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Kimihiko Takano

たかの きみひこ

Takano Kimihiko

Aliases: 日賀志康彦
Pen Names: Kimihiko Takano（Pen name used for literary (tanka) publications）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1941-12-10 （Nagahama, Kita District, Ehime Prefecture (now Ozu City), Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Nagahama (now Ozu City), Ehime Prefecture, Japan → Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan → Tokyo, Japan

Career

Occupations
Tanka poet, Editor, College professor, Judge (literary selection committees)
Active Years
1964-
Affiliations
Cosmos Tanka Society, Kawade Shobo Shinsha (editor), Aoyama Gakuin Women's Junior College (Department of Japanese Literature, Professor)
Memberships
Cosmos Tanka Society
Influenced By
Shuji Miya

Education

Ehime Prefectural Matsuyama Technical High School
Mechanical Department
Period: 1957-1960
Year of Graduation: 1960
Country: Japan
Graduated from technical high school; joined Nissan Motor Co. after graduation
Yokohama National University (evening program)
Faculty of Engineering / Department of Mechanical Engineering (evening program)
Period: 1961-1961
Country: Japan
Entered evening program but withdrew before graduation
Tokyo Kyoiku University, Faculty of Letters (Tokyo Education University)
Faculty of Letters / Department of Japanese Literature
Degree: 学士
Period: 1964-1967
Year of Graduation: 1967
Country: Japan
Studied under Shuji Miya; joined the Cosmos tanka society while at university

Awards

Kiri no Hana Prize
1967
Result: 受賞
Cosmos Prize
1976
Organization: Cosmos Tanka Society
Result: 受賞
Tanka Kenkyu (Tanka Research) Prize
1982
Work: Ginyanma
Organization: Tanka Kenkyusha
Result: 受賞
Wakayama Bokusui Prize
1996
Work: Tanka collection 'Tenkyu'
Organization: Wakayama Bokusui Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Shika Bungakukan Prize
2001
Work: Tanka collection 'Suien'
Organization: Poetry & Song Literature Museum
Result: 受賞
Choko Prize
2001
Work: Tanka collection 'Suien'
Result: 受賞
Order of the Purple Ribbon
2004
Organization: Government of Japan (honor)
Result: 受章
Mainichi Art Award
2013
Work: Tanka collection 'Koboko-gawa'
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers
Result: 受賞
Ono City Poetry & Literature Prize
2013
Work: Tanka collection 'Koboko-gawa'
Organization: Ono City
Result: 受賞
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays
2013
Organization: Government of Japan (honor)
Result: 受章
Yomiuri Literary Prize
2015
Work: Tanka collection 'Driftwood'
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Modern Tanka Grand Prize
2019
Work: 'Reading Myogokki' (vols. 1–2)
Organization: Modern Tanka Grand Prize Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Light of the Estuary

1976 Tanka (collection)

An early tanka collection featuring refined, measured poems on nature and everyday life.

naturewatereveryday life

Tenkyu

1996 Tanka (collection)

A collection that uses restrained, exact language to explore the depths of life and sorrow. Winner of the Wakayama Bokusui Prize.

life and deathmelancholyintrospection

Suien

2000 Tanka (collection)

Poems that evoke tranquility and memory through imagery of water and gardens. Awarded the Shika Bungakukan Prize and Choko Prize.

watermemorysilence

Koboko-gawa

2012 Tanka (collection)

A collection reflecting on life's flow through river and waterside imagery. Winner of the Mainichi Art Award.

riversflowtime

Driftwood

2014 Tanka (collection)

Using driftwood and drifting objects as motifs, this collection confronts memory and solitude. Winner of the Yomiuri Literary Prize.

driftsolitudememory

Reading Myogokki (vols. 1–2)

2018 Tanka commentary / literary criticism

A study interpreting Teika's 'Myogokki', examining Teika's poems from the perspective of contemporary tanka. Winner of the Modern Tanka Grand Prize.

dialogue between classical and modernpoeticsstudy of Teika

Bibliography

  • Light of the Estuary (1976)
  • Pale Blue (1982)
  • Mizuki (1984)
  • Kimihiko Takano Collected Poems (1987)
  • Gekka (1988)
  • Suikō (1991)
  • Subterranean Galaxy (1994)
  • Tenkyu (1996)
  • Suien (2000)
  • Spherical Whole (2003)
  • Sweet Rain (2006)
  • Water Smoke of Tenpyo (2008)
  • Koboko-gawa (2012)
  • Driftwood (2014)
  • Seamless Sea: Tanka Diary 2015 (2016)
  • Self-Portrait of Water (2021)
  • Reading Myogokki: With Teika's Poems (2018)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
neat, restrained expressionconcise, finely honed dictionblend of respect for classical poetry and contemporary perspective
Recurring Motifs
water, rivers, seamemory and timesolitude and introspectionBuddhist / religious imagery

Legacy

Kimihiko Takano is known for his measured, restrained tanka style. As a poet, editor and educator he has had a longstanding influence on contemporary tanka, receiving multiple major literary awards for his collections and critical works.

Academic Societies

  • Cosmos Tanka Society

Archives

  • National Diet Library (catalog/authority files)
  • VIAF / WorldCat and other authority databases

Trivia

  • Real name: 日賀志康彦.
  • Worked at Nissan Motor Co. in his youth, involved in engine testing and similar work.
  • Served 26 years as an editor at Kawade Shobo Shinsha.
  • A member of the Cosmos tanka society and a pupil of Shuji Miya.
  • Served as a professor in the Department of Japanese Literature at Aoyama Gakuin Women's Junior College.