Tsuneari Fukuda (25 August 1912 – 20 November 1994) was a Japanese playwright, translator, literary critic and public…
Tsuneari Fukuda (25 August 1912 – 20 November 1994) was a Japanese playwright, translator, literary critic and public intellectual. Born in Tokyo to a working-class family, Fukuda read English literature at Tokyo Imperial University. A scholar of D. H. Lawrence, he found his voice as a critic by contributing to literary magazines. Interested in theatre from a young age, Fukuda became associated with the shingeki genre of contemporary theatre, writing and producing numerous original plays, including The Man Who Stroked the Dragon (1952) and The Fuhrer is Still Alive! (1970), for which he was awarded the Yomiuri Prize and Grand Prize for Japanese Literature respectively. From the 1950s, he began a life-long endeavour to translate William Shakespeare's work into Japanese. He staged successful productions of these translations, starting with Hamlet in 1955, which set off a Shakespeare boom in Japan. Originally associated with the Bungakuza theatre company, he later broke away to found the Kumo and Subaru companies in 1963 and 1975 respectively. A contributor to popular magazines such as Bungei Shunjū, Chūō Kōron, and Shokun!, Fukuda became well-known to the Japanese public as a conservative intellectual from the 1950s. He opposed the post-war Japanese script reform, and was awarded another Yomiuri Prize for his book on the subject, My Japanese Language Classroom (1960). He criticised left-wing movements, such as the Anpo protests, and questioned the dominance of pacifism in post-war Japan. A supporter of individual liberty and freedom of expression, he rejected the politicisation of art, and expressed doubts about Japanese modernisation. From 1969, he began teaching at Kyoto Sangyo University, and in 1981, he became a member of the Japan Art Academy. After suffering more than a decade of declining health, he died at Ōiso in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1994.
Famous Japanese People: Translator
Translator: 90 people
Kaoru Morimoto (森本薫, Morimoto Kaoru; 4 June 1912 – 6 October 1946) was a Japanese playwright, screenwriter and…
Kaoru Morimoto (森本薫, Morimoto Kaoru; 4 June 1912 – 6 October 1946) was a Japanese playwright, screenwriter and translator. He is famous for his critically acclaimed play A Woman's Life (Onna no isshō), which became one of the most often performed plays in post-war Japan.
Shōhei Ōoka (Japanese: 大岡 昇平, romanized: Ōoka Shōhei; March 6, 1909 – December 25, 1988) was a Japanese novelist…
Shōhei Ōoka (Japanese: 大岡 昇平, romanized: Ōoka Shōhei; March 6, 1909 – December 25, 1988) was a Japanese novelist, literary critic, and lecturer and translator of French literature who was active during the Shōwa period. Ōoka belongs to the group of postwar writers whose Pacific War experiences at home and abroad figure prominently in their works. Over his lifetime, he contributed short stories and critical essays to almost every literary magazine in Japan.
Chūya Nakahara (中原 中也, Nakahara Chūya; 29 April 1907 – 22 October 1937), born Chūya Kashimura (柏村 中也, Kashimura Chūya)…
Chūya Nakahara (中原 中也, Nakahara Chūya; 29 April 1907 – 22 October 1937), born Chūya Kashimura (柏村 中也, Kashimura Chūya), was a Japanese poet active during the early Shōwa period. Originally shaped by Dada and other forms of European (mainly French) experimental poetry, he was one of the leading renovators of Japanese poetry. Although he died at the young age of 30, he wrote more than 350 poems throughout his life. Many called him the "Japanese Rimbaud" for his affinities with the French poet whose poems he translated in 1934.
Momoko Ishii (石井 桃子, Ishii Momoko; March 10, 1907 – April 2, 2008) was a Japanese writer and translator of children's…
Momoko Ishii (石井 桃子, Ishii Momoko; March 10, 1907 – April 2, 2008) was a Japanese writer and translator of children's books. She was the first member of the Japan Art Academy from the field of children's literature.
