Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Tan Onuma

おぬま たん

Onuma Tan

Aliases: 小沼救
Pen Names: Tan Onuma（Pen name used for published fiction and essays (legal name: Onuma Hajime)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1918-09-09 （Shitaya-cho, Shitaya Ward, Tokyo City, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan）
Died
1996-11-08 age 78
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Tokyo (Shitaya) → Shinjuku (Waseda, Tokyo)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, English literature scholar, University professor
Active Years
1939-1996
Affiliations
Faculty of Letters, Waseda University (Professor)
Memberships
Member of the Japan Art Academy
Influenced By
Masuji Ibuse
Nominations
Akutagawa Prize nominee ("The Hotel with a White Peacock", 1955)

Education

Meiji Gakuin (middle & high school)
English (middle/high school division)
Country: Japan
Attended Meiji Gakuin middle and high school (English) before entering Waseda University
Waseda University
Faculty of Letters / Department of English
Degree: 学士
Period: 卒業 - 1942
Year of Graduation: 1942
Country: Japan
Graduated from Waseda University, Faculty of Letters, Department of English in 1942. Later served as a professor at his alma mater.

Awards

Yomiuri Literary Prize
1970
Work: Pocket Watch
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Hirabayashi Taiko Literary Prize
1975
Work: Starling Diary
Organization: Hirabayashi Taiko Literary Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon (3rd class)
1992
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Two Ri on the Chikuma River

1939 Novel

Debut work; a short novel depicting scenes and characters of youth.

nostalgiacoming-of-age

The Stranger in the Village

1954 Novel

A novel that carefully portrays solitude and the distance between people within everyday life; one of his early acclaimed works.

isolationeveryday life

Pocket Watch

1969 Novel

A collection of short and mid-length stories themed around time and memory. Known as the work that won the Yomiuri Literary Prize.

memorytime

Starling Diary

1974 Essays / Fiction

A work mixing essayistic and fictional elements, chronicling observations of daily life and human subtleties. Winner of the Hirabayashi Taiko Literary Prize.

observations of daily lifeessayistic quality

Small Gloves

1976 Short story collection

A short story collection capturing the subtleties of human relationships.

human relationshipssubtle emotions

Bibliography

  • Two Ri on the Chikuma River
  • The Stranger in the Village
  • The Hotel with a White Peacock
  • The Black Handkerchief
  • The Hill Where the Wind Shines
  • Pocket Watch
  • The Mysterious Sooda Water
  • The Steamer
  • The Silver Bell
  • Sarasa Painting
  • Starling Diary
  • Thatched Roof
  • Small Gloves
  • Wood-owl Lantern
  • Wood Pigeon
  • The Green Bus
  • Haniwa Horse
  • Mr. Shimizu Town — About Masuji Ibuse
  • Grinding Coffee
  • Adonis (Fukujusou)
  • The Hill Where the Wind Shines (new/republished editions)
  • Black and White Cat

Translations by Author

  • William Van Narv... (trans.) 'Behind the Iron Curtain', Yomiuri Shimbun, 1949
  • R.L. Stevenson, 'Travels with a Donkey', translated, Ieguki Shobo, 1950 (later reissues)
  • Lin Yutang, 'Wu Zetian', translated, Misuzu Shobo, 1959

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Quiet, detailed depiction of everyday lifeEssayistic narration with lyrical touchesReading sensibility informed by English literary scholarship
Recurring Motifs
fragments of everyday lifenostalgia and memoryhuman dramas within small events

Health

  • Pneumonia
    1996年11月
    Died of pneumonia on 8 November 1996 at age 78

Legacy

Highly regarded as a novelist and essayist who depicted the subtleties of everyday life; his perspective as an English literature scholar is reflected in his work. He taught at Waseda University and was active as a member of the Japan Art Academy.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Art Academy

Trivia

  • Legal name: Onuma Hajime (小沼救).
  • Debut work: 'Two Ri on the Chikuma River' (1939).
  • Graduated from Waseda University's Department of English and later served there as a professor.
  • 'The Hotel with a White Peacock' was an Akutagawa Prize nominee in 1955.
  • 'Pocket Watch' (1969) received the Yomiuri Literary Prize (award year 1970).
  • 'Starling Diary' won the Hirabayashi Taiko Literary Prize (1975).
  • Became a member of the Japan Art Academy in 1989 and was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon (3rd class) in 1992.
  • Buried at Kodaira Cemetery (Kodaira Reien), grave location 4-11-56.
  • Listed Masuji Ibuse as an influence.