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Yutaka Takashima

たかしま ゆたか

Takashima Yutaka

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1967-09-28 （Shogawa (former Shogawa Town), Tonami District, Toyama Prefecture, Japan (now Tonami City)）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Shogawa (now Tonami City), Toyama → Tokyo → Fukumitsu, Nanto City, Toyama Prefecture

Career

Occupations
tanka poet, museum curator
Active Years
1995-
Affiliations
Tanka magazine "Mirai", Doujinshi "sai", Nanto City Fukumitsu Art Museum (curator)
Memberships
Tanka magazine "Mirai", Doujinshi "sai"
Influenced By
Takashi Okai, Kunio Tsukamoto

Education

Ritsumeikan University, Faculty of Letters
Faculty of Letters / Department of Philosophy
Country: Japan
Studied Marx and was involved in student activism during university years

Awards

Mirai Annual Prize
Organization: Tanka magazine "Mirai"
Result: 受賞
8th Nagarami Shobo Publishing Prize
2000
Work: Old Regime (Kyū Seido / Anciens Régimes)
Organization: Nagarami Shobo
Result: 受賞
18th Terayama Shuji Tanka Prize
2013
Work: The House of Taotie
Organization: Terayama Shuji Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
41st Tanka Kenkyu Newcomer Prize (nominee)
1998
Work: Capital Red Change (Shuto Sekihen)
Organization: Tanka Kenkyu
Result: 候補

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Old Regime (Kyū Seido / Ancien Régime)

1999 tanka

The author's first tanka collection. Contains urban images and virtual/visionary poems.

cityfiction/virtualitysociety

Tsumamohi

2002 tanka

A tanka collection continuing the style developed after the first book, containing personal and introspective elements.

selfmemory

Listening to Rain

2003 tanka

A collection where natural imagery intersects with urban motifs.

naturecity

Selection Tanka Poets 17: Yutaka Takashima

2004 selected tanka

A selection of previously published works.

Twilight Collection

2007 tanka

Works themed around dawn and dusk.

timelight

Prayers from Ruins

2010 prose

A prose collection treating ruins and memory in a different style from the tanka collections.

ruinsmemory

The House of Taotie

2012 tanka

A tanka collection awarded the 2013 Terayama Shuji Tanka Prize; contains powerful imagery and allegorical elements.

allegoryviolence

Obon World

2021 tanka

A recent tanka collection gathering contemporary works, featuring motifs of seasons and tradition.

seasonstradition

Bibliography

  • Tanka collection 'Old Regime', Nagarami Shobo, 1999
  • Tanka collection 'Tsumamohi', Nagarami Shobo, 2002
  • Tanka collection 'Listening to Rain', Nagarami Shobo, 2003
  • Selection 'Selection Tanka Poets 17: Yutaka Takashima', Ushurin, 2004
  • Tanka collection 'Twilight Collection', Nagarami Shobo, 2007
  • Prose 'Prayers from Ruins', Hokutousha, 2010
  • Tanka collection 'The House of Taotie', TOY, 2012
  • Tanka collection 'Obon World', TOY, 2021

Style & Themes

Literary Style
modern tankaphilosophical and socially conscious expressionvisionary / virtual imagery
Recurring Motifs
cityviolencefiction vs realityruins

Legacy

A contemporary tanka poet emerging in the late 1990s, noted for urban and philosophical works with alternative visual expression and strong imagery. Recipient of awards including the Nagarami Shobo Publishing Prize and the Terayama Shuji Tanka Prize.

Museums

  • Nanto City Fukumitsu Art Museum Fukumitsu, Nanto City, Toyama Prefecture, Japan

Trivia

  • During his student years he studied Marx and was involved in anti-Yoyogi student activism.
  • After moving to Tokyo he worked in manual jobs including cleaning.
  • The poem 'Shuto Sekihen' was described as visualizing a terrorist attack on Tokyo and was highly praised by Kunio Tsukamoto.
  • He has been a member of the tanka magazine 'Mirai', left it, and rejoined in 2016.
  • He published personal magazines such as 'Buntsukue' and 'Kuro-higasa'.