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Sakai Setsu

さかい せつ

Sakai Setsu

Pen Names: Sakai Setsu（Pen name used for poetry）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1932-05-02 （Okayama Prefecture, Japan）
Died
2022-01-13 age 89
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
poet, writer
Active Years
1977-2022

Education

Hosei University (Correspondence Division)
Correspondence Division
Country: Japan
Graduated from the correspondence division. Specific years and major are not available.

Awards

Chū-Shikoku Poets Prize
2004
Work: Michi (Path)
Result: winner
Tomita Saika Prize
2006
Work: Rose Petals
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Toward Dreams: Poetry by Sakai Setsu

1977 Poetry collection

Early collection focusing on memories and dreamlike imagery.

dreamsmemoryintrospection

Calling Voices

1983 Poetry collection

A mid-career collection dealing with images of voices and human relationships.

dialoguevoicerelationships

The Pressing Things: Poems by Sakai Setsu

1987 Poetry collection

Poems that delicately depict the layering of small everyday events and emotions.

everyday lifeemotionobservation

The Bird Flew

1992 Poetry collection

A set of poems exploring freedom and loss through the image of flight.

freedomlossnature

Michi (Path)

2003 Poetry collection

A collection symbolically depicting life's journey and inner paths. Winner of the Chū-Shikoku Poets Prize.

lifejourneyinner self

Rose Petals

2006 Poetry collection

Uses the rose as a symbol to weave themes of love, time, and memory. Winner of the Tomita Saika Prize.

roseslovememory

Summer at Thirteen

2009 Poetry collection

Contains lyrical poems that return to memories of youth and growing up.

youthrecollectiongrowth

Walking

2012 Poetry collection

Uses walking and movement as motifs to depict the trajectories of life.

walkingtimetrajectory

Collected Poems of Sakai Setsu (Gendai-shi Bunko)

2015 Poetry (Collected works)

A collected volume compiling her representative poems across many years.

retrospectivecollected works

To the Sky

2018 Poetry collection

A late-career collection reflecting on the world and existence from a mature perspective.

existenceskymaturity

Bibliography

  • Toward Dreams: Poetry by Sakai Setsu (Kibara-sha), 1977
  • Calling Voices (Henkyu Kobo Noah), 1983
  • The Pressing Things: Poems by Sakai Setsu (Shicho-sha), 1987
  • The Bird Flew (Shicho-sha), 1992
  • Smile: To Teacher N (Shicho-sha), 1997
  • Sky of Seoul: Poems (Shicho-sha), 2000
  • Michi (Shicho-sha), 2003
  • Rose Petals (Shicho-sha), 2006
  • Summer at Thirteen (Shicho-sha), 2009
  • Walking (Shicho-sha), 2012
  • Collected Poems of Sakai Setsu (Gendai-shi Bunko, Shicho-sha), 2015
  • To the Sky (Shicho-sha), 2018

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyricalobservationalsymbolist elements
Recurring Motifs
rosesjourney/pathmemory and timefragments of everyday life

Legacy

Sakai Setsu is regarded as a poet with distinctive lyricism and observational insight in postwar Japanese poetry. She received several awards for her collections and left a mark as a female poet active in regional poetry circles and literary groups.

Trivia

  • Real name: Matsumichi Tomoko.
  • Graduated from Hosei University correspondence division.
  • Won the Chū-Shikoku Poets Prize in 2004 for 'Michi' and the Tomita Saika Prize in 2006 for 'Rose Petals.'
  • Participated in literary circles/editorial groups such as 'Kibara' and 'Duru Kamara.'