreignnessSelf-recognitionCultural differences
A Dwelling on the Pass
1997 NovelDepicts mountain scenery and the people who live there. Winner of the Kiyama Shōhei Literature Prize.
NatureCommunityAging and inheritance
Broken String
1993 NovelA mid/long-length work about confronting personal memories and the past.
MemoryConfrontation with the past
Bibliography
- A Village with Small Crabs
- Kumano
- Shikashima (Shika Island)
- Wake Deeply
- The Woman Carrying a Bowl
- The Season of Poetry
- Days When the Soul Trembles
- Human Fire
- The Wind Gone Mad
- Treading Thin Ice
- Pure Life
- Forest of Camphor Trees
- Song of a Foreign Land
- Lipstick
- Fortress of the Sea
- Tender Woman
- Legends of Ikkyū
- Days in Beijing
- Broken String
- A Dwelling on the Pass
- Notes on Sanetomo (Jitsucho Shikisho)
- The Sensation of Selflessness
- Picture of a Boy Airman
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Concise, lyrical descriptionNarrative incorporating classical elements
- Recurring Motifs
- Islands/sea/natureNostalgiaReligious motifs (notably themes related to Ikkyū)
Health
-
Pneumonia2012-01Contracted pneumonia in January 2012 and subsequently passed away.
Legacy
Kazuo Okamatsu was a postwar Japanese writer focused on short and mid-length fiction, notable for winning the Akutagawa Prize in 1976 among other honors. As a scholar of Japanese literature he researched figures such as Ikkyū; his lyrical works on region and nature are well regarded.
Archives
- National Diet Library (author file)
Trivia
- In 1955, under the pen name Aoyagi Kazuo, he won the Bungei National Student Novel Contest (Honorable Mention First Place) for 'Memory of the Lily'.
- Some records indicate involvement in publishing complete translations of Lafcadio Hearn (Koizumi Yakumo) works in the 1960s.
- Worked as a scholar of Japanese literature and researched Ikkyū Sōjun.