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Kazuo Okuyama

おくやま かずお

Okuyama Kazuo

Pen Names: Kazuo Okuyama（Pen name used for literary works (legal name: Kazuo Okuyama / Kazuo Okuyama)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1939-11-11 （Karafuto (Sakhalin)）
Died
2010-04-04 （Nemuro, Hokkaido, Japan） age 70
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Asahikawa → Nemuro, Hokkaido

Career

Occupations
children's literature author, lyricist
Active Years
1979-2010
Affiliations
Japan Children's Literary Association
Memberships
Japan Children's Literary Association
Influenced By
Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe)

Awards

Kodansha Children's Literature Newcomer Award
1979
Work: The Boy in the Tree
Organization: Kodansha
Result: 佳作
Ogawa Mimei Literary Award
2000
Work: The Sea of Nodoshiro
Organization: Ogawa Mimei Award Committee
Result: 大賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Boy in the Tree

1979 Children's literature

Debut work that won an honorable mention in the Kodansha newcomer award. A coming-of-age story from a boy's perspective focusing on nature.

coming-of-agenature

The Boy Waiting for Salmon

Children's literature / TV original

Work that served as the basis for an HBC television drama. Focuses on a boy in a northern coastal community.

searegional life
Adaptations
  • [TV drama] The Boy Waiting for Salmon / 甫喜本宏 (1981)

The Sea of Nodoshiro

2001 Children's literature 148 pages

Set on the Shiretoko Peninsula, this novel depicts a boy's growth and his relationship with the sea and nature. Inspired by a photo of a southern sea lion, it was written quickly after a long period of conception.

coming-of-ageseanorthern territoriesnature
Adaptations
  • [Animation (planned)] The Sea of Nodoshiro / 四辻たかお
Translations
  • Hongse de Hai (Chinese, Taiwan)

Summer-Colored Sadness

2001 Children's literature 25 pages

A short story published in a supplement of 'Science and Learning' about slightly sentimental boys and girls.

youthsentimentality

Golden Gon (short story)

2002 Children's literature

A short story published in a children's literature journal, featuring a young protagonist.

boyhoodadventure

Bibliography

  • The Boy in the Tree
  • The Boy Waiting for Salmon
  • The Sea of Nodoshiro
  • Summer-Colored Sadness
  • Golden Gon
  • Ah, My Hometown Lies Beyond the Sea (lyrics)

Adaptations

  • The Boy Waiting for Salmon (TV drama)
  • The Sea of Nodoshiro (planned animation, unreleased)

Translations of Works

  • The Sea of Nodoshiro → Hongse de Hai (Chinese, Taiwan, 2009)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realistic depictioncalm, lyrical prosenarration from a boy's perspective
Recurring Motifs
seanorthern landscapesboy's independenceanimals (e.g., sea lions)

Health

  • lung cancer
    2009-2010
    Affected his writing activity, though news of a translation boosted his motivation; he ultimately died in 2010.

Legacy

Remembered as a children's author who wrote vividly about Nemuro and northern regions. He received an honorable mention in the Kodansha newcomer award and the Ogawa Mimei Award grand prize. His works attracted translation and adaptation interest and he participated in regional cultural activities.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Children's Literary Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library (NDL authority entry)
  • VIAF authority entry

In Popular Culture

  • Known as the source for the HBC TV drama 'The Boy Waiting for Salmon'
  • A planned animation adaptation of 'The Sea of Nodoshiro' was reported but never released

Trivia

  • Legal name: Kazuo Okuyama (Okuyama Kazuo).
  • Born in Karafuto in 1939, raised in Asahikawa, later lived in Nemuro.
  • Wrote lyrics for songs about the northern territories from a young age.
  • Won an honorable mention in the Kodansha Children's Literature Newcomer Award in 1979 for 'The Boy in the Tree'.
  • Won the Ogawa Mimei Award grand prize in 2000 for 'The Sea of Nodoshiro'.
  • Worked as a security guard at the Northern Territories Exchange Center later in life.
  • Died of lung cancer in 2010.