Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Soushu Takaya

たかや そうしゅう

Takaya Soushu

Pen Names: Tora Akiko（Early haiku pen-name given by classmates; later changed to 'Soushu' (窓秋).）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1910-02-14 （Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Japan）
Died
1999-01-01 age 88
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Nagoya (birth) → Tokyo (grew up / lived) → Kumamoto (moved with family) → Awaji Island → Fushimi, Kyoto → Chiba → Manchuria (residence/work) → Tokyo (after return)

Career

Occupations
haiku poet, editor, broadcasting employee
Active Years
1926-1999
Memberships
Modern Haiku Association
Influenced By
Mizuhara Shuoshi, Kusano Dawo, Udo Mokumoji
Influenced
Haiku poets of the Shin-kō (new) haiku movement

Education

Kyushu Gakuin Junior & Senior High School
Period: 192?-1927
Year of Graduation: 1927
Country: Japan
Diagnosed with tuberculosis and underwent convalescence during this period
Hosei University
Period: 1931-?
Country: Japan
Entered in 1931; graduation year not specified in available sources

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

White Summer Fields

1936 haiku collection

Early collection including linked verses; shows departure from traditional shasei (sketch-from-life) approach.

summernatureinner imagery

River

1937 haiku collection

A linked-verse collection composed entirely of unseasonal haiku; many pieces deviate from traditional forms.

waterriverunseasonal (mukigo)

Gate of Stone

1953 haiku collection

Third collection; published in a form that included about 290 haiku to date.

stonegatememory

Land of Light (included)

1976 haiku collection

Complete haiku collection including the fourth collection 'Land of Light'; the complete edition contained 330 haiku.

lightmemorynature

Dirge of Flowers

1992 haiku collection

Fifth collection, containing works from his later years.

flowerslamentold age

Bibliography

  • White Summer Fields (1936)
  • River (1937)
  • Gate of Stone (1953)
  • Complete Haiku of Takaya Soushu (1976)
  • Dirge of Flowers (1992)
  • Collected Haiku of Takaya Soushu (2002, posthumous)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
subjective shasei (focus on inner imagery)departure from traditional shasei and experimental linked-verse haikurealistic tendency (Manchuria period)
Recurring Motifs
summerriverseawood pigeonflowers

Health

  • tuberculosis
    1927頃および以後の療養期間
    Required convalescence in youth which affected his life and poetic output thereafter

Legacy

He significantly influenced the Shin-kō (new) haiku movement of early Shōwa, known for departing from strict shasei and experimenting with linked-verse haiku. Though comparatively sparse in output, his inward imagery and experimental approaches secured him a respected place in 20th-century haiku.

Academic Societies

  • Modern Haiku Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library of Japan (holds materials)

Quotes

  • In my head it becomes white summer fields
    Source: Haiku (representative line) (1936)
  • Falling cherry — the sea is blue, and falls into the sea
    Source: Haiku (representative line)

Trivia

  • Real name was Masakuni.
  • Worked in Manchuria; published haiku composed there after returning to Japan.
  • Temporarily stopped composing around 1951 and resumed publication in 1970.