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Sae Shuichi

さえ しゅういち

Sae Shuichi

Pen Names: Kakinuma Toshiaki（Birth name）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1934-01-19 （Sakaehisa-chō, Asakusa, Tokyo (now Kuramae 4-chome, Taitō-ku, Tokyo, Japan)）
Died
2020-10-29 age 86
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Sakaehisa-chō, Asakusa, Tokyo (birthplace) → Shiroishi, Miyagi Prefecture (evacuated as schoolchild) → Tochigi Prefecture (mother's family home) → Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture (relocated) → Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture (residence after marriage) → Yokohama (residence)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Playwright, Copywriter, Screenwriter, Essayist
Active Years
1953-2020
Affiliations
Maruzen (employment), Panasonic (Advertising Research Institute — copywriting/marketing roles), Tokai Gakuen University, Junior College — Visiting Professor (1990–1996), Japan Writers' Association (member), Nitta Jiro Memorial Association (councilor), Kanagawa Literary Promotion Association (councilor)
Memberships
Japan Writers' Association (member), Kanagawa Literary Promotion Association (councilor), Nitta Jiro Memorial Association (councilor)
Influenced By
Nakano Shigeharu, Tokunaga Tadashi, Sata Ineko, Sato Haruo (commended his work)
Nominations
Bungakukai Newcomer Prize (finalist), Akutagawa Prize nominee (45th) — 'Mayu' (Cocoon), Akutagawa Prize nominee (48th) — 'Subarashii Sora' (Wonderful Sky), Akutagawa Prize nominee (51st) — 'Kaze' (Wind), Akutagawa Prize nominee (52nd) — 'Kyaku' (The Guest), Akutagawa Prize nominee (53rd) — 'Seinen yo, Taishi o Idakou' (Young Men, Embrace Great Ambitions)

Education

Tochigi Prefectural Tochigi High School
General course
Year of Graduation: 1952
Country: Japan
High school graduate
Chuo Labour Institute, Department of Literature
Department of Literature
Period: 1953-
Country: Japan
Studied under Nakano Shigeharu, Tokunaga Tadashi, Sata Ineko
Bunka Gakuin (Evening Art Department)
Evening Art Department
Country: Japan
Graduated from the evening art course

Awards

Shincho Doujin Magazine Award
1960
Work: Se ("Back")
Organization: Shinchosha
Result: winner
Copy Advertising Conference Award (2nd)
1964
Category: 広告・コピー
Organization: Copy Advertising Conference
Result: winner
Nitta Jiro Literary Prize
1990
Work: Kita no Umiake (North Sea Dawn)
Organization: Nitta Jiro Memorial Association
Result: winner
Bunkamura Dumago Literary Prize
1995
Work: Kōraku ("Yellowing")
Organization: Bunkamura
Result: winner
Nakayama Yoshihide Literary Prize
1996
Work: Edo Shokunin Kitan (Tales of Edo Artisans)
Organization: Nakayama Yoshihide Prize Committee
Result: winner
Asahi Advertising Award
Category: 広告
Organization: The Asahi Shimbun Company
Result: winner
Nikkei Advertising Award
Category: 広告
Organization: Nikkei Inc.
Result: winner
Copywriters' Club Award
Category: 広告
Organization: Copywriters' Club
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Subarashii Sora (Wonderful Sky)

1969 Short story collection

Debut short story collection featuring tales of urban lower-class life; establishes his early literary voice.

Urban lower-class lifeLonelinessHuman drama

Let the Sun Shine on Anger

1971 Novel (social)

His first full-length novel based on reporting about overseas volunteer workers; a social novel exploring societal issues and human conflict.

Social issuesYouth and使命 (mission)Cross-cultural experience

Yokohama Street Life

1983 Non-fiction (reportage)

A reportage based on coverage of Yokohama's lodging-house districts and the homeless-attack incident; addresses urban poverty and violence.

Urban povertyCrime and societyReportage

North Sea Dawn

1989 Historical novel

A historical novel set in Bakumatsu-era Ezo (Hokkaido) depicting people's conflicts and change; winner of the Nitta Jiro Literary Prize.

Bakumatsu periodHistory and human fateLocal communities

Kōraku (Yellowing)

1995 Novel (social)

A novel based on his experience of elderly care. A bestseller about elder caregiving that won the Dumago Literary Prize and was adapted for television and stage.

Elderly caregivingFamily bondsAging society
Adaptations
  • [TV drama] Kōraku (TV drama) (1995)
  • [Stage play] Kōraku (performed by Mingei Theatre Company) (1995)

Rōjuku Kazoku (The Aged Family)

1985 Novel

Portrays an elderly husband whose demented wife committed suicide. Adapted for television and film; the film was screened at Cannes and received awards.

Aging and familyLossSocial perspective
Adaptations
  • [Film] Ningen no Yakusoku (A Human's Promise) / 吉田喜重 (1986)

Edo Artisans' Tales

1995 Period/historical fiction

A period novel focusing on Edo craftsmen; winner of the Nakayama Yoshihide Literary Prize.

ArtisansEdo urban lifeCraftsmanship and commerce

Bibliography

  • Subarashii Sora (Shinchosha) 1969
  • Let the Sun Shine on Anger (Shinchosha) 1971
  • A Complaint to the Rats (Bungeishunju) 1972
  • Marriage of the Cat Clan (Fuyuki-sha) 1973
  • Those Who Jump Into the Dark (Shinchosha) 1973
  • The Passing Bridge (Fuyuki-sha) 1974
  • The Naked Knight and the Sleeping Princess (Bungeishunju) 1974
  • The End of the Sea (Fuyuki-sha) 1974
  • Kaze (Poetry) 1975
  • Komatta Ayatori (Shinchosha) 1975
  • Wall Within: Early Works (Nishizawa Shoten) 1975
  • The Bald Children (Kadokawa Bunko) 1975
  • Far from the Fires of War (Kadokawa) 1976
  • Fake Dolls (Chikuma Shobo) 1977
  • When a Dog Peeks into a Mirror (Rippu Shobo) 1977
  • Traveler's Clock (Kadokawa) 1977
  • Barefoot Spirit (Mainichi Shimbun Publishing) 1979
  • View from the Sea (Shinchosha) 1979
  • Is the Sky Blue? (Mainichi Shimbun Publishing) 1980
  • Walking Through Floods (Asahi Shimbun Publishing) 1980
  • Hat for a Solo Traveler (Bunka Publishing) 1981
  • Asakusa Maze Incident (Shueisha) 1982
  • Yokohama Street Life (Shinchosha) 1983
  • Bubble (Small Bubble) (Shinchosha) 1983
  • How to Fight (Iwanami Junior Shinsho) 1984
  • Strange Planet (Fukutake Publishing) 1984
  • The Aged Family (Shinchosha) 1985
  • Song of the Apple, Our Departure (Shueisha) 1986
  • The Disappeared Child (Fukutake Publishing) 1986
  • Blend Family (Chikuma Shobo) 1988
  • North Sea Dawn (Shinchosha) 1989
  • Pleasures Under the Flowers (Bungeishunju) 1990
  • Suteken: Muso Gennosuke (Shinchosha) 1992
  • Parent and Warrior (Kodansha) 1992
  • Tanaka Shozo (Iwanami Junior Shinsho) 1993
  • Fukyō Kappō-jō (Tokuma Shoten) 1993
  • Shinshu Mafū-den (Kodansha) 1994
  • Kōraku (Shinchosha) 1995
  • Edo Artisans' Tales (Shinchosha) 1995
  • Exploring How to Age (Shinchosha) 1996
  • The Eight Magistrates of Ise (PHP Institute) 1996
  • Edo and the Lanterns (Kodansha) 1997
  • Choosing Happiness (Shinchosha) 1997
  • Afternoon Life (Rippu Shobo) 1997
  • Queens' Current (Shinchosha) 1999
  • Hokkaido Man (Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha) 1999
  • Forty and Beyond: Vitality of Life (Kodansha) 2000
  • Self-playing Koto and Karakuri Dolls: Edo Artisans' Tales (Shinchosha) 2000
  • Sae Shuichi Collected (Librio Publishing) 2000
  • Cast My Corpse into the Fields (Shinchosha) 2002
  • English Study for 65-Year-Old Men (PHP EL Shinsho) 2003
  • Samurai Spirit, Merchant Skill — Godai Tomoatsu (Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha) 2004
  • 98-Day Around-the-World Voyage (Shodensha) 2005
  • The Mind of Sword and Zen (Shincho Shinsho) 2006
  • This Long Night (Shinchosha) 2007
  • Immovability Wins (Shinchosha) 2008
  • Customers of a Showa Pawnshop (Shinchosha) 2010
  • Brother, Sleep in the Blue Sea (Shinchosha) 2012
  • The Sky of Those Days (Kodansha) 2012
  • Ending Paradise (Shinchosha) 2018
  • Corpse of Ambition (Shinchosha) 2021

Adaptations

  • Ningen no Yakusoku (film, 1986, dir. Yoshida Kiju)
  • The Aged Family (TV drama and film adaptations)
  • Kōraku (adapted for TV drama and stage)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Social realismReportage-style narrativeHistorical reconstruction in period fiction
Recurring Motifs
Urban lower-class peopleArtisans and townspeopleLegacy of war experiencesElderly caregivingTravel and foreign cultures

Health

  • Pulmonary adenocarcinoma
    晩年（詳細な罹患期間は非公開）
    Died of pulmonary adenocarcinoma in 2020. Literary activity continued until late life and ended with his death.

Legacy

He established a solid reputation both as a social-realist writer based on reporting and later as a writer of historical/period fiction. Works like 'Kōraku' highlighted eldercare issues in society. Several adaptations and exhibitions at local literature museums attest to his continuing recognition.

Museums

  • Koga Literature Museum (Sae Shuichi exhibition held) Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Japan Writers' Association
  • Kanagawa Literary Promotion Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library (catalogue of works, etc.)
  • Koga Literature Museum (archival holdings)

In Popular Culture

  • The film 'Ningen no Yakusoku' was screened at the Cannes Film Festival, receiving international recognition.
  • 'Kōraku' was adapted for television and stage, drawing wide attention to elderly caregiving themes.

Trivia

  • Birth name: Kakinuma Toshiaki.
  • Two days before his birth, his four-year-old older brother died of acute pneumonia; he was raised partly by a wet nurse.
  • He worked as a copywriter and won multiple advertising awards before fully committing to a literary career.
  • 'The Aged Family' was adapted into a film directed by Yoshida Kiju and screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
  • In later years he traveled extensively, participating in tree-planting volunteer activities and other environmental work.