Japanese Literary Awards

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Renzaburo Shibata

しばた れんざぶろう

Shibata Renzaburō

Aliases: 齋藤 錬三郎 / 柴練 / シバレン
Pen Names: Kimio Tetsuzō（Pen name used early in his career (used for early works such as 'Jūen Shihei')）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1917-03-26 （Tsuruyama Village, Oku District, Okayama Prefecture, Japan (now Bizen)）
Died
1978-06-30 （Shinanomachi, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan (Keio University Hospital)） age 61
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Bizen (formerly Tsuruyama Village) → Tokyo (Shinjuku, Shinanomachi) → Karuizawa (owned a villa)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Non-fiction writer, Editor, Lyricist, Sinologist
Active Years
1938-1978
Affiliations
Nihon Dokusho Shimbun (Editor-in-chief), Japan Publishing Association (staff)
Memberships
Naoki Prize selection committee member (1966–1977), Selection committee member for the Shōsetsu Gendai Newcomer Award
Influenced By
Lu Xun, French modernist literature
Influenced
Gomi Kōsuke, Fujisawa Shūhei
Nominations
Akutagawa Prize (nominated for 'Death Mask', 1951)

Education

Keio University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Chinese Literature
Faculty of Letters / Department of Chinese Literature
Degree: 学士
Period: 1938-1940
Year of Graduation: 1940
Country: Japan
Transferred from the medical preparatory course to the Faculty of Letters preparatory course and majored in Chinese literature. Graduation thesis on Lu Xun.

Awards

Naoki Prize
1952
Work: Descendants of Jesus
Organization: Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: Winner
Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize
1970
Work: Sangokushi: Heroes Are Here
Organization: Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Best Dresser Award
1976
Organization: Best Dresser Award Committee
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Descendants of Jesus

1952 Historical novel

A historical novel that explores human relationships and fate against religious and historical backdrops. One of the works that earned him the Naoki Prize.

religionpowerfatenihilism

Nemuri Kyoshiro (Nemuri Kyoshiro series)

1956 Jidaigeki / Swordsman fiction

A series of standalone stories featuring the nihilistic swordsman Nemuri Kyoshiro. Popular postwar and instrumental in the swordsman-fiction boom.

swordsmanshipsolituderevengeduty and human emotion
Adaptations
  • [TV drama] Nemuri Kyoshiro (TV series) / Various (1972)

Red Shadow (Akai Kagebōshi)

1960 Historical novel (with ninja-fiction elements)

A historical novel centered on ninja themes. Serialized in weekly magazines and became one of his popular long-form works.

ninjaintrigueloyaltyaction
Adaptations
  • [Film] Red Shadow / 小沢茂弘 (1961)

Tokugawa Taiheiki

1965 Historical novel

A panoramic historical novel set in the Edo period. Based on newspaper serializations, presented as a series.

politicspower strugglesbushidō

Sanada Ten Braves

1975 Historical fiction

A historical adventure focusing on Sanada Yukimura and his Ten Braves. He wrote the original material for the NHK puppetry series.

loyaltyheroismcompanionship
Adaptations
  • [Puppet show (TV)] Sanada Ten Braves (NHK puppet show) / NHK Production (1975)

Goken Zangurō (Goken Zankurō)

1976 Historical fiction

A jidaigeki novel that combines swordplay and human drama. Published after newspaper serialization.

swordsmanshipdutyhumanity

Bibliography

  • Jūen Shihei (Debut story)
  • Descendants of Jesus
  • Nemuri Kyoshiro series
  • Red Shadow
  • Tokugawa Taiheiki
  • Sanada Ten Braves
  • Goken Zankurō

Adaptations

  • The 8th Cell (film, 1956)
  • Red Shadow (film, 1961)
  • Sanada Ten Braves (NHK puppet show, 1975-77)

Translations by Author

  • José Giovanni, 'Le Gitan' (translated by Shibata; published 1976)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Storytelling influenced by kōdan (oral/lecture-story) styleBlend of popular appeal and scholarly learningClear, entertainment-driven narrative
Recurring Motifs
swords and swordsmensolitary heroesloyalty and revengenihilism

Health

  • Cor pulmonale (pulmonary heart disease)
    1978
    Died of cor pulmonale at Keio University Hospital in 1978. He passed away while serializing works such as 'Fukushū Shijūshichi-shi'.

Legacy

He revitalized swordsman and period fiction and left a major mark on postwar popular literature. Posthumous collected editions were published and the Shibata Renzaburō Prize was established in his honor.

Museums

  • Kibiji Literary Museum (hosts related exhibitions) Bizen, Okayama Prefecture, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Popular Literature Research Association

Archives

  • Bizen City Historical and Folkloric Museum (holds related materials)
  • Keio University Library (holds related materials)

In Popular Culture

  • Nemuri Kyoshiro (adapted into TV dramas and films)
  • Sanada Ten Braves (original material for NHK puppet show)
  • Model for a character in the TV drama 'Toto-neechan' and other cultural references

Quotes

  • Shibata's works had a reality beneath a rich imagination. He truly possessed literary cultivation and an aesthetic sense.
    Source: Shōtarō Ikenami (comment on the occasion of Shibata's death) (1978)
  • Not merely aiming for absurdity or eroticism; his work is constructed on a foundation of scholarship learned from Chinese literature and French modernism.
    Source: Hideki Ozaki (literary commentary) (1978)

Trivia

  • He was a dandy who favored fashion brands such as Valentino and Yves Saint Laurent.
  • He received a Best Dresser Award in 1976.
  • His car was said to be a Mercedes-Benz.
  • Owned a former foreigner's villa in Karuizawa.
  • Wrote the lyrics for the local 'Tsuruyama Ondo' at the request of Tsuruyama Elementary School.