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Fumi Saito

さいとう ふみ

Saitō Fumi

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1909-02-14 （Yotsuya, Tokyo (then Tokyo City), Japan）
Died
2002-04-26 age 93
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Yotsuya, Tokyo, Japan → Azumino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan

Career

Occupations
tanka poet, writer, novelist, poet
Active Years
1927-2002
Affiliations
Tanka-jin (poetry magazine), Gengata (poetry magazine), Japan Tanka Club
Memberships
Japan Art Academy, Japan Tanka Club
Influenced By
Sasaki Nobutsuna, Wakayama Bokusui, Hagiwara Sakutaro, Maekawa Samio
Influenced
Eto Jun, Yoneda Kenzō, Dodo Tomiko, Akaza Norihisa, Meguro Tetsurou

Education

Fukuoka Prefectural Kokura Girls' High School (now Fukuoka Prefectural Kokuranishi High School)
Country: Japan

Awards

Shinano Mainichi Newspaper Contest — First Prize (Selected)
1948
Work: Sugite Yuku Uta (novel)
Organization: Shinano Mainichi Newspaper
Result: 入選
Japan Tanka Club 1st Recommended Collection (precursor to Japan Tanka Club Prize)
1953
Work: Uta no Yuku e
Organization: Japan Tanka Club
Result: 推薦
Nagano Prefecture Cultural Merit Award
1960
Organization: Nagano Prefecture
Result: 受賞
Chōkū Prize
1977
Work: Hitakurenai
Organization: Chokuu Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Order of the Precious Crown, Fifth Class
1981
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
Yomiuri Literary Prize (Poetry/Haiku/Tanka)
1986
Work: Watarikayukamu
Category: 詩歌俳句賞
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Saito Mokichi Tanka Literary Prize
1994
Work: Shuten Ruri
Organization: Saito Mokichi Tanka Literary Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Poetry Hall Literary Prize
1994
Work: Shuten Ruri
Organization: Poetry Museum (Shika Bungakukan)
Result: 受賞
Shinmai Prize
1995
Organization: Shinmai Cultural Foundation
Result: 受賞
Modern Tanka Award
1997
Work: Collected Tanka of Fumi Saito
Organization: Modern Tanka Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class
1997
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
Murasaki Shikibu Literary Prize
1998
Work: Collected Tanka of Fumi Saito
Organization: Murasaki Shikibu Literary Prize Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Fish Songs (Uoka)

1940 Tanka (poetry collection)

Her debut tanka collection, strongly influenced by modernism; it poetically captures fragments of nature and everyday life and was highly praised by contemporary poets.

naturemodernismeveryday lifelife and death
Translations
  • Portions translated into English (included in later English selections)

Where the Song Goes (Uta no Yuku e)

1953 Tanka collection / essays

A tanka collection that drew attention after recommendation by the Japan Tanka Club; it centers on introspective treatments of life and seasons.

introspectionseasonsfamily

Hitakurenai

1976 Tanka (poetry collection)

A collection deepening her introspective style; this representative work earned the Chōkū Prize in 1977.

introspectionmemoryaging

Watarikayukamu

1985 Tanka (poetry collection)

A collection that includes works reflecting postwar experience and historical awareness; it won the Yomiuri Literary Prize (Poetry/Haiku/Tanka) in 1986.

postwarhistorical awarenessnature

Shuten Ruri

1993 Tanka (poetry collection)

A late-career collection showing deepened poetic maturity; it received the Saito Mokichi Tanka Literary Prize and other recognitions.

agingmemoryseasons

Collected Tanka of Fumi Saito

1997 Tanka (collected poems)

A comprehensive collected works of many years; its 1997 publication earned the Modern Tanka Award and solidified her reputation.

compilationrecollectionlife

Bibliography

  • Fish Songs (Uoka) — 1940
  • Rekinen (Years) — 1940
  • Vermilion Sky (Shuten) — 1944
  • Shunkan-ki — 1944
  • Yamaguni: Songs and Essays — 1947
  • Where the Song Goes (Uta no Yuku e) — 1953
  • Introduction to Contemporary Tanka — 1954
  • Sealed Community (Mippei Buraku) — 1959
  • Burning in the Wind (Kaze ni Moesu) — 1967
  • Hitakurenai — 1976
  • Distant View (Enkei) — 1977
  • Collected Tanka of Fumi Saito (Showa 3–51) — 1979
  • Kaze no Yakara: Fumi Saito Tanka Collection — 1980
  • Watarikayukamu — 1985
  • Selected Tanka: Fumi Saito (self-selected) — 1988
  • Shuten Ruri — 1993
  • Life of Hitakurenai (co-authored) — 1995
  • Collected Tanka of Fumi Saito 1928–1993 — 1997
  • Living with Hitakurenai — 1998
  • Wind Fluttering (Kaze Henpon) — 2000
  • Sugite Yuku Uta (novel) — 2001
  • Fumi Saito Anthology (Kodansha Bungei Bunko) — 2001
  • The Thicket of Memory — Tanka with English translations (2002)
  • After Wind Fluttering — 2003
  • Tanka of Fumi Saito (ed. & trans. Miyuki Aoyama) — 2015

Translations of Works

  • The Thicket of Memory — English translations selected by James Carcapp
  • Tanka of Fumi Saito (edited and translated by Miyuki Aoyama, 2015)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
modernist tankaintrospective lyricismsharp socio-historical observation
Recurring Motifs
nature (sea, wind, seasons)memory and recollectionaging and deathfamily and everyday life

Legacy

One of the major female tanka poets active across the 20th century. Starting from modernism and deepening introspective elements, she established a distinct poetic voice and received numerous awards. In 1993 she became the first woman elected to the Japan Art Academy. Based in Azumino, she influenced many later poets.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Art Academy
  • Japan Tanka Club

In Popular Culture

  • Served as a guest in the Imperial New Year Poetry Reading (Utakai Hajime), a notable public recognition
  • Featured in NHK biographical archives and other media profiles

Quotes

  • Into a distant spring lake I sink; of my own accord I blow the festive flute and go to meet you.
    Source: Fish Songs (Uoka) (1940)
  • A white rabbit comes out from the snowy mountain; when it is killed I open my eyes.
    Source: Where the Song Goes (Uta no Yuku e) (1953)
  • Life does not leave like someone who says goodbye and closes the door before going out.
    Source: Hitakurenai (1976)
  • I pull out what accumulates as fatigue and say it is herpes—having lived eighty years, well, my dear.
    Source: Shuten Ruri (1993)

Trivia

  • Her parents intended the name to be "史子" (Fumiko) but a registry error recorded it as "史" (Fumi).
  • Unusually for a woman born in the Meiji era, she rarely wore kimono.
  • At 17 she began composing tanka encouraged by Wakayama Bokusui and studied under Sasaki Nobutsuna.
  • Her grave is at Shorin-ji in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture.