Japanese Literary Awards

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Minoru Taketazu

たけたづ みのる

Taketazu Minoru

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1937-01-01 （Taketazu (now Kunisaki City), Oita Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Taketazu (now Kunisaki City), Oita Prefecture, Japan → Koshimizu Town, Shari District, Hokkaido, Japan (worked at local livestock clinic) → Higashikawa, Kamikawa District, Hokkaido, Japan (moved residence)

Career

Occupations
essayist, photographer, veterinarian
Active Years
1963-

Education

Gifu University
Faculty of Agriculture / Department of Veterinary Medicine
Degree: 学士
Year of Graduation: 1963
Country: Japan

Awards

Lady Gascoyne Prize
1977
Result: 受賞
Wild Screen (Jury Special Prize)
1986
Work: Leads of Hokkaido
Category: 映画
Organization: Wild Screen (Bristol)
Result: 受賞（審査員特別賞）
Higashikawa Photography Prize (Special Prize)
1988
Category: 写真
Organization: Higashikawa Town
Result: 受賞（特別賞）
Koshimizu Town Culture Award
1992
Organization: Koshimizu Town
Result: 受賞
Northern Children's Culture Prize
1997
Work: Kingdom of the Forest — What Nature Gave Me
Category: 児童文化（エッセイ）
Result: 受賞
Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award
1998
Work: Chun the Sparrow Who Became Family
Category: 児童出版
Organization: Sankei Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award (JR Prize)
2007
Work: Twelve Months of Okhotsk — A Naturalist Vet's Diary
Category: 児童文学（ノンフィクション）
Organization: Sankei Shimbun
Result: 受賞（JR賞）
Fukuda Kiyohito Prize (Children's Nonfiction)
2007
Work: Twelve Months of Okhotsk — A Naturalist Vet's Diary
Category: 児童文芸（ノンフィクション）
Organization: Fukuda Kiyohito Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Hokkaido Cultural Prize
2008
Organization: Hokkaido Prefecture
Result: 受賞
Commendation by the Minister of Education for Regional Cultural Contribution
2010
Organization: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
Result: 表彰
Hokkaido Shimbun Cultural Prize
2013
Organization: Hokkaido Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Travel Culture Prize
2017
Work: AFRICA: Stories of a Journey of Life
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Foxy — Racing the Northern Wilds

1974 photography / natural history

An early major work focused on observations and photographs of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), reflecting the author's fieldwork around Shiretoko and Koshimizu.

red foxwildlife observationrehabilitation and conservation

Twelve Months of Okhotsk — A Naturalist Vet's Diary

2006 essays / nonfiction

An essay collection recounting seasonal nature observations and the author's experiences as a veterinarian in the forests around Okhotsk.

seasonal natureveterinary carenaturalist perspective

Chun the Sparrow Who Became Family

1997 children's book / essay

A children's-oriented essay about rescuing and living with an injured sparrow, exploring life and coexistence.

animal rescuecoexistencefamily

What Helen the Fox Left Behind

1999 children's book / essay

Through the story of a young fox named Helen, it depicts wildlife rescue and human-animal interactions. This work served as one source for the 2006 film adaptation.

foxconservation activitieshuman and wild
Adaptations
  • [film] The Little Fox Helen / 河野圭太 (2006)

AFRICA: Stories of a Journey of Life

2013 photography book / travelogue

A photographic and essayistic account of animal observations and veterinary experiences in Africa.

African wildlifetravellife

Bibliography

  • Foxy — Racing the Northern Wilds
  • Foxy Story (photobook)
  • Happy Farm
  • Messages from the Wild
  • Kingdom of the Forest — What Nature Gave Me
  • Chun the Sparrow Who Became Family
  • What Helen the Fox Left Behind
  • AFRICA: Stories of a Journey of Life

Adaptations

  • The Little Fox Helen (film, 2006)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
nature-based descriptive proseclear, child-friendly styleintegration of photography and text
Recurring Motifs
red foxseasons and naturetreatment, recovery, and rescue

Legacy

Drawing on his veterinary fieldwork, he communicated wildlife conservation and coexistence with nature through photography, essays and children's books. He is recognized for contributions to regional culture and highly regarded children's works.

Academic Societies

  • Hokkaido Natural Science Research Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library (holdings)

In Popular Culture

  • Film 'The Little Fox Helen' (2006, based in part on his work)
  • Documentary 'Foxy Story' (planned and animal supervision)

Quotes

  • I want to live as a writer.
    Source: Interview (statement upon leaving clinical work)

Trivia

  • Born in 1937.
  • Retired from veterinary practice in 1991 to focus on writing and photography.
  • Conducted long-term studies of the red fox and participated in documentary filmmaking.