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Yojiro Sato

さとう ようじろう

Satō Yōjirō

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1949-06-00 （Onga District, Fukuoka, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Onga District, Fukuoka (birth) → Oda, Shimane (raised from middle school) → Tokyo, Japan → Chiba, Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist, University professor, Essayist
Active Years
1975-
Affiliations
Nihon University College of Art (faculty), Japan Writers' Association (executive), The Museum of Modern Japanese Literature (executive), Japan–China Cultural Exchange Association (board member)
Memberships
Japan Writers' Association, Association of Writers Seeking a Nuclear-Free Society
Influenced By
Wahei Tatematsu, Kenji Nakagami, Kenzō Kitakata

Education

Chuo University
Faculty of Economics
Degree: 学士
Period: 1970-1974
Year of Graduation: 1974
Country: Japan

Awards

Noma Literary New Face Award
1995
Work: Summer Solstice Festival
Organization: Noma Cultural Foundation
Result: Winner
Art Encouragement Prize (New Artist)
2000
Work: Fireflies at the Cape
Organization: Japan Arts Council
Result: Winner
Kiyama Shohei Literary Prize
2001
Work: Igirisu-yama
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

To the Estuary

1992 Novel

A novel that sharply depicts human loneliness, instinct and karma against the backdrop of his native landscape and other regions.

place/landscapelonelinessinstinctkarma

Summer Solstice Festival

1995 Novel

Through a local festival and human relationships, the novel explores characters' inner lives and actions. Winner of the 17th Noma Literary New Face Award.

communityritualhuman relationships

Fireflies at the Cape

1998 Novel

A work portraying the intersection of nature and human life; awarded the Art Encouragement Prize (New Artist) in 2000.

natureremembrancerenewal

Igirisu-yama

2000 Novel

A well-regarded novel about the relationship between land and people, depicting human karma and loneliness. Winner of the Kiyama Shohei Literary Prize.

landlonelinessfate

Bibliography

  • To the Estuary
  • Go Forward
  • Summer Solstice Festival
  • Door of Dreams
  • Distant Sunset
  • The Big Rejection
  • My Father's Lover
  • Kaminabi
  • My Son's Name Is ... (Taku?)
  • Fireflies at the Cape
  • Confessions of a Construction Contractor
  • Igirisu-yama
  • Mourning of a Cat
  • Paradise Family
  • Practical Techniques of Novel Writing
  • Revised: Techniques of Novel Writing
  • Namu
  • Hey, Munakata!
  • Mrs. Jun
  • Lucky Cat Koban Summer Festival
  • Landscapes of Life
  • Silent Gods I
  • Sounds of Summer
  • Hooray for Yakiniku Bowl! A Father's Back, A Son's View
  • Unfinished Friendship
  • Lover
  • Silent Gods II
  • The Rigor of a Strict Father
  • Mother Pig's Dance
  • Tokyo
  • Walking the Literature of Islands
  • The Gut's Insects
  • Tales of the Slope
  • Goodbye My Love
  • TOKYO-BRIDGE
  • Shinran: The Past Is Not Blamed
  • Nindo
  • Tsuma-gome
  • Selected Novels 1: 'Matibari'
  • Selected Novels 2: 'Capsule Man'
  • Regret
  • Y-shaped Bridge
  • Full of Falsehoods: The Darkness of History
  • Words a Cheerful Centenarian Grandma Grasped in Life
  • Embracing the Night
  • A History of Ancient Japan Full of Mistakes

Style & Themes

Literary Style
robust, hearty prosestrong emphasis on regional/landscape depictionrealist narrative style
Recurring Motifs
landscape and local climatelonelinessshrines and folk traditionremote islandsizakaya (pub) cultureromance

Legacy

He is regarded as a writer who depicts human inner life and karma through the landscapes of his native and other regions. Through teaching at university and serving on prize juries, he has contributed to mentoring younger writers and to literary community activities.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Writers' Association

Quotes

  • Personality is shaped by the land (climate/region).
    Source: Wikipedia article '佐藤洋二郎'

Trivia

  • Born in Onga District, Fukuoka; grew up in Oda, Shimane from middle school.
  • Has traveled to thousands of shrines and over 100 islands.
  • Served on the faculty of Nihon University College of Art and retired in 2020.
  • Maintains a Twitter account (@QPYU8AqDH0YygLF).