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Yoshino Hideo

よしの ひでお

Yoshino Hideo

Pen Names: Soshin（Art name / pen name used as a gō）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1902-07-03 （Takasaki, Gunma, Japan）
Died
1967-07-13 （Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan） age 65
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Takasaki (birthplace) → Tomioka, Gunma (residence during childhood/illness) → Kamakura (long-term residence) → Shichirigahama (sanatorium/residence) → Hase (Kamakura)

Career

Occupations
tanka poet, calligrapher, essayist, man of letters
Active Years
1920-1967
Influenced By
Masaoka Shiki, Aizu Yaichi, Yagi Jūkichi, Ryokan (subject of study)
Influenced
Yamaguchi Hitomi, Yoshino Soji

Education

Keio University
Faculty of Economics
Period: 1920–1924（中退）
Country: Japan
Left without a degree due to tuberculosis during studies

Awards

Yomiuri Literary Prize
1959
Work: Collected Poems of Yoshino Hideo
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: winner
Choko Prize
1967
Organization: Choko Prize Committee
Result: winner
Art Encouragement Prize (Minister of Education Award)
1968
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs / Ministry of Education
Result: winner (posthumous)

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Kansen-shū (Cold Cicada Collection)

1947 tanka collection

A tanka collection published shortly after the war; features poems of personal circumstance with Man'yō-influenced style.

illness and mortalitynatureMan'yō-style diction

Yoshino Hideo Collected Poems

1958 tanka collection

An edited collection including Kansen-shū and Seiin-shū; established his reputation in the tanka world.

nostalgiapoems of personal conditiondescriptions of nature

Yawaraka na Kokoro (A Gentle Heart)

1966 essays

An essay collection containing reflections on daily life, art appreciation, and views on life.

everyday lifeart appreciationhuman compassion
Adaptations
  • [film] Waga Koi Waga Uta / 中村登 (1969)

Gankō-shū (Containing Red Collection)

1967 tanka collection

A late collection with many poems written while contending with illness and mortality.

later yearsillnessviews on life and death

Kokoro no Furusato (The Heart's Hometown)

1967 essays / newspaper series

Collection of essays originally serialized in the Mainichi Shimbun, containing reflections on place and mind.

nostalgiaessays

Bibliography

  • Kansen-shū
  • Seiin-shū
  • Yoshino Hideo Collected Poems
  • Gankō-shū
  • Yawaraka na Kokoro
  • Kokoro no Furusato
  • Comments on Rokei-shū
  • Ryokan: The Man and His Songs

Adaptations

  • Waga Koi Waga Uta (film, 1969)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Pure, concise style based on Man'yō dictionRealistic expression influenced by Masaoka Shiki and the Araragi school
Recurring Motifs
daily life battling illnessdevotion to Ryokannature imagery (sea, shore, plants)

Health

  • pulmonary tuberculosis
    1924頃〜（断続的）
    Contributed to leaving university and led to prolonged periods of treatment and ill health
  • bronchial asthma
    1925年頃〜晩年
    Required convalescence and limited outings and creative activity
  • diabetes
    晩年
    Worsened overall health and affected later-life living conditions
  • rheumatism
    晩年
    Caused physical pain and restricted creative activity

Legacy

Remembered for a Man'yō-influenced style that expressed personal circumstance; recognized as a tanka poet, calligrapher and essayist. Memorial events such as the Soshin-ki and annual commemorative tanka competitions continue; numerous monuments to his poems exist across Japan.

In Popular Culture

  • Film 'Waga Koi Waga Uta' (1969) used material based on his essays
  • Soshin-ki memorial events at Zuisen-ji temple in Kamakura

Quotes

  • I only know the heart that fears death and also fears life, a human wavering without steadiness
    Source: Zuisen-ji monument / included in his collected poems

Trivia

  • Posthumous Buddhist name: 'Soshindō Zekan Hideo Koji'
  • Buried at Zuisen-ji in Kamakura
  • A commemorative tanka competition in Takasaki began on his 100th birth anniversary
  • Left Keio University due to illness during his studies