Japanese Literary Awards

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Makoto Ooka

おおおか まこと

Ooka Makoto

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1931-02-16 （Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan）
Died
2017-04-05 （Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan） age 86
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan → Suginami, Tokyo (e.g. Ogikubo) → Mitaka, Tokyo → Chofu (Jindaiji), Tokyo → Iidabashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo → Susono, Shizuoka, Japan

Career

Occupations
Poet, Literary critic, Translator, Editor, University professor
Active Years
1955-2017
Affiliations
Meiji University (Professor), Tokyo University of the Arts (Professor Emeritus), Japan PEN Club (former President), Japan Art Academy (Member), Hitotsubashi Foundation (Director)
Memberships
Japan PEN Club, Japan Art Academy, Japan Modern Poets Association, Museum of Modern Japanese Literature (board/affiliate)
Influenced By
Uho Kubota, Shuntaro Tanikawa
Influenced
Postwar and contemporary poets (through linked-poem / collaborative poetry practices)

Education

University of Tokyo
Faculty of Letters / Department of Japanese Literature
Degree: 学士
Period: 1950-1953
Year of Graduation: 1953
Country: Japan
Graduation thesis on Natsume Sōseki
First Higher School (old system)
Period: 1948-1950
Country: Japan

Awards

Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize
1969
Work: The Lineage of the Prodigal (essay collection)
Organization: Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Literature Prize (Criticism/Biography)
1972
Work: Kibu no Kanefusa (biography) / Kii Kanen? (Kikuni?)
Category: 評論・伝記
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Mugen Prize
1979
Work: Spring, To a Maiden (poetry collection)
Organization: Mugen Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Kikuchi Kan Prize
1980
Work: Occasional Songs (Asahi newspaper series)
Organization: Kikuchi Kan Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Gendai-shi Hanatsubaki Prize
1989
Work: Message to the Waters of Home (poetry collection)
Organization: Gendai-shi Hanatsubaki Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Arts Encouragement Prize (Minister of Education)
1990
Work: Sugawara no Michizane: The Aesthetics of the Copy (criticism)
Organization: Arts Encouragement
Result: 受賞
Tokyo Metropolitan Cultural Award
1993
Organization: Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Result: 受賞
Poetry and Literature Museum Prize
1993
Work: Afternoon in the Terrestrial Paradise (poetry collection)
Organization: Poetry and Literature Museum
Result: 受賞
Japan Art Academy Prize and Imperial Award
1995
Organization: Japan Art Academy
Result: 受賞
Struga Poetry Evenings Golden Wreath
1996
Organization: Struga Poetry Evenings Organizing Committee
Result: 受賞（海外詩祭）
Asahi Prize
1997
Organization: Asahi Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Japan Foundation Award
2002
Organization: Japan Foundation
Result: 受賞
Order of Culture
2003
Organization: Government of Japan (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
Result: 受章
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier)
1989
Organization: Government of France
Result: 受章（シュヴァリエ）
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Officier)
1993
Organization: Government of France
Result: 受章（オフィシエ）
Légion d'honneur (Officier)
2004
Organization: Government of France
Result: 受章（オフィシエ）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Memory and the Present

1956 Poetry collection

Debut collection containing early representative poems that signaled new postwar poetic expression in Japan.

memorymodernityurban life

My Poetry and Truth

1962 Essays / Poetry

A volume combining poems and critical essays, reflecting on poetic practice and criticism.

poeticslanguageexpression
Adaptations
  • [Music (song / orchestral)] Reef (poem set to music by Tōru Takemitsu for soprano and orchestra) (1962)
Translations
  • Selected poems translated into English and other languages

Kikaku? / Kibi Kaney? (Kikawakan?)

1971 Biography / Criticism

A study and biographical consideration of the classical poet Ki no Tsurayuki / Ki no Kuran? (work on Kikazumi).

classicsbiographypoetry

Occasional Songs (newspaper column series)

1979 Essays / short poetry columns

A short-poem style column serialized in the Asahi Shimbun from 1979 to 2007; collected into multiple volumes.

short poetrydaily lifeintroducing classical and modern verse
Translations
  • Multiple translations into English, French, Arabic, etc.

Bibliography

  • Memory and the Present (1956)
  • My Poetry and Truth (1962)
  • On Contemporary Poets (1969)
  • Occasional Songs (column, 1979-2007)
  • Collected Poems of Makoto Ooka (collected editions)

Adaptations

  • Film 'Asaki Yumemishi' (1974, script by Makoto Ooka; dir. Akio Jissoji)
  • Opera 'The Will of Fire' (libretto by Makoto Ooka; composed by Toshi Ichiyanagi, 1995)
  • Choral suite 'Ark' (text by Makoto Ooka; composed by Maki Kinoshita, 1980)

Translations by Author

  • Herbert Read, 'History of Modern Painting' (translation, 1962)
  • Jean-Henri Fabre, 'Souvenirs entomologiques' (children's translation, 1967)
  • Poems of John Ashbery (co-translation, 1993)

Translations of Works

  • English translations
  • Finnish translations
  • French translations
  • German translations
  • Dutch translations
  • Chinese translations
  • Spanish translations
  • Macedonian translations
  • Arabic translations

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Accessible, newspaper-like voiceDialogic and expository essayistic styleCritical prose that bridges classical and modern literatureExperimental practice rooted in linked-poem (collaborative) production
Recurring Motifs
language (the power of words)classical poetry (Manyoshu, Kokinshu)nostalgia and landscapelinked-poems / collaborative compositionintersection of poetry and music

Health

  • respiratory failure
    2017-04
    Died in April 2017 of respiratory failure
  • difficulty speaking (late life)
    晩年
    Experienced difficulty speaking in later years, affecting public readings and conversations

Legacy

A leading postwar Japanese poet and critic who promoted collaborative linked-poetry (ren-shi) and introduced verse to wide readership through his long Asahi newspaper column 'Occasional Songs'. He received many domestic and international honors including the Order of Culture; his collections and papers have been preserved in institutional archives.

Museums

  • Makoto Ooka Kotobakan (Ooka Makoto Language Museum) Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan Opened in 2009
  • Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature (recipient of the Makoto Ooka archive) Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan Opened in 2017

Academic Societies

  • Japan PEN Club
  • Japan Art Academy
  • Japan Modern Poets Association

Archives

  • Makoto Ooka Archive (Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature)
  • Meiji University Library (donation of Ooka's personal library)
  • Collections of the Makoto Ooka Kotobakan (donated / exhibited)

In Popular Culture

  • His Asahi Shimbun column 'Occasional Songs' was widely read by the general public for decades and was published in numerous book volumes.
  • Some of his poems and essays have been adopted into middle- and high-school textbooks, demonstrating influence in education.

Quotes

  • I believe writing should be grounded in the style of newspaper articles. No matter how complex the thought, it is meaningless if it does not reach people.
    Source: Interview / collected remarks (various bibliographic sources)
  • Linked-poetry (ren-shi) is a form of collaborative poetic creation and an experiment that expands the field of language.
    Source: Writings and lectures

Trivia

  • 'Occasional Songs' ran in the Asahi Shimbun from 1979 and concluded in 2007 after 6,762 installments.
  • He founded and promoted 'linked-poems' (collaborative poetry) and actively participated in international linked-poetry events.
  • In 2009 the Makoto Ooka Kotobakan opened in Mishima, Shizuoka (its collections have since been donated/relocated to institutional archives).