Yuki Okoda (Japanese: 大小田 結貴, born 1994 in Kure, Hiroshima) is a Japanese astronomer. She made headlines while she was…
Yuki Okoda (Japanese: 大小田 結貴, born 1994 in Kure, Hiroshima) is a Japanese astronomer. She made headlines while she was a physics graduate student in her 2nd year of Masters at the University of Tokyo's School of Science. Okoda found a dense disk of material around a young star, which may be a precursor of a planetary system. The star in question is known by its catalogue number IRAS 15398-3359. Okoda and her colleagues are researching the formation of planetary systems through radio-wave observation using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. In 2018 Okoda was named one of the 100 influential women in the world by the BBC. After obtaining her DSc, she works as a researcher at RIKEN.
Famous Japanese People: Literary Scholar
Literary Scholar: 124 people
Tomonori Totani (戸谷 友則, Totani Tomonori, born November 21, 1971) is a Japanese astronomer and professor at the…
Tomonori Totani (戸谷 友則, Totani Tomonori, born November 21, 1971) is a Japanese astronomer and professor at the University of Tokyo. He is a director of the FastSound Project for the Subaru Telescope, Hawaii. He specializes in cosmology, galaxy formation, and high-energy astrophysics.
Masatsugu Ono (小野 正嗣, Ono Masatsugu; born 1970) is a Japanese writer. He resides in Ōita Prefecture and is associate…
Masatsugu Ono (小野 正嗣, Ono Masatsugu; born 1970) is a Japanese writer. He resides in Ōita Prefecture and is associate professor at the Rikkyo University. He was awarded the 152nd Akutagawa Prize (for 2014, presented in 2015), for the novel Kyūnen-mae no inori ("A Prayer Nine Years Ago").
Toshiyuki Horie (堀江 敏幸, Horie Toshiyuki; born January