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Tatsue Ubukata

うぶかた たつえ

Ubukata Tatsue

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1905-02-23 （Ujiyamada (Miyago), Mie Prefecture (now Ise)）
Died
2000-01-18 age 94
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Mie Prefecture (Ujiyamada / Ise) → Numata, Gunma Prefecture

Career

Occupations
tanka poet, author
Active Years
1935-2000
Affiliations
"Kokumin Bungaku" (literary tanka magazine), Japan Kajin (Tanka) Club, Editorial committee member, "Josei Tanka"
Memberships
Japan Kajin (Tanka) Club (first chair), "Kokumin Bungaku" (tanka magazine)
Influenced By
Kuniko Imai, Eiichi Matsumura

Education

Japan Women's University
Home Economics
Year of Graduation: 1925
Country: Japan
Graduated from Ujiyamada Higher Girls' School (now Mie Prefectural Ujiyamada HS) and Japan Women's University (graduated 1925).

Awards

Japan Kajin Club Recommended Collection (Japan Kajin Club Prize)
1955
Work: Seishō (Blue Adornment)
Organization: Japan Kajin (Tanka) Club
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Literature Prize
1957
Work: In the White Wind
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Choko (Choku) Prize
1979
Work: Like a Squall
Organization: Choko Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Order of the Precious Crown, Fourth Class
1980
Organization: Japan
Result: 受章
Honorary Citizen of Numata
1989
Organization: Numata City
Result: 叙勲・栄誉

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Yamabana-shū (Mountain Flowers Collection)

1935 tanka

Her first tanka collection, gathering early poems.

naturefemale emotion

Seishō

1955 tanka

A postwar collection showing her mature style; recommended by the Japan Kajin Club.

postwar lifewomen's perspective

In the White Wind

1957 tanka

Published 1957; one of her prize-winning collections with lyrical tanka.

lyricismseasonal sensibility

Like a Squall

1979 tanka

Published 1979; blends classical motifs with modern sensibility and won the Choko Prize.

classical allusionnature and emotion

Bibliography

  • Yamabana-shū
  • Yukimei
  • Asakurenai
  • Snow's Musical Score
  • Seishō
  • In the White Wind
  • Encyclopedia of Tanka Composition
  • Genealogy of Fire
  • Rainbow Standing Over the Sea
  • Like a Squall
  • Collected Tanka of Tatsue Ubukata
  • Modern Tanka Series: Tatsue Ubukata

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear, composed style rooted in classical traininglyrical and restrained expression
Recurring Motifs
depictions of naturewomen's life and emotionsreferences to classical literature

Legacy

Regarded as a leading female tanka poet of the postwar era, she contributed significantly to classical-literature studies and the popularization of tanka. Her works and materials are preserved in Numata and the Ubukata Memorial Library.

Museums

  • Ubukata Memorial Library Numata, Gunma Prefecture (Ubukata Memorial Library) Opened in 1986
  • Former Ubukata Family Residence (relocated and preserved) Numata Park, Numata, Gunma Opened in 1970

Academic Societies

  • Japan Kajin (Tanka) Club

Archives

  • Ubukata Memorial Library (donated to Numata City)

In Popular Culture

  • The former Ubukata family residence is preserved and open as an Important Cultural Property

Trivia

  • The former Ubukata family residence is considered one of the oldest machiya-style houses in eastern Japan and was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1970.
  • Her eldest daughter, Michiko Ubukata, is known as a culinary researcher.
  • The Ubukata Memorial Library was opened in 1986 and donated to Numata City in 1993.