Shunji Shimizu (清水俊二 Shimizu Shunji?), (1906-1988), is a well-known Japanese subtitler and translator, referred to by…
Shunji Shimizu (清水俊二 Shimizu Shunji?), (1906-1988), is a well-known Japanese subtitler and translator, referred to by one scholar as 'practically a household name in Japan'. He translated popular authors including Erskine Caldwell and Agatha Christie. He had a long working relationship with the Hollywood studio Paramount Pictures. He was a mentor to the eminent subtitler Natsuko Toda.
Sei Itō (伊藤 整, Itō Sei; 16 January 1905 – 15 November 1969), born Hitoshi Itō (伊藤 整, Itō Hitoshi), was a Japanese…
Sei Itō (伊藤 整, Itō Sei; 16 January 1905 – 15 November 1969), born Hitoshi Itō (伊藤 整, Itō Hitoshi), was a Japanese Modernist writer of poetry, prose and essays, and a translator.
Kiyoshi Jinzai (神西 清, Jinzai Kiyoshi; 15 November 1903 – 11 March 1957) was a Japanese novelist, Russian translator and…
Kiyoshi Jinzai (神西 清, Jinzai Kiyoshi; 15 November 1903 – 11 March 1957) was a Japanese novelist, Russian translator and literary critic active during the Shōwa period of Japan.
Yang Ju-dong (Korean: 양주동; 24 June 1903 – 4 February 1977) was a South Korean poet, professor, literary scholar, and…
Yang Ju-dong (Korean: 양주동; 24 June 1903 – 4 February 1977) was a South Korean poet, professor, literary scholar, and academic. He published on both English and Korean literature. He is also known by his art name Mu-ae (무애).
Tomoji Abe (阿部 知二, Abe Tomoji; 26 June 1903 – 23 April 1973) was a Japanese novelist, social critic, humanist, and…
Tomoji Abe (阿部 知二, Abe Tomoji; 26 June 1903 – 23 April 1973) was a Japanese novelist, social critic, humanist, and translator of English and American literature. Although he began writing as a modernist, in his later works he represented the intellectual movement in Japanese literature. This movement departed from Japanese traditional thinking and from established forms of narration, which focused on aesthetic values and emotional states of mind (such as appear in the works of Junichiro Tanizaki and Ryunosuke Akutagawa); it also departed from modernist views, which continued to be popular in world literature and in Japan (Japanese modernist writers included Haruo Satō, Sei Ito, Tatsuo Hori, Riichi Yokomitsu and Yasunari Kawabata). Abe's intellectual approach was incompatible with the socio-political atmosphere of Japan in the early Shōwa period (1926–1945), with rising fascism and militarism, and the crusade to preserve Japanese feudal traditions.
Hu Feng (Chinese: 胡风; pinyin: Hú Fēng, November 2, 1902 – June 8, 1985) was a Chinese Marxist writer, poet and literary…
Hu Feng (Chinese: 胡风; pinyin: Hú Fēng, November 2, 1902 – June 8, 1985) was a Chinese Marxist writer, poet and literary theorist. He was a prominent member of the League of Left-Wing Writers. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Hu Feng became a member of the First National People's Congress of China, but was then heavily persecuted as the chief of the Hu Feng Counter-revolutionary Clique (Chinese: 胡风反革命集团). The persecution became a massive political purge. He was first rehabilitated in 1980 and fully rehabilitated, posthumously, in 1988.
Tatsuji Miyoshi (三好 達治, Miyoshi Tatsuji; 23 August 1900 – 5 April 1964) was a Japanese poet, literary critic, and…
Tatsuji Miyoshi (三好 達治, Miyoshi Tatsuji; 23 August 1900 – 5 April 1964) was a Japanese poet, literary critic, and literary editor active during the Shōwa period of Japan. He is known for his lengthy free verse poetry, which often portray loneliness and isolation as part of contemporary life, but which are written in a complex, highly literary style reminiscent of classical Japanese poetry.
Kaitarō Hasegawa (長谷川海太郎, Hasegawa Kaitarō; 17 January 1900 – 29 June 1935) was a Japanese novelist and translator…
Kaitarō Hasegawa (長谷川海太郎, Hasegawa Kaitarō; 17 January 1900 – 29 June 1935) was a Japanese novelist and translator during the early Shōwa period. Hasegawa wrote works in various genres under numerous pen names, each with a unique personality, and caused a sensation with the sheer brilliance of his fiction, non-fiction and translations.
Kiyoshi Ishikawa (石川 淳, Ishikawa Kiyoshi; 7 March 1899 – 29 December 1987), known by his pen name Jun Ishikawa (written…
Kiyoshi Ishikawa (石川 淳, Ishikawa Kiyoshi; 7 March 1899 – 29 December 1987), known by his pen name Jun Ishikawa (written in the same kanji), was a Japanese modernist author, translator and literary critic active during the Shōwa era.
Tetsuzō Tanikawa (谷川 徹三, Tanikawa Tetsuzō; 26 May 1895 – 27 September 1989) was a Japanese philosopher who promoted the…
Tetsuzō Tanikawa (谷川 徹三, Tanikawa Tetsuzō; 26 May 1895 – 27 September 1989) was a Japanese philosopher who promoted the concept of World Government for purposes of peace.
Itō Noe (伊藤 野枝; January 21, 1895 – September 16, 1923) was a Japanese anarchist, social critic, author, and feminist.…
Itō Noe (伊藤 野枝; January 21, 1895 – September 16, 1923) was a Japanese anarchist, social critic, author, and feminist. She was the editor-in-chief of the feminist magazine Seitō (Bluestocking). Her progressive anarcha-feminist ideology challenged the norms of the Meiji and Taishō periods in which she lived. She drew praise from critics for her ability to weave her personal and political ideas into her writings. The Japanese government, however, condemned her for challenging the constructs of the time. She became a martyr of the anarchist ideology in which she believed during the Amakasu Incident, when she was murdered along with her lover, anarchist author Ōsugi Sakae, and his nephew.
Ōmi Komaki (小牧 近江, Komaki Ōmi; 11 May 1894 – 29 October 1978) was the pen-name of a scholar and translator of French…
Ōmi Komaki (小牧 近江, Komaki Ōmi; 11 May 1894 – 29 October 1978) was the pen-name of a scholar and translator of French literature in Taishō and Shōwa period Japan. His real name was Komaki Ōmiya.
Hanako Muraoka (村岡 花子, Muraoka Hanako; June 21, 1893 – October 25, 1968) was a Japanese novelist and translator. She is…
Hanako Muraoka (村岡 花子, Muraoka Hanako; June 21, 1893 – October 25, 1968) was a Japanese novelist and translator. She is best known for translating Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery into Japanese.
Ozaki Kihachi (尾崎 喜八; 31 January 1892 – 4 February 1974) was a Japanese poet active during the Shōwa period of Japan.
Kazuo Hirotsu (広津 和郎, Hirotsu Kazuo; 5 December 1891 – 21 September 1968) was a Japanese novelist, literary critic and…
Kazuo Hirotsu (広津 和郎, Hirotsu Kazuo; 5 December 1891 – 21 September 1968) was a Japanese novelist, literary critic and translator active in the Shōwa period.
Kosakai Mitsuji (Japanese: 小酒井 光次, 8 October 1890 – 1 April 1929), better known by the pen name Kosakai Fuboku…
Kosakai Mitsuji (Japanese: 小酒井 光次, 8 October 1890 – 1 April 1929), better known by the pen name Kosakai Fuboku (Japanese: 小酒井 不木), was a Japanese medical scientist and crime writer. A variant of the family name Kosakai is Kozakai.
Jun Tanaka (田中純, Tanaka Jun; 1890–1966) was a Japanese novelist, playwright and translator. His best known works…
Jun Tanaka (田中純, Tanaka Jun; 1890–1966) was a Japanese novelist, playwright and translator. His best known works include the short story collection Tsuma (Wife). Tanaka was born in Hiroshima and studied English literature at Waseda University. Together with Satomi Ton, Yoshii Isamu and Kume Masao, he helped establish the literary magazine Ningen ("Human").
Ichiko Kamichika (神近 市子, Kamichika Ichiko) (June 6, 1888 – August 1, 1981) was a journalist, feminist, writer…
Ichiko Kamichika (神近 市子, Kamichika Ichiko) (June 6, 1888 – August 1, 1981) was a journalist, feminist, writer, translator, and critic. Her birth name was Ichi Kamichika and her pen name was Ei, Yo, or Ou Sakaki (榊 纓). After World War II, Kamichika served in the Japanese House of Representatives as a member of the Japan Socialist Party.
Mokutarō Kinoshita (木下 杢太郎, Kinoshita Mokutarō; August 1, 1885 – October 15, 1945) was the pen-name of a Japanese…
Mokutarō Kinoshita (木下 杢太郎, Kinoshita Mokutarō; August 1, 1885 – October 15, 1945) was the pen-name of a Japanese author, dramaturge, poet, art historian and literary critic, as well as a licensed doctor specializing in dermatology during Taishō and early Shōwa period Japan. His other pen names included Hori Kason (堀花村), Chika Isshakusei (地下一尺生), Sōnan (葱南) and others. As professor of dermatology and a noted leprosy researcher, he served at four universities (South Manchuria Medical College, Aichi Medical College, Tohoku Imperial University, Tokyo Imperial University).
Ōsugi Sakae (Japanese: 大杉 栄; 17 January 1885 – 16 September 1923) was a Japanese anarchist writer and social critic of…
Ōsugi Sakae (Japanese: 大杉 栄; 17 January 1885 – 16 September 1923) was a Japanese anarchist writer and social critic of the Taishō period. His thought centered on individualism, direct action, and the "expansion of the ego" as philosophical underpinnings for social and personal revolution. Born into a military family, Ōsugi was expelled from military school for insubordination and turned to language studies and radical politics in Tokyo. After a series of prison terms between 1906 and 1910, which he considered his "real education," he emerged as a leading voice in the Japanese anarchist movement. Through his journals, such as Kindai shisō (Modern Thought) and Rōdō undō (The Labor Movement), he introduced the works of European thinkers like Peter Kropotkin, Georges Sorel, and Henri Bergson to Japan, synthesizing their ideas into his own philosophy. His advocacy of free love and his controversial personal life, which included simultaneous relationships with three women, led to a violent attack against him in 1916 and his temporary ostracism from the socialist movement. Ōsugi became a key figure in the Japanese labor movement, advocating for syndicalism and workers' autonomy while strongly criticizing both state authority and the emerging Bolshevism. In the chaotic aftermath of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, Ōsugi, his partner and fellow anarchist Itō Noe, and his six-year-old nephew were arrested by a squad of military police led by Captain Amakasu Masahiko. They were beaten and strangled, their bodies disposed of in a well. Their murders, known as the Amakasu Incident, became a symbol of state violence against radicals during the period.
Tsuji Jun (辻 潤, Tsuji Jun; October 4, 1884 – November 24, 1944) was a Japanese author: a poet, essayist, playwright…
Tsuji Jun (辻 潤, Tsuji Jun; October 4, 1884 – November 24, 1944) was a Japanese author: a poet, essayist, playwright, and translator. He has also been described as a Dadaist, nihilist, Epicurean, shakuhachi musician, actor and bohemian. He translated Max Stirner's The Ego and Its Own and Cesare Lombroso's The Man of Genius into Japanese. Born in Tōkyō, Tsuji sought escape in literature from a childhood he described as "nothing but destitution, hardship, and a series of traumatizing difficulties". He became interested in the works of Tolstoy, Kōtoku Shūsui's socialist anarchism, and the literature of Oscar Wilde and Voltaire, among many others. Later, in 1920 Tsuji was introduced to Dada and became a self-proclaimed first Dadaist of Japan, a title also claimed by Tsuji's contemporary, Shinkichi Takahashi. Tsuji became a fervent proponent of Stirnerite egoist anarchism, which would become a point of contention between himself and Takahashi. He wrote one of the prologues for famed feminist poet Hayashi Fumiko's 1929 (I Saw a Pale Horse (蒼馬を見たり, Ao Uma wo Mitari) and was active in the radical artistic circles of his time.
Ikuta Chōkō (生田長江, Ikuta Chōkō; 21 April 1882 - 11 January 1936) was the pen-name of a noted translator, author and…
Ikuta Chōkō (生田長江, Ikuta Chōkō; 21 April 1882 - 11 January 1936) was the pen-name of a noted translator, author and literary critic in Taishō and Shōwa period Japan. His real name was Ikuta Kōji (生田弘治, Ikuta Kōji).
Morita Yonematsu (19 March 1881 – 14 December 1949; Japanese: 森田 米松), known under pen name Morita Sōhei (Japanese: 森田…
Morita Yonematsu (19 March 1881 – 14 December 1949; Japanese: 森田 米松), known under pen name Morita Sōhei (Japanese: 森田 草平, もりた そうへい), was a novelist and translator of Western literature active during the late Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods of Japan.
Katayama Hiroko (片山広子 born 10 February 1878 in Tokyo, died 19 March 1957) was a Japanese poet and translator. She did…
Katayama Hiroko (片山広子 born 10 February 1878 in Tokyo, died 19 March 1957) was a Japanese poet and translator. She did many translations of Irish writers under the pseudonym Matsumura Mineko. Her husband was a noted bureaucrat. She reportedly took her pseudonym from a name she saw on a child's umbrella. She maintained a friendship with Ryūnosuke Akutagawa and he reportedly said of her "Finally I have met a woman who can be called my equal in the arena of words." She also acted as a mentor to Muraoka Hanako who is known in Japan for translating Anne of Green Gables.
Senuma Kayō (Japanese: 瀬沼夏葉; December 11, 1875 – February 28, 1915) was a Japanese translator and teacher. She was the…
Senuma Kayō (Japanese: 瀬沼夏葉; December 11, 1875 – February 28, 1915) was a Japanese translator and teacher. She was the first woman to translate Russian literature to Japanese.
Bin Ueda (上田 敏, Ueda Bin; October 30, 1874 – July 9, 1916) was a Japanese writer. Born in Tsukiji, Tokyo, he graduated…
Bin Ueda (上田 敏, Ueda Bin; October 30, 1874 – July 9, 1916) was a Japanese writer. Born in Tsukiji, Tokyo, he graduated from Tokyo Imperial University. His major work is Kaichoon 海潮音 (The Sound of the Tide, 1905), a collection of translations from Western poets by Ueda himself.
Juji Nakada (中田 重治, Nakada Jūji; 1870–1939) was a Japanese holiness evangelist, known as "the Dwight Moody of Japan"…
Juji Nakada (中田 重治, Nakada Jūji; 1870–1939) was a Japanese holiness evangelist, known as "the Dwight Moody of Japan" (Stark 28-29), who was the first bishop of the Japan Holiness Church and one of the co-founders of the Oriental Missionary Society (now One Mission Society).
Suiin Emi (江見 水蔭, Emi Suiin; 17 September 1869 – 3 November 1934), born Tadanori Emi (江見 忠功, Emi Tadanori), was a…
Suiin Emi (江見 水蔭, Emi Suiin; 17 September 1869 – 3 November 1934), born Tadanori Emi (江見 忠功, Emi Tadanori), was a Japanese novelist and journalist. Born in Okayama into a shizoku (former samurai) family, he travelled to Tokyo to join the army but instead joined the Kenyūsha literary society and quickly became celebrated during the Sino-Japanese War for his patriotic stories in the newspaper Chūō Shinbun. A pillar of the Meiji-era literary establishment, and the editor of Kobe Shinbun and Taiheiyo as well as Senshibankō and Kozakuraodoshi, his writing is marred for modern readers by its imperialist outlook, one example being Osero, a new version of Othello commissioned for the Otojiro Kawakami troupe and set in the Taiwan of 1903, in which the Othello figure, the governor Lt. Gen. Muro Washirō, is a Japanese burakumin who has been sent to the island to suppress a rebellion. He was the first to refer to sumo as the national sport (kokugi), inspiring the name of the Ryōgoku Kokugikan stadium built in 1909. He died in Matsuyama.
Wakamatsu Shizuko (若松 賤子; 6 September 1864 – 10 February 1896) was a Japanese educator, translator, and novelist best…
Wakamatsu Shizuko (若松 賤子; 6 September 1864 – 10 February 1896) was a Japanese educator, translator, and novelist best known for translating Little Lord Fauntleroy written by Frances Hodgson Burnett. She is also known for introducing literature with Christianity for children's novels.
Futabatei Shimei (二葉亭 四迷; 4 April 1864 – 10 May 1909) was a Japanese writer, translator, and literary critic. His…
Futabatei Shimei (二葉亭 四迷; 4 April 1864 – 10 May 1909) was a Japanese writer, translator, and literary critic. His writings are in the realist style popular in the mid to late 19th century. His work The Drifting Cloud (Ukigumo, 1887) is widely regarded as Japan's first modern novel.
Kuroiwa Shūroku (黒岩 周六, Kuroiwa Shūroku; 29 September 1862 – 6 October 1920), also known as Kuroiwa Ruikō (黒岩 涙香), was…
Kuroiwa Shūroku (黒岩 周六, Kuroiwa Shūroku; 29 September 1862 – 6 October 1920), also known as Kuroiwa Ruikō (黒岩 涙香), was a Japanese journalist, novelist and translator. He founded Yorozu Chōhō in 1892, which soon became one of Japan's largest newspapers. He translated more than 100 French and English language novels into the Japanese language. In 1919, while on his way to the Paris Peace Conference, Kuroiwa met with Madam C. J. Walker of the International League for Darker People to discuss a shared strategy at the conference. His Dharma name, which he chose himself, was Kuroiwain Shūroku Ruikō Chūten Koji (黒岩院周六涙香忠天居士).
Lieutenant-General Mori Rintarō (森 林太郎; February 17, 1862 – July 8, 1922), known by his pen name Mori Ōgai (森 鷗外…
Lieutenant-General Mori Rintarō (森 林太郎; February 17, 1862 – July 8, 1922), known by his pen name Mori Ōgai (森 鷗外; Japanese pronunciation: [mo.ɾʲi (|) oꜜː.ɡai, -ŋai]), was a Japanese Army Surgeon general officer, translator, novelist, poet and father of famed author Mari Mori. He obtained his medical license at a very young age and introduced translated German language literary works to the Japanese public. Mori Ōgai also was considered the first to successfully express the art of western poetry in Japanese. He wrote many works and created many writing styles. The Wild Geese (1911–1913) is considered his major work. After his death, he was considered one of the leading writers who modernized Japanese literature. His continued obstinacy to recognize beriberi as a thiamine deficiency led to the death of more than 27,000 Japanese soldiers.
Tsubouchi Shōyō (坪内 逍遥; May 22, 1859 – February 28, 1935) was a Japanese author, critic, playwright, translator…
Tsubouchi Shōyō (坪内 逍遥; May 22, 1859 – February 28, 1935) was a Japanese author, critic, playwright, translator, editor, educator, and professor at Waseda University. He has been referred to as a seminal figure in Japanese drama.
Tomoso Nonaka (Japanese:野中ともそ) is a Japanese novelist and illustrator.
Kyōko Nakano (Japanese: 中野京子) is a Japanese scholar of German literature, Western cultural historian, and translator.…
Kyōko Nakano (Japanese: 中野京子) is a Japanese scholar of German literature, Western cultural historian, and translator. Nakano grew up in Hokkaido, Japan, and completed her master's degree at Waseda University in Shinjuku, Tokyo. In 2007, she published Scary Pictures, that would be the first of a series of art books on the theme of fear in painting (kowai-e). Volumes 2, 3, 4 and 5 were published in 2008, 2009, 2016 and 2017, respectively, and the best-selling series led to an exhibition in 2017 and a stage adaptation in 2022.