Kodansha Nonfiction Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 16 (1994) award
Tetsuro Shimojima
しもじま てつろう
Shimojima Tetsuro
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1941-01-01 （Ueda, Nagano, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japanese
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Ueda, Nagano (birthplace) → Tokyo (moved in early teens) → Ishigaki Island, Okinawa (around 1975, lived ~1 year) → Fujimi, Nagano (opened Shinshu–Ryukyu library) → Ueda, Nagano (donated books, established library)
Career
- Occupations
- non-fiction writer, painter
- Active Years
- 1978-
- Influenced By
- Chibana Shōichi (collaborator on oral-history research)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Musashino Art University | Oil Painting Department | Oil Painting | — | — | Japan |
Musashino Art University
Oil Painting Department
/ Oil Painting
Country:
Japan
dropped out
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Kodansha Nonfiction Prize | The Crime of Treason in America | — | Kodansha | winner |
Kodansha Nonfiction Prize
1994
Work:
The Crime of Treason in America
Organization:
Kodansha
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Okinawa: The Collective Suicide in Chibichirigama
1992 non-fictionA reportage based on interviews and field investigation that documents collective suicides inside the Chibichirigama cave in Yomitan Village during the Battle of Okinawa.
Battle of Okinawacollective suicidememory and testimony
Pigs Came from the Sea!
1995 non-fiction / folkloreUnearths the postwar fact that Okinawan communities in Hawaii sent pigs to Okinawa to aid recovery, and depicts the background and human connections; later adapted into a musical.
migration historypostwar recoveryfolk tradition
Adaptations
- [musical] Pigs Came from the Sea!
Bibliography
- People of the Open Sea: Oral Records of the Yaeyama Islands (1978)
- Okinawa: The Collective Suicide in Chibichirigama (1992)
- The Crime of Treason in America (1993)
- Pigs Came from the Sea! (1995)
- The Unjustly Living: Collective Suicides from Saipan to Manchuria (2012)
- Reading Ryuichi Matsushita Now (2015)
Adaptations
- 'Pigs Came from the Sea!' adapted into a musical (performed, including in the United States)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- oral-history based reportagedocumentary, descriptive prose grounded in field research
- Recurring Motifs
- Okinawamigrationwar memoryfolk life and local communities
Legacy
Known for in-depth nonfiction based on interviews and fieldwork on the Battle of Okinawa and migration history; contributed to preservation of local history. Cultural legacy includes the musical adaptation of 'Pigs Came from the Sea!' and establishment of a regional library.
Museums
- Shinshu–Ryukyu Library Fujimi, Nagano (later donated to Ueda city) Opened in 2006
Archives
- Shinshu–Ryukyu Library (donated collection / archive)
In Popular Culture
- Musical adaptation and performances of 'Pigs Came from the Sea!' (including in the United States)
Trivia
- Lived with his family on Ishigaki Island around 1975 for about a year.
- 'Pigs Came from the Sea!' was adapted into a musical and performed in the United States.
- Opened the 'Shinshu–Ryukyu Library' at his home in Fujimi, Nagano, and later donated books to establish a namesake library in Ueda.