Naoki Sanjugo Award
1 appearances
Mitsugu Saotome
さおとめ みつぐ
Saotome Mitsugu
Aliases:
鐘ヶ江秀吉
Pen Names:
Mitsugu Saotome（Pen name used as author; real name is Kanegae Hideyoshi. The pen name carries a literal nuance of 'giving goods or money to young women'.）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1926-01-01 （Harbin, Manchuria (Potsrelya Street)）
- Died
- 2008-12-23 （Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan (home)） age 82
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Harbin, Manchuria (birthplace) → Hakata, Kyushu (postwar repatriation) → Yokohama → Tokyo (moved to pursue writing) → Kamakura, Kanagawa (place of death)
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, writer
- Active Years
- 1948-2008
- Affiliations
- Japan PEN Club, Popular Literature Study Group, Shosetsu Kaigi (Novel Conference)
- Memberships
- Japan PEN Club (Executive/Managing Director), Izumi no Kai (writers' circle)
- Influenced By
- Shūgorō Yamamoto
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keio University | Faculty of Letters | — | — | 在学中退 | Japan |
Keio University
Faculty of Letters
Period:
在学中退
Country:
Japan
Dropped out
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Naoki Prize | The Expatriates' Cage (approx.) | — | Naoki Prize Selection Committee | 受賞 |
| 1988 | Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize | Aizu Shikon (Aizu Warrior Spirit) (approx.) | — | Yoshikawa Eiji Prize Selection Committee | 受賞 |
| 2003 | Popular Literature Research Award | My Teacher: Shūgorō Yamamoto (approx.) | 特別賞 | Popular Literature Study Group | 受賞（特別賞） |
Naoki Prize
1968
Work:
The Expatriates' Cage (approx.)
Organization:
Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result:
受賞
Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize
1988
Work:
Aizu Shikon (Aizu Warrior Spirit) (approx.)
Organization:
Yoshikawa Eiji Prize Selection Committee
Result:
受賞
Popular Literature Research Award
2003
Work:
My Teacher: Shūgorō Yamamoto (approx.)
Category:
特別賞
Organization:
Popular Literature Study Group
Result:
受賞（特別賞）
Awards & Nominations
Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 23 (1989) award
Works
Major Works
Aizu Shikon (Aizu Warrior Spirit)
1985 historical novel (epic serial)An epic novel portraying the lives of Aizu domain samurai; serialized from 1970 and expanded into 13 volumes.
Aizu domainBakumatsu (end of shogunate)bushidoperspective of the vanquished
The Expatriates' Cage (approx.)
1968 historical fiction / novellaA work treating the Maria Luz incident; winner of the Naoki Prize.
Japanese abroadhistorical incidenthuman drama
Ninpō Kagerō Giri (Kagero Ninja Series)
1973 ninja fiction (jidai shosetsu)A series featuring ninjas; serialized in newspapers and adapted into a TV drama.
ninjafantastic/occult elementschivalry
Adaptations
- [TV drama] Ninpō Kagerō Giri (1972)
Okei: A Girl From the Provinces
1974 historical novelStory of a cooper's daughter from Aizu who emigrated to the U.S.; focuses on Aizu community and identity.
Aizuimmigrationfamily
Translations
- Okei: A Girl From the Provinces (Kenneth J. Bryson, trans., 2009)
The Man Who Killed Ryoma
1970 historical novelAbout the assassin of Sakamoto Ryoma; adapted into a 1987 film in which the author made a cameo.
assassinationBakumatsusamurai
Adaptations
- [film] The Man Who Killed Ryoma / 山下耕作 (1987)
Bibliography
- The Expatriates' Cage (approx.)
- Ninpō Kagerō Giri
- Okei
- Aizu Shikon (13 vols.)
Adaptations
- Ninpō Kagerō Giri (TV drama)
- The Man Who Killed Ryoma (film)
Translations of Works
- Okei: A Girl From the Provinces (Kenneth J. Bryson, trans., 2009)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- popular-fiction narrative voicehistorically grounded narrationoccasional erotic elements in otherwise conservative period pieces
- Recurring Motifs
- Aizu domain / Aizu-centered perspectiveBakumatsu / viewpoint of the defeatedninja and supernatural motifsbushido
Health
-
pulmonary infiltration (failed military physical)青年期（1940年代）Failed military conscription due to pulmonary condition; contributed to focus on writing.
-
stomach cancer2008年Hospitalized after haematemesis and died on 23 December 2008.
Legacy
Author of numerous popular historical novels—notably Aizu-centered Bakumatsu works and ninja tales—winner of the Naoki and Yoshikawa Eiji awards, and active in the Japan PEN Club and Popular Literature Study Group.
Academic Societies
- Japan PEN Club
- Popular Literature Study Group
Archives
- National Diet Library (authority / holdings records)
In Popular Culture
- Multiple works adapted for TV and film; widely known as a popular novelist who serialized many works in newspapers and weekly magazines.
Quotes
-
As my blood commands me
Source: Tokyo Shimbun (contribution, 1968) (1968)
Trivia
- Birth name: Kanegae Hideyoshi.
- Born 1 January 1926 in Harbin (Manchuria).
- Repatriated to Kyushu in 1946 and lived in Hakata for a period.
- Dropped out of Keio University Faculty of Letters.
- Was a disciple of Shūgorō Yamamoto and later wrote the memoir 'My Teacher: Shūgorō Yamamoto'.
- Held a second-degree rank in the Hokushin Itto-ryu school of swordsmanship.
- Made a cameo appearance as a rōshi in the 1987 film 'The Man Who Killed Ryoma'.
- 'Aizu Shikon' was serialized from 1970 for 213 installments and compiled into 13 volumes.