Digital reference room

At the age of 10, writer Hyozo Kashiwabara left Tokyo in order to avoid being harmed in the war, evacuating to his father’s hometown of Nyuzen and spending about a year there. His autobiographical novel, “Nagai Michi” (lit. The Long Road), was written based on his experience of being evacuated at that time. This novel was later made into a manga by Fujiko Fujio Ⓐ called “Shonen Jidai” (lit. Childhood Days), as well as a film. While working as an associate professor of German literature, in 1968, he received the 58th Akutagawa Prize for “Tokuyama Dosuke no Kikyo” (lit. The Homecoming of Tokuyama Dosuke), which was modeled after his maternal grandfather. He left behind many works set in Toyama, such as “Shinshoku” (lit. Erosion).

Koshi no Kuni Literature Museum Collection Database

Introduction video (links to YouTube)

Writer Satoko Kizaki spent her days in Takaoka City from 5th grade to high school. In “The Phoenix Tree,” released in 1985 and set in Takaoka, she portrays her protagonist as overcoming her own misfortune in caring for her aunt who suffered from cancer. With this novel, she won the 92nd Akutagawa Prize. She has also written many works set in Toyama, such as her novel “The Sunken Temple,” whose setting was modeled on Himi City, and which won the Ministry of Education’s Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists.

Teruhiko Kuze, active in a variety of fields from television dramas to novels, was evacuated to his parents’ hometown of Toyama City at the age of 10 and spent his time there until graduating from high school. As a director and producer, he created a number of blockbuster dramas such as the “Jikan Desuyo” series and “Terauchi Kantaro Ikka.” He was also active as a writer, and in 1994 he won the 7th Yamamoto Shugoro Prize for “Sen kyuhyaku sanju yo nen Fuyu: Rampo”.

After graduating from high school, Keita Genji, a Naoki Prize-winning author from Toyama City, continued writing novels as he made a living as an office worker, and released many works to the world. In 1951, he won the 25th Naoki Prize for “Eigoyasan” (lit. The English Interpreter) and two other works. “Santo Juyaku” (lit. Third Class Executives) was serialized in the magazine Sunday Mainichi and depicted the sorrows and joys of office workers. It became a bestseller after the war and was also adopted into a film.
Genji's thoughts are engraved on the literary monument built near the site of his birthplace in Toyama City.

Poet Takashi Takashima was born in what is now Namekawa City to a doctor's family. While he was a student at Uozu Junior High School (currently Uozu High School), he published the literary magazine ``Yoro''. He entered Nihon University and majored in liberal arts, but at his father's request, he entered Showa Medical College (currently Showa University School of Medicine). While attending school, he compiled a collection of short poems, including ``The Eye of the Sun is a Rose,'' and his first collection of poems, ``Poetry of the North,'' published in 1938, attracted the attention of poets.
In 1939, he returned to Namekawa and opened a clinic, while in 1941 he published a collection of poems, ``Mountain Range''. After the war, he founded the literary magazine ``Literary Organization'' and devoted his life to poetic activities rooted in the local climate.

Poet “Takashima Takashi” complete works website (moves to external site)

https://takashima-takashi.jp/

Writer Jun Henmi was born in Toyama City, the eldest daughter of Genyoshi Kadokawa, haiku poet, and founder of Kadokawa Shoten. She was active as both a writer and poet, having received the 3rd Nitta Jiro Literary Prize for “Otokotachi no Yamato” (lit. The Men’s Yamato) (1983) and the Kodansha Nonfiction Award and the Oya Soichi Nonfiction Award for “Rageri Kara Kita Isho” (lit. Farewell Notes from a Prison Camp) (1989), as well as having published six poetry anthologies, such as “Yuki no Za” and “Tengai no Kon.”

Introduction video (links to YouTube)

Akutagawa Prize-winning author Yoshie Hotta was born to a long-established family that ran a shipping wholesaler in Takaoka City for generations. Immediately after witnessing the bombing of Tokyo in March 1945 (3), he traveled to China and welcomed the end of the war in Shanghai. After the war, he published novels based on his experience of the war one after another, and in 1952, he won the 26th Akutagawa Prize for “Hiroba no Kodoku” (lit. Solitude in the Plaza), “Kankan” (lit. Chinese Traitor), and others. Following that, he was active on the international stage, making efforts to interact with literary figures around the world, such as with the Afro-Asian Writers’ Association.
In the short story "Tsuru no Ita Niwa" (Tsuru no Ita Niwa), he depicts the decline of his birthplace shipping wholesaler as the times change.This work, which was set in the home where he was born, had a deep affection for Hotta.

Writer Teru Miyamoto is from Hyogo Prefecture and spent a year in Toyama City when he was 10 years old. In 1977, he won the 13th Dazai Osamu Prize for “Muddy River,” making his literary debut. The following year, he won the 78th Akutagawa Prize for his novel “River of Fireflies,” which was set in Toyama. These, along with his novel “River of Lights,” are known as the Rivers trilogy. Many of Miyamoto’s works have been made into films and television dramas and translated all over the world.