Japanese Literary Awards

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Takayuki Saegusa

さいぐさ たかゆき

takayuki saegusa

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1944-01-03 （Kōfu, Yamanashi, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
tanka poet, literary critic, teacher
Active Years
1968-
Affiliations
Ritomu (tanka magazine), Japan Tanka Poets Club, Yamanashi Prefectural Literary Museum (director)
Memberships
Ritomu (editor/chief), Japan Tanka Poets Club (served as chair and later honorary chair)
Influenced By
Kūbo Kubota, Toshiki Uematsu, Kōzō Sasaki, Yasuki Fukushima
Influenced
Shinichirō Hagiwara

Education

Waseda University
School of Political Science and Economics / Department of Economics
Degree: 学士
Period: 1964-1968
Year of Graduation: 1968
Country: Japan
Waseda University Senior High School
Country: Japan
Attended junior & senior high school affiliated with Waseda; moved from Kōfu to Tokyo

Awards

Gendai Kajin Kyokai Award
1978
Work: The Dominion of Water
Organization: Modern Tanka Poets Association
Result: Winner
Terayama Shuji Tanka Award
1998
Work: Kōshū Hyakume
Organization: Terayama Shuji Award Committee
Result: Winner
Wakayama Bokusui Prize
2002
Work: Nodori
Organization: Wakayama Bokusui Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Yamanashi Literary Prize
2006
Work: A Spiritual History of Shōwa Tanka
Organization: Yamanashi Literary Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Saitō Mokichi Tanka Literary Award
2006
Work: A Spiritual History of Shōwa Tanka
Organization: Saitō Mokichi Award Committee
Result: Winner
Art Encouragement Prize (Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award)
2006
Work: Critical work (including A Spiritual History of Shōwa Tanka)
Category: 評論その他部門
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Result: Winner
Japan Tanka Poets Club Criticism Prize
2006
Work: A Spiritual History of Shōwa Tanka
Organization: Japan Tanka Poets Club
Result: Winner
Kadokawa Culture Award
2006
Work: A Spiritual History of Shōwa Tanka
Organization: Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation
Result: Winner
Gendai Tanka Grand Prize
2009
Work: Takuboku — The Hometown Sky Seems Far
Organization: Gendai Tanka Association
Result: Winner
Kanagawa Culture Prize
2010
Organization: Kanagawa Prefecture
Result: Winner
Purple Ribbon Medal
2011
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: Recipient
Chokū Prize
2020
Work: Chisoku Ari
Organization: Chokū Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays
2021
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: Recipient
Japan Tanka Poets Club Grand Prize
2022
Work: Listening to Footsteps: The Currents of Modern Tanka
Organization: Japan Tanka Poets Club
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Dominion of Water

1977 Tanka collection

An early representative tanka collection, notable for its attentive gaze at daily life and nature.

naturedaily liferegional identity

Kōshū Hyakume

1997 Tanka collection

A collection of tanka rooted in his native Kōfu and the landscape of Yamanashi.

hometownmemorynature

Nodori

2002 Tanka collection

A mature collection that weaves together nature and human endeavors.

naturerural lifeseasons

A Spiritual History of Shōwa Tanka

2005 literary criticism

A critical work reconstructing the history of Shōwa-era tanka from an original perspective, juxtaposing historical context and poets' practices.

tanka historycriticismShōwa era

Chisoku Ari

2019 Tanka collection

A late-career tanka collection including elegies and reflective pieces.

elegyreminiscencedeath

Bibliography

  • To the World of Gentle Patriots (1st tanka collection, 1973)
  • The Dominion of Water (2nd tanka collection, 1977)
  • Embers of the Earth (3rd tanka collection, 1980)
  • Calendar Studies (4th tanka collection, 1983)
  • Tales of Towers and Seasons (5th tanka collection, 1986)
  • Tarojiro's Eastern Songs (6th tanka collection, 1993)
  • Kōshū Hyakume (7th tanka collection, 1997)
  • Nodori (8th tanka collection, 2002)
  • Tenmoku (9th tanka collection, 2005)
  • House Looking at the World (10th tanka collection, 2008)
  • Upper and Lower Moon (11th tanka collection, 2010)
  • Each Cherry Tree (12th tanka collection, 2016)
  • Chisoku Ari (13th tanka collection, 2019)
  • Modern Fixed-Form Theory: Bands of Weather, Cores of Dreams (criticism, 1979)
  • The Currents of Song (history of tanka expression, 1990)
  • Letters from Masaoka Shiki (1991)
  • Masao Maekawa (biographical criticism, 1993)
  • A Spiritual History of Shōwa Tanka (criticism, 2005)
  • Listening to Footsteps: The Currents of Modern Tanka (criticism, 2021)

Adaptations

  • Film 'Runway' (contributed essays/reviews, 2020)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Tanka combining realism and lyricismCritical prose combining cultural-historical perspective
Recurring Motifs
Hometown (Kōfu/Yamanashi) landscapesShōwa-era life and memoryNature and seasonsFamily and elegy

Health

  • spinal caries
    幼少期
    Affected childhood schooling (attended elementary school for eight years)
  • tuberculosis
    若年期（記録上の分類／詳細不明）
    Recorded as having contracted tuberculosis in youth (details vary by source)

Legacy

He has played an important role in both tanka composition and criticism for decades, directing the magazine Ritomu and, through numerous essays and books, deepening understanding of tanka since the Shōwa era.

Museums

  • Yamanashi Prefectural Literary Museum Kōfu, Yamanashi, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Japan Tanka Poets Club
  • Modern Tanka Poets Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library (holdings)
  • Holdings in public and university libraries

In Popular Culture

  • Known in part for contributing essays and film reviews related to the film 'Runway'

Quotes

  • I wish to portray the course of Shōwa tanka as it was. This is the motive of this book.
    Source: A Spiritual History of Shōwa Tanka (afterword, 2005) (2005)

Trivia

  • Contracted spinal caries in childhood and attended elementary school for eight years.
  • Graduated from Waseda University and worked as a social studies teacher at a Tokyo metropolitan high school.
  • Founded and has presided over the tanka magazine Ritomu in 1992.
  • Served as chair and honorary chair of the Japan Tanka Poets Club and as director of the Yamanashi Prefectural Literary Museum.