Kikuchi Kan Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 3 (1941) award
Kōtarō Tanaka
たなか こうたろう
Tanaka Kōtarō
Pen Names:
,
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1880-03-02 （Sanri Village, Nagaoka District, Kōchi Prefecture (now Niida, Kōchi City), Japan）
- Died
- 1941-02-01 （Tanezaki, Kōchi City, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan） age 60
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Niida, Kōchi (birthplace), Japan → Tokyo, Japan → Tanezaki, Kōchi City (late life), Japan
Career
- Occupations
- Substitute teacher, Newspaper reporter, Essayist, Novelist, Journalist, Local historian
- Active Years
- 1903-1941
- Affiliations
- Kochi Jitsugyo Shimbun (reporter), Founder/editor of the literary magazine 'Hakurōsa' (monthly essays)
- Influenced By
- Keigetsu Ōmachi, Katai Tayama, Reiun Taoka, Choin Takita, Shūsui Kōtoku
- Influenced
- Masuji Ibuse, Shirō Ozaki, Norio Taoka, Tsuneo Tomita, Jun Sakakiyama
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese studies school | — | Classical Chinese studies | — | — | Japan |
Traditional Chinese studies school
Classical Chinese studies
Country:
Japan
Studied classical Chinese literature and Sino-Japanese classics
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Kikuchi Kan Prize | — | — | Kikuchi Kan Prize Selection Committee | 受賞 |
Kikuchi Kan Prize
1941
Organization:
Kikuchi Kan Prize Selection Committee
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Shiki to Jinsei (Seasons and Life)
1911 EssaysAn early essay collection reflecting on life through the four seasons.
seasons and lifeessays
Senpū Jidai (The Whirlwind Era)
1929 Novel (newspaper serial)A long-running newspaper serial started in 1929, totaling some 530 installments.
social depictionperiod novelhuman relationships
Kōtarō's Records and Reminiscences
Memoirs, travelogue, and essaysA collection of reminiscences, travel writings, and essays compiling his observations across his life.
local historyreminiscencetravelogue
Complete Collection of Japanese Kaidan (Ghost Tales)
1970 Kaidan / Strange talesA compiled anthology of Japanese ghost stories, repeatedly reprinted in the postwar period.
collection of ghost storiesfolklore
Bibliography
- Complete Collection of Japanese Kaidan
- Complete Collection of Chinese Kaidan
- True Japanese Ghost Stories
- Jo-ki / Shushin (Titles collection)
- Complete Collection of Japanese Anecdotes
- Tanaka Kōtarō & Masaki Fuyoka — Popular Literature Series vol.10 (includes Senpū Jidai)
- Biography of Hayashi Yūzō
- Kōtarō's Records and Reminiscences
- Japanese Ghost Stories I & II
- Chinese Ghost Stories I & II
- Comprehensive Japanese Ghost Stories (5 vols.)
- Tanaka Kōtarō — Senpū Jidai (Kōchi Prefecture Showa-era novel collection)
- Pu Songling — Liaozhai Zhiyi (selected translations and editions)
- Selections of Strange Tales and Period Novels (New Kaidan collection, etc.)
Translations by Author
- Selected translations of Pu Songling's 'Liaozhai Zhiyi' (partial free translations)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Essayistic and travelogue narrative voiceWriting informed by classical Chinese studiesReflective, regionally rooted reminiscences
- Recurring Motifs
- Tosa regional life and charactersCollection and retelling of kaidan and strange talesReflections on the Bakumatsu/Meiji Restoration period
Health
-
Illness (unspecified; collapsed at lodging and illness was discovered)1940–1941The illness impaired his ability to work and he died in early 1941.
Legacy
Through biographies, local history, and extensive collecting and reworking of kaidan (ghost tales), he contributed to the preservation of regional historical materials and the establishment of kaidan literature; many works were reprinted postwar and his papers are held by Kōchi Prefectural Library.
Museums
- Kōchi Prefectural Library (holds materials related to Kōtarō Tanaka) Kōchi City, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan
Archives
- Holdings at Kōchi Prefectural Library
In Popular Culture
- Influenced horror literature anthologies through repeated reprints of his kaidan collections
Quotes
-
Had one step gone wrong, I too might have been implicated.
Source: Memoir (remarks concerning the aftermath of the Great Treason Incident)
Trivia
- Used the art names '桃葉' (Momoba/Tōyō) and '虹蛇楼'.
- Collected and reworked approximately 500 kaidan (ghost tales).
- Founded and ran the literary monthly 'Hakurōsa' from 1934.
- A monument marks his birthplace and a memorial stone ('Momoba sensei no hi') stands at Katsurahama.
- His belongings and papers are preserved at the Kōchi Prefectural Library.