Minami-Nippon Literary Award
1 appearances
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Edition 14 (1985) award
Hiroshi Shima
しま ひろし
Shima Hiroshi
Aliases:
岸上薫
Pen Names:
Hiroshi Shima（Pen name）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1918-07-23 （Kanonji, Kagawa, Japan）
- Died
- 2003-03-22 age 84
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Kanonji, Kagawa, Japan → National Sanatorium Oshima Seishoen → National Sanatorium Hoshizuka Keiai-en → Tokyo (worked as an associate professor)
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Veterinarian, Academic (Associate Professor)
- Active Years
- 1940-2003
- Affiliations
- Organizer/editor of the magazine 'Kazantitai' ('Volcanic Zone'), Associate Professor, Tokyo High Agricultural and Forestry School
- Influenced By
- Tamio Hojo, Iwao Arakawa
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kagawa Prefectural Kanonji First High School (formerly Mitoyo Middle School) | — | — | — | — | Japan |
| Tokyo High Agricultural and Forestry School (now Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology) | — | Department of Veterinary Medicine | — | — | Japan |
Kagawa Prefectural Kanonji First High School (formerly Mitoyo Middle School)
Country:
Japan
Tokyo High Agricultural and Forestry School (now Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology)
Department of Veterinary Medicine
Year of Graduation:
1940
Country:
Japan
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
If One Lives
1957 Fiction (short story collection)Published by Kodansha in 1957. An early collection of stories addressing sanatorium life, discrimination, and the effects of war.
Hansen's diseaseSanatorium lifeDiscriminationPostwar society
A Strange Country
1980 Fiction (satire)A work that likens the sanatorium to a small country and satirizes its peculiar structures. It criticizes isolation policies and state-imposed oppression.
Isolation policiesSatireState vs individual
Liberation from Isolation: Messages from Hansen's Disease Sanatoriums
1985 Essays / Autobiographical essaysAn autobiographical essay collection confronting the term 'leprosy', discussing the impact of Promin treatment, problems surrounding the Leprosy Prevention Law, and patients' human rights.
Human rightsHansen's diseaseMedicine and law
Sand of the Sea
1986 FictionA novel depicting comrades living through wartime hunger, postwar literary fervor, Promin treatment, and opposition to revisions of the Leprosy Prevention Law.
WarSanatoriumSocial movements
Voice of the Visitor: Continued Messages from Hansen's Disease Sanatoriums
1988 Essays / CommentaryA follow-up essay collection amplifying messages from sanatoriums, centering on patients' voices and appeals to society.
Patients' voicesSocial criticismSanatorium life
On Revising the Leprosy Prevention Law
1991 Non-fiction / PamphletAn essay/pamphlet highlighting problems with the Leprosy Prevention Law and calling for its revision, arguing for restoration of patients' rights from legal and social perspectives.
Legal reformHuman rightsState responsibility
The Leprosy Prevention Law and Patients' Rights
1993 Non-fiction / CommentaryA work that organizes the historical and human-rights issues of the Leprosy Prevention Law and advocates for the restoration of patients' rights.
Human rightsHistorical reviewMedicine and law
Declaration of Survival
1996 Fiction / EssayWorks depicting a life lived under an alias in the sanatorium and the eventual recovery of identity, featuring themes of TV appearances and reconnections that restore selfhood.
IdentityRebirthSanatorium life
The Country's Responsibility: The Persisting Leprosy Prevention Law
1998 Co-authored non-fiction / CommentaryCo-authored with Mutsuharu Shinohara and others. A critique asking about state responsibility regarding the Leprosy Prevention Law, including issues of relief for victims and legal accountability.
State responsibilityLeprosy Prevention LawVictim relief
Towards Society on the 50th Anniversary of Hansen's Disease Sanatoriums
2001 Documentary / RecordA documentary work with photographs by Takuro Yabe, compiling records of sanatorium experiences and proposals for society.
DocumentationSocial reintegrationSanatorium history
Bibliography
- If One Lives (1957), Kodansha
- A Strange Country (1980), Shinkyo Shuppansha
- Liberation from Isolation: Messages from Hansen's Disease Sanatoriums (1985), Social Critique Co.
- Sand of the Sea (1986), Akashi Shoten
- Voice of the Visitor: Continued Messages from Hansen's Disease Sanatoriums (1988), Social Critique Co.
- On Revising the Leprosy Prevention Law (1991), Iwanami Booklet
- The Leprosy Prevention Law and Patients' Rights (1993), Social Critique Co.
- Declaration of Survival (1996), Social Critique Co.
- The Country's Responsibility: The Persisting Leprosy Prevention Law (1998) co-authored, Social Critique Co.
- Towards Society on the 50th Anniversary of Hansen's Disease Sanatoriums (2001), Kaiho Shuppansha
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Use of modernist techniquesCombination of satirical expression and social criticismBlend of lyrical elements with direct critique
- Recurring Motifs
- Sanatorium and isolationDiscrimination and social exclusionWar and lonelinessPathos in everyday lifeSymbols conveyed through cats and household items
Health
-
Hansen's disease (leprosy)1947-1999（1947年発病、1999年に社会復帰）Life in sanatoriums became a central theme of his writing and led to human-rights activism and advocacy for revision of the Leprosy Prevention Law.
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Multiple organ failure (cause of death)2003-03-22Died of multiple organ failure on March 22, 2003, at age 84.
Legacy
Hiroshi Shima used his sanatorium experience to produce diverse fiction and essays, becoming an important voice in sanatorium literature and advocacy for patients' rights. He continually challenged the Leprosy Prevention Law and influenced debates on social reintegration and redress.
Archives
- Materials held at the National Diet Library
- Holdings / data at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)
Quotes
-
Hiroshi Shima is someone who weaves novels using various techniques. One cannot but acknowledge the author's mastery in employing a wide array of methods.
Source: Hansen's Disease Literature Anthology, Fiction 3 (ed. Nobu Ooka et al.; criticism by Otohiko Kaga) (2002)
Trivia
- Real name: Kaoru Kishiue.
- Contracted Hansen's disease in June 1947 and entered national sanatoriums including Oshima Seishoen and Hoshizuka Keiai-en.
- Graduated from Tokyo High Agricultural and Forestry School (now Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology), Department of Veterinary Medicine, in 1940 and served as an associate professor.
- Organized the literary magazine 'Kazantitai' from 1958.
- Recorded to have socially reintegrated on June 20, 1999.
- Died of multiple organ failure on March 22, 2003 (age 84).