Japanese Literary Awards

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Yoshikazu Shinada

しなだ よしかず

Shinada Yoshikazu

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1959-01-30 （Gunma Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Japanese literature scholar, University professor
Active Years
1980-
Affiliations
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Sacred Heart University (former affiliation)
Memberships
Society for Early Japanese Literature

Education

Gunma Prefectural Maebashi High School
Country: Japan
High school graduation
The University of Tokyo (Graduate School)
Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology / Literature
Degree: 文学修士
Country: Japan
Completed coursework in doctoral program and then withdrew (did not complete PhD)

Awards

Japan Classical Literature Society Award
1989
Work: Studies including "A Prehistory of Waka Formation" and other Manyoshu research
Organization: Japan Classical Literature Society
Result: 受賞
Ancient Japanese Literature Society Prize
2002
Work: The Invention of the Manyoshu
Organization: Society for Early Japanese Literature
Result: 受賞
Saito Mokichi Tanka Literature Prize
2011
Work: Biography: "Saito Mokichi"
Organization: Saito Mokichi Prize Organization
Result: 受賞
Japan Kajin Club Criticism Award
2011
Work: Biography: "Saito Mokichi"
Organization: Japan Kajin Club
Result: 受賞
Yamanashi Literature Prize
2015
Work: Saito Mokichi: The Strange Forms of Tanka
Organization: Yamanashi Literature Prize Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Invention of the Manyoshu: The Classic as a Cultural Apparatus of the Nation-State

2001 Scholarly nonfiction / criticism

An academic study analyzing how the Manyoshu was reconfigured in modern times as a cultural apparatus of the nation-state and came to be positioned as a national poetry collection. A Chinese translation exists.

Manyoshunation-statecultural apparatusmodernization and classics
Translations
  • Translated into Chinese

Saito Mokichi: Akakato Ippon no Michi to Horitari

2010 Biography / scholarly

A biographical study examining Saito Mokichi's life and reception of his works, based on research into his oeuvre.

Saito Mokichitanka studiesbiography

Saito Mokichi: The Strange Forms of Tanka

2014 Criticism / research

A collection of essays examining the reception and peculiarities of Saito Mokichi's tanka; this work won the Yamanashi Literature Prize.

tankareception historypoetic analysis

Onishi (?) Sensei Kakukatariki

2015 Essays / criticism

An essayistic work containing scholarly and biographical perspectives.

essaysliterary criticism

Cutting Down Manyoshu Populism

2020 Criticism / contemporary commentary

A critical analysis of the popularization and political use of the Manyoshu (so-called Manyoshu populism). It drew attention in debates surrounding the announcement of the Reiwa era name.

Manyoshucultural politicspopulism

Bibliography

  • The Invention of the Manyoshu: The Classic as a Cultural Apparatus of the Nation-State (2001, Shin-yo-sha)
  • Saito Mokichi: Akakato Ippon no Michi to Horitari (2010, Minerva-shobo)
  • Saito Mokichi: The Strange Forms of Tanka (2014, Shinchosha)
  • Onishi (?) Sensei Kakukatariki (2015, Seiji-sha)
  • Cutting Down Manyoshu Populism (2020, Tanka Kenkyusha / published by Kodansha)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Academic, argumentative writingEmphasis on textual and historical criticism
Recurring Motifs
Manyoshu studiesreception history of waka/tankarelationship between modernity and classics

Legacy

As a specialist in ancient song and Manyoshu studies, he has produced important scholarship on the modern significance and reception history of the Manyoshu. He also drew public attention during the 2019 Reiwa-era name announcement debates.

Academic Societies

  • Society for Early Japanese Literature
  • Japan Classical Literature Society

In Popular Culture

  • Appeared in media coverage discussing the Manyoshu after the Reiwa era name announcement

Trivia

  • Completed doctoral coursework but withdrew before obtaining a PhD
  • Has taught at Sacred Heart University and The University of Tokyo
  • 'The Invention of the Manyoshu' has a Chinese translation