Japanese Literary Awards

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Mikirou Sasaki

ささき みきろう

Sasaki Mikirou

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1947-10-20 （Tenri, Nara Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Tenri, Nara Prefecture, Japan → Fujiidera, Osaka Prefecture, Japan → Residence on a cliff (exact address private)

Career

Occupations
poet, writer, screenwriter, editor, adjunct lecturer
Active Years
1970-
Affiliations
Tokyo University of the Arts (Adjunct Lecturer), VOICE SPACE (founder), Himalaya Bunko (co-founder)
Memberships
Chūya Nakahara Prize — Selection Committee Member, Suntory Regional Culture Prize — Selection Committee Member
Influenced By
Chūya Nakahara, Hideo Kobayashi

Education

Fujiidera Municipal Fujiidera Elementary School
Country: Japan
Osaka Municipal Hannan Junior High School
Country: Japan
Osaka Prefectural Otemae High School
Year of Graduation: 1967
Country: Japan
Graduated 1967
Doshisha University
Faculty of Letters / Department of Philosophy
Period: 在学（中退）
Country: Japan
Dropped out

Awards

Suntory Academic Award
1988
Work: Chūya Nakahara (critical study)
Category: 評論
Organization: Suntory Foundation
Result: 受賞
Prague International Television Festival — Special Award
1990
Work: TV script 'OROCHI'
Category: 特別賞
Organization: Prague International Television Festival
Result: 受賞
Takami Jun Prize
1992
Work: Poetry collection 'Hachimitsu Tori' (Honey Gathering)
Category: 詩
Organization: Takami Jun Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Literary Prize
2003
Work: Essay/travelogue 'Asia Sea Route — The Sea Is a City'
Category: 随筆・紀行
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Hagiwara Sakutarō Prize
2012
Work: Poetry collection 'Tomorrow'
Category: 詩
Organization: Hagiwara Sakutarō Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Ooka Shin Prize
2020
Work: Poetry collection 'Running on the Mirror'
Category: 詩
Organization: Ooka Shin Prize Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Shisha no Muchi (The Whip of the Dead)

1970 Poetry collection

Debut poetry collection published in 1970; it includes poems mourning Hiroaki Yamazaki (a casualty of the Haneda struggle) and marked his literary debut.

mourningdeathreflection on political eventsloss of youth

Chūya Nakahara (Critical study)

1988 Critical study / essays

A critical study about Chūya Nakahara's poetry and life, including editorial and scholarly analysis; it received the Suntory Academic Award.

Chūya Nakahara studiespoeticsmodern Japanese literature

Hachimitsu Tori (Honey Gathering)

1991 Poetry collection

A poetry collection published in 1991 containing poems that gaze at everyday life and nature; it won the Takami Jun Prize.

natureeveryday lifememory

Asia Sea Route — The Sea Is a City

2002 Essays / Travelogue

A travel essay exploring Asian cities and the intersections of city, sea, and culture; it received the Yomiuri Literary Prize (essay/travel category).

urban studiescomparative culturethe sea

Tomorrow

2011 Poetry collection

Poetry collection published in 2011, regarded as an important recent work; it won the Hagiwara Sakutarō Prize.

hopelosstime

Running on the Mirror

2019 Poetry collection

A poetry collection published in 2019 that highlights the intersection of poetry and music; it was a recipient of the inaugural Ooka Shin Prize.

musicself and othermemory
Adaptations
  • [choral / vocal music] Arrangement for women's choir (selected pieces) / 信長貴富 (composer) (2017)

Bibliography

  • Shisha no Muchi (The Whip of the Dead)
  • Suichu Kasai
  • The Hundred Years' War
  • Demented Flute
  • Collected Poems of Mikirou Sasaki
  • All Sound Is Light
  • Life of the Wind
  • Hachimitsu Tori (Honey Gathering)
  • From the Sand
  • Until the Elegy Is Born
  • Asia Sea Route — The Sea Is a City
  • Tomorrow
  • Running on the Mirror
  • I Lose to Cats
  • Chūya Nakahara (critical study)

Adaptations

  • Film 'Nemure Mitsu' (dir. Toshiya Iwasa; screenplay by Mikirou Sasaki; Cinema-Nessans production, 1976)
  • Chamber opera 'Kiyohime' (libretto: Mikirou Sasaki; composer: Akira Nishimura; premiere 2012)
  • Opera 'Shion Monogatari' (libretto: Mikirou Sasaki; premiered 2019 at the New National Theatre, Tokyo)

Translations of Works

  • Demented Flute: Selected Poems 1967-1986 (translated into English)
  • Sky Navigation Homeward: New and Selected Poems (English translation; The Dedalus Press, 2019)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
modern poetrylyricalcollaborative expression with sound and music
Recurring Motifs
deathjourneycitiescatssound / music

Legacy

Known as a leading scholar of Chūya Nakahara and for his collaborations between poetry and music, as well as promoting Japanese literature in Asia. He is regarded as one of the few poets able to sustain a career solely through poetry and has received multiple domestic and international awards.

Museums

  • Maebashi Literature Museum (exhibition on Mikirou Sasaki) Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, Japan

Archives

  • Materials held at the Maebashi Literature Museum

In Popular Culture

  • Writes and updates the web magazine 'Cats and the Poet'
  • Poems are used in choral and operatic works, demonstrating connections with the music world

Trivia

  • Maintains and writes for the web magazine 'Cats and the Poet'.
  • Traveled frequently in the Himalayan region and co-founded the 'Himalaya Bunko' (1991–1995).
  • Dropped out of Doshisha University's Department of Philosophy.
  • Served as poet-in-residence at Oakland University (Michigan) in 1984.
  • Was an adjunct lecturer at Tokyo University of the Arts (2003–2008).
  • Has been involved in collaborations between poetry and music, including libretti for choral and operatic works.
  • Co-recipient of the inaugural Ooka Shin Prize (2020).