Naoki Sanjugo Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 19 (1944) award
Seizo Okada
おかだ せいぞう
Okada Seizo
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1913-03-08 （Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan）
- Died
- 1994-06-21 age 81
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, newspaper journalist
- Active Years
- 1933-1994
- Affiliations
- The Asahi Shimbun Company
- Influenced By
- Ryotaro Shiba
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osaka Prefectural Ikuno Middle School (now Osaka Prefectural Ikuno High School) | — | — | — | — | Japan |
| Osaka Foreign Language School (now Osaka University, Faculty of Foreign Studies) | Faculty of Foreign Studies | — | — | — | Japan |
Osaka Prefectural Ikuno Middle School (now Osaka Prefectural Ikuno High School)
Country:
Japan
Osaka Foreign Language School (now Osaka University, Faculty of Foreign Studies)
Faculty of Foreign Studies
Country:
Japan
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Naoki Prize (Naoki Sanjugo Prize) | New Guinea Mountain Warfare | — | Naoki Prize Selection Committee | Winner |
Naoki Prize (Naoki Sanjugo Prize)
1944
Work:
New Guinea Mountain Warfare
Organization:
Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result:
Winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
New Guinea Blood Battle Account
1943 war account / short storyA war-account short piece based on his experiences as a correspondent on the New Guinea front, depicting mountain warfare and frontline life.
warwartime reportinglife and death
New Guinea Mountain Warfare
1944 short storyA short story based on his experiences on the South Pacific front, portraying the realities of battle and human conflict; it earned the 19th Naoki Prize (first half of 1944).
warhuman dramawartime experience
Dream of Mars
1947 fiction / short storyA work published shortly after the war; details are limited but it represents part of his early postwar literary output.
postwarimagination
After Retirement
1975 novelA novel depicting the life of a salaryman after retirement; it became a bestseller and was adapted for television.
retirementcompany employee lifelife after work
Adaptations
- [TV drama] After Retirement (TV adaptation)
The Snowflower Revolt
1977 historical novelA historical novel inspired by the rebellion of Oshio Heihachiro, blending historical facts with human drama.
historyrebellionjustice and humanity
After Retirement and Beyond
1988 novelA follow-up to 'After Retirement' that further examines life after retirement and relationships with society.
retirementfamilysociety
Novel: Reconstruction of Horyu-ji
1995 historical / quasi-nonfictionPublished posthumously; deals with the theme of reconstructing Horyu-ji temple (details in the published edition).
historyarchitecturecultural heritage
Bibliography
- New Guinea Blood Battle Account (The Asahi Shimbun Company) 1943
- Dream of Mars (Seikosha) 1947
- Voices Calling Japan — World Friendship Linked by Letters (co-edited with Hideo Sakamoto, Mirai-sha) 1953
- After Retirement (Chuo Koronsha) 1975 (later paperback)
- Self Human (Okada Hanyō) (Chuo Koronsha) 1977
- The Snowflower Revolt: A Novel of Oshio Heihachiro (Chuo Koronsha) 1977
- The Birth of My Home — A Philosophical Approach to Architecture (Nikkei Industrial Press) 1978
- Misfit Salaryman (Jiji Press) 1978
- Old Age Explosion (Mainichi Shimbun) 1979
- Life with Extra Characters (Chuo Koronsha) 1981
- Voices on the Phone (The Asahi Shimbun Company) 1983
- After Retirement and Beyond (Chuo Koronsha) 1988
- Novel: Reconstruction of Horyu-ji (Kindai Bungeisha) 1995
Adaptations
- After Retirement (TV drama adaptation)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- objective and concise prose informed by his work as a journalistrealistic depictions grounded in frontline experienceaccessible, slice-of-life narrative voice
- Recurring Motifs
- war and its memorieslife after retirementfriendship and interpersonal relationshipshistory and local events
Legacy
Known for wartime literature rooted in his experiences as a war correspondent and for novels depicting postwar salarymen's retirement. 'After Retirement' became a bestseller and was adapted for television, reaching a wide readership.
Archives
- National Diet Library (materials related to Seizo Okada)
- VIAF identifier: 70278274
- ISNI identifier: 0000000023648425
In Popular Culture
- TV drama adaptation of 'After Retirement'
- Known as the recipient of the 19th Naoki Prize (first half of 1944)
Trivia
- His experiences as a correspondent for The Asahi Shimbun on the South Pacific front strongly influenced his writing.
- 'After Retirement' became a bestseller and was adapted into a television drama.
- His father, Okada Hanyō, was a merchant and an erudite local scholar who wrote on social topics and fiction.
- He received the Naoki Prize (19th, first half of 1944).
- 'Novel: Reconstruction of Horyu-ji' was published posthumously in 1995.