Japanese Literary Awards

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Hajime Tajima

たじま はじめ

Tajima Hajime

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1945-09-26 （Ehime Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Writer
Active Years
1985-
Affiliations
Japanese Democratic Literary Association
Memberships
Japanese Democratic Literary Association

Awards

Bunka Hyoron Literary Award
1985
Work: Ants' Swarm
Result: winner
Takiji–Yuriko Prize
1994
Work: Distant Forest
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Ants' Swarm

1985 Social novel

A work that centers on the conflict between workers and capital, depicting solidarity and struggle.

laborclass struggle

The Warriors

1989 Novel

One of his works focused on social movements and workers' struggles.

laborresistance

Distant Forest

1994 Novel

Takiji–Yuriko Prize-winning novel that portrays workers' lives and class conflict alongside natural imagery.

laborclassnatural imagery

The River's Voice

1997 Novel

A collection/novel set against regional and natural backdrops that examines labor and everyday life.

regional lifelaboreveryday life

Blue Screen

1999 Novel

A work that highlights contemporary labor issues through depictions of urban and factory landscapes.

urbanfactorylabor issues

Bonfires of the Bay

2002 Novel

Interweaving harbor and fishing village landscapes, it depicts the relationship between community and work.

harborcommunitylabor

Handshake Circuit

2008 Novel

A novel examining the relationship between technology and labor.

technologylaborworkplace

Journey of Time

2011 Novel

A novel about the passage of time and changes in individuals and communities. It was adapted into a film.

timecommunitychange
Adaptations
  • [Film] Journey of Time (2014)

Bibliography

  • Ants' Swarm (1985)
  • The Warriors (1989)
  • Distant Forest (1994)
  • The River's Voice (1997)
  • Blue Screen (1999)
  • Bonfires of the Bay (2002, 2003)
  • Handshake Circuit (2008)
  • Journey of Time (2011, 2014)

Adaptations

  • Film adaptation of 'Journey of Time' (2014)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
social realismnarrative from workers' perspective
Recurring Motifs
laborclass strugglefactory and harbor scenessolidarityregional nature

Legacy

A socially engaged writer who consistently depicted people's struggles against capital from workers' perspectives. He served as chairman of the Japanese Democratic Literary Association and contributed to the continuation of socially-minded literature.

Academic Societies

  • Japanese Democratic Literary Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library
  • VIAF (authority file)
  • CiNii (academic database)

In Popular Culture

  • The novel 'Journey of Time' was adapted into a film.

Trivia

  • A novelist from Ehime Prefecture.
  • In 1985, won the 1st Bunka Hyoron Literary Award for 'Ants' Swarm'.
  • In 1994, won the Takiji–Yuriko Prize for 'Distant Forest'.
  • Belonged to the Japanese Democratic Literary Association and served as its chairman from 2013 to 2021.
  • Authority and catalog records exist in VIAF, the National Diet Library, and CiNii.