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Tetsuzo Wada

わだ てつぞう

Wada Tetsuzo

Pen Names: Tatsuki Akira（Pen name used in literary works）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1909-08-04 （Yoichi, Hokkaido, Japan）
Died
1999-06-27 （Hokkaido, Japan） age 89
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese, English
Religion
Jodo Shinshu (influenced by Shinran's teachings)
Residence History
Hokkaido (lifetime residence)

Career

Occupations
Poet, English literature scholar, Translator, University professor
Active Years
1930-1999
Affiliations
Japan Comparative Literature Association, Japan Association of English Literary Studies, Hokkaido College of Pharmacy (faculty)
Memberships
Japan Comparative Literature Association, Japan Association of English Literary Studies
Influenced By
Ryoshin Soga, Daiei Kaneko, Herbert Read
Influenced
Subsequent poets in Hokkaido

Education

Otaru Higher Commercial School
Period: 〜1931
Year of Graduation: 1931
Country: Japan
Graduated from Otaru Higher Commercial School

Awards

Hokkaido Cultural Award (Encouragement Prize)
1950
Category: 奨励賞
Organization: Hokkaido Prefecture
Result: 受賞
Japan Poets Club Prize
1979
Work: Collected Poems of Wada Tetsuzo
Organization: Japan Poets Club
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Mon

1935 Poetry collection

Early poetry collection including works from his participation in the literary circle "Shi no Ki".

Early modernismLocal homeland

Gōban Kakan

1949 Poetry collection

A postwar poetry collection showing his growing interest in poetic theory.

Postwar poetryIntrospection

Collected Poems of Wada Tetsuzo

1978 Poetry (Collected works)

Collected volume of representative works, consolidating his metaphysical poetic orientation and Buddhist themes.

Metaphysical poetryBuddhist thoughtSea and nostalgia

Bibliography

  • Mon (Shi no Ki Company, 1935)
  • Gōban Kakan (Chiyoda Shoin, 1949)
  • The Town of White Seaweed (Nihon Miraiha Press, 1952)
  • Time Beneath Metal (Apollon, 1960)
  • Children's Poems: The Green Arch (Kokubunsha, 1967)
  • Return to Nature (Kyuryudo, 1970)
  • Void: Poems of Wada Tetsuzo (Kokubunsha, 1978)
  • My Requiem Songs (Okisakusha, 1982)
  • Poematia of Black and White (Okisakusha, 1988)
  • Drafts of Metaphysical Poetics (Okisakusha, 1989)
  • Eternity: My Theory of Consciousness-Only (Okisakusha, 1992)
  • Arabesque: Poems (Okisakusha, 1992)
  • The World of Tetsuzo Wada: Metaphysical Poetry and Childlike Spirit (Okisakusha, 1995)
  • Song of the Turtle: Poems (Okisakusha, 1996)
  • Poematia Again: Posthumous Poems of Wada Tetsuzo (Okisakusha, 1999)
  • Modern Poetry and Buddhist Thought (Okisakusha, 2001)

Translations by Author

  • The Meaning of Modern Poetry (translated from Herbert Read, Misuzu Shobo, 1957)
  • Refusals of the Night: Poems (Herbert Read translation, Kokubunsha, 1962)
  • The Man-Eating Cat (Burton Rascoe translation, Kadokawa Bunko, 1978)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Experimental metaphysical poetry styleElliptical and symbolic expression incorporating Buddhist thought
Recurring Motifs
SeaDeathBuddhist salvationNostalgia

Legacy

A poet and English literature scholar rooted in Hokkaido who led regional literary circles. He established a distinctive poetic domain by fusing metaphysical poetry with Buddhist themes.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Comparative Literature Association
  • Japan Association of English Literary Studies

In Popular Culture

  • Poem monument erected at Otaru University of Commerce (1994)
  • Poem monument at the Fisheries Museum in Yoichi (1988)

Quotes

  • It is that capricious raging wave
    Source: Opening line of "White Cantata" (inscription on poem monument)

Trivia

  • Used the pen name Tatsuki Akira (龍木煌).
  • Lived in Hokkaido for his entire life and was a leading regional literary figure.
  • Known for translations and studies of Herbert Read.