Kishida Theater Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 4 (1957) award
Rikie Suzuki
すずき りきえ
Suzuki Rikie
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1911-05-01 （Aichi Prefecture, Japan）
- Died
- 1973-06-14 age 62
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese, French
- Residence History
- Aichi Prefecture (birth) → Tokyo (residence, study, work) → Paris (government-sponsored study)
Career
- Occupations
- French literature scholar, Translator, Theatre critic, University professor
- Active Years
- 1935-1973
- Affiliations
- Gakushuin University, Faculty of Letters (Professor), Old Gakushuin (faculty), Haiyūza Training School (Lecturer), Bungakuza (Advisor)
- Influenced By
- Molière, Marcel Pagnol, Henri Bergson, Jean Cocteau
- Influenced
- Hideo Shinozawa, Koichi Toyosaki, Takayuki Saeki, Toshifumi Suemiki
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daiichi High School (old system) | — | — | — | 〜1930 | Japan |
| Tokyo Imperial University, Faculty of Letters (French) | Faculty of Letters (French) | Department of French Literature | 学士 | 〜1935 | Japan |
| Université de Paris (government-sponsored study) | — | — | — | 1935-1937（概数） | France |
Daiichi High School (old system)
Period:
〜1930
Year of Graduation:
1930
Country:
Japan
Tokyo Imperial University, Faculty of Letters (French)
Faculty of Letters (French)
/ Department of French Literature
Degree:
学士
Period:
〜1935
Year of Graduation:
1935
Country:
Japan
Université de Paris (government-sponsored study)
Period:
1935-1937（概数）
Year of Graduation:
1937
Country:
France
Studied at the University of Paris as a government-sponsored scholar
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Yomiuri Literary Prize | Molière Collected Works (4 vols.) | — | Yomiuri Shimbun | 受賞 |
Yomiuri Literary Prize
1973
Work:
Molière Collected Works (4 vols.)
Organization:
Yomiuri Shimbun
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Molière Collected Works (4 vols.)
1972 Translation / Theatre studiesA four-volume collected translation of Molière published late in his life. Not exhaustive, but intended to render the plays enjoyable as Japanese theatrical works.
French theatreTranslationComedy studies
Essays on French Theatre
1948 Essays / CriticismA collection of essays and studies on French theatre.
Theatre criticismCultural introduction
Bibliography
- Contemporary French Reader (editor/compiler), 1943
- Essays on French Theatre, 1948
- Molière (study), 1950
- The Literature of Guy de Maupassant, 1952
- Molière Collected Works (4 vols.), 1972-1973
Translations of Works
- On Laughter (Marcel Pagnol)
- Laughter (Henri Bergson)
- The D'Artagnan Romances (Alexandre Dumas, père) co-translated (11 vols.)
- The Terrible Children (Jean Cocteau)
- Chaplin: His Films and Times (co-translation)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Scholarly yet theatrical translations prioritizing readability in JapaneseExplanatory and comparative cultural commentary
- Recurring Motifs
- Analysis of comedy and laughterAttention to performability and stagingIntroduction of French culture to Japan
Legacy
Rikie Suzuki significantly influenced postwar Japanese studies of French theatre and translation, helped build the department of French studies at Gakushuin University, and was regarded as a leading Molière scholar. His translations were praised for their performative, stage-aware Japanese.
Trivia
- He is credited with largely shaping the curriculum of the Department of French at Gakushuin University.
- Won the Yomiuri Literary Prize for his late-life Molière Collected Works (4 vols.).