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Shinichi Tsurugaya

つるがや しんいち

Tsurugaya Shinichi

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1946-02-10 （Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
essayist, editor, editor-in-chief
Active Years
1970-
Affiliations
Papyrus (publisher) — editor-in-chief

Education

Waseda University
Faculty of Letters
Country: Japan

Awards

Japan Essayist Club Prize
2000
Work: Losing the Sheep While Reading
Organization: Japan Essayist Club
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Losing the Sheep While Reading

1999 essay

An essay collection about reading, exploring books, personal memory, and the pleasures of reading.

readingmemoryessays

Reading Time in a Cat's Eyes

2001 essay

Essays reflecting on time and perspective, characterized by quiet observation and meditations on reading.

timeobservationreading

Visages of the Ancients

2004 essay

A collection of essays on classics, past thinkers, and historical figures.

classicsbiographical reflectionideas

Reading Books in Moonlight

2008 essay

Essays depicting the experience of reading at night and in silence. Includes a piece on Shibata Yoikyo.

nightreading experiencerecollection

A Faint Light Behind the Page: The Joy of Reading

2011 essay

An essay collection discussing the joys of reading from multiple angles, connecting books and everyday life.

theory of readingbooks and lifepleasure

Ark of Memory: Or the Transformation of Reading

2019 essay

A collection of essays on the relationship between memory and reading, and how reading experiences transform.

memorytransformation of readingculture

Bibliography

  • Losing the Sheep While Reading
  • Reading Time in a Cat's Eyes
  • Visages of the Ancients
  • Reading Books in Moonlight
  • A Faint Light Behind the Page: The Joy of Reading
  • Ark of Memory: Or the Transformation of Reading

Translations by Author

  • Translation: Nakamura Chomin? — 'Sansuijin Keirin Mondo' (Kobunsha Classics New Translation Series, 2014)
  • Translation: Nakae Chomin 'Ichinen Uhan' (Kobunsha Classics New Translation Series, 2016)
  • The Analects (Kobunsha Classics New Translation Series, 2025)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
concise, aphoristic essay styleinsightful reflections on reading and the classics
Recurring Motifs
readingmemoryclassicstime

Legacy

An essayist and editor known for writings on reading and the classics. Contributed to Japanese reading culture through essays and book criticism.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Essayist Club

Trivia

  • Born in Tokyo.
  • Graduated from Waseda University, Faculty of Letters.
  • Served as editor-in-chief at the publisher Papyrus.
  • Won the Japan Essayist Club Prize in 2000 for 'Losing the Sheep While Reading'.