Japanese Literary Awards

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Hisashi Yamanaka

やまなか ひさし

Yamanaka Hisashi

Pen Names: Chimon Kei（Pseudonym used to publish girls' novels under a female persona (adopted on an editor's suggestion)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1931-07-20 （Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Otaru, Hokkaido (childhood) → Hiratsuka, Kanagawa (moved during childhood)

Career

Occupations
Children's literature author, Non-fiction writer, Screenwriter, Lyricist
Active Years
1959-
Affiliations
Rokugatsu-sha (later Rokugatsu Shinsha)
Influenced By
Mark Twain (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), Tashumi Furuta
Influenced
Nobuhiko Obayashi (film director; adapted many of Yamanaka's works)

Education

Waseda University, Second Faculty of Letters
Theatre
Degree: 学士
Country: Japan
Member of Waseda Children's Story Society while at university

Awards

Japanese Association of Children's Literature Newcomer Award (6th)
1956
Work: Akage no Pochi
Organization: Japanese Association of Children's Literature
Result: 受賞
Kodansha Newcomer Award for Children's Literature (1st) — Honorable Mention
1960
Work: Child of the Samurai
Category: 佳作
Organization: Kodansha
Result: 佳作
Japanese Association of Children's Literature Award (9th)
1969
Work: Astronomical Lullaby
Organization: Japanese Association of Children's Literature
Result: 辞退
Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award (21st)
1974
Work: Three-Person Crying Bayashi
Organization: Sankei Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Iwata Konami Literary Prize (1st)
1978
Work: Selected Children's Stories of Hisashi Yamanaka
Organization: Iwata Konami Foundation
Result: 受賞
Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award (38th)
1991
Work: My Town Was a Battlefield (editor/translator)
Organization: Sankei Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Noma Children's Literature Prize (31st)
1993
Work: Tondero Jiichan
Organization: Noma Cultural Foundation
Result: 受賞
ExxonMobil Children's Culture Award (38th)
2003
Organization: ExxonMobil (JXTG) Children's Culture Award
Result: 受賞
Utsunomiya Children's Award (24th)
2008
Work: Maki's Ruins Legend
Organization: Utsunomiya Children's Award Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Tobetara Honko

1960 Children's literature

A children's novel influenced by Huckleberry Finn, portraying children's freedom and adventurous spirit.

childhood independenceadventurehumor

Being Myself

1969 Children's literature

A children's novel about self-discovery and growth. Adapted for NHK's youth drama series.

coming of ageidentity

I'm Him and He's Me

1980 Children's / YA

A tale about body/personality swapping; adapted into films such as Obayashi's 'Tenshôsei (Transfer Student)'.

identityhumorfantasy
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Transfer Student (Tenkōsei) / 大林宣彦 (1982)
  • [Film] Tenkōsei: Goodbye You / 大林宣彦 (2007)

Fly, Grandpa, Fly

1993 Children's literature

A work dealing with family and nostalgia. Winner of the Noma Children's Literature Prize and adapted for film.

familynostalgia
Adaptations
  • [Film] That Summer Day / 大林宣彦 (1999)

Bibliography

  • Phantom Cavalry
  • Child of the Samurai
  • Akage no Pochi
  • Tobetara Honko
  • Being Myself
  • Three-Person Crying Bayashi
  • Fly, Grandpa, Fly
  • Maki's Ruins Legend – Haunted City Stories

Adaptations

  • The Transfer Student (film)
  • Lonely Heart (film)
  • Haruka, Nostalgia (film)
  • That Summer Day (film)
  • Abarenhacchaku (TV drama series)

Translations by Author

  • My Town Was a Battlefield (editor/translator)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Plain, humorous proseAccessible children's style that addresses socially conscious themes
Recurring Motifs
childhood under wartimechild's perspectiveanti-war / peace

Health

  • Myocardial infarction
    Became the impetus for essays and memoirs addressing health issues
  • Cancer
    Has written about his experiences with illness

Legacy

Known for in-depth nonfiction about children's wartime experiences and a wide-ranging body of children's fiction. Widely recognized through numerous awards and many film/TV adaptations; contributed archival material to Otaru Literature Museum and influenced postwar discussions of children's literature.

Museums

  • Otaru Literature Museum Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Japanese Association of Children's Literature

Archives

  • Held at Otaru Literature Museum (donated wartime materials)

In Popular Culture

  • Abarenhacchaku TV series (based on his original)
  • Film adaptations by Nobuhiko Obayashi (e.g., 'The Transfer Student', 'Haruka, Nostalgia')

Quotes

  • I am a timid, faint-hearted person. If I had been placed under wartime conditions, I likely would have been among those producing works supportive of the war.
    Source: Afterword to 'On Wartime Children's Literature' (2010)

Trivia

  • Published girls' novels under the female pseudonym 'Chimon Kei'.
  • Discovered a copy of a secret army document attributed to Hideki Tojo at a secondhand book fair in 1980.
  • Co-authored works such as 'Mistakes in Shonen H' with his wife Noriko Yamanaka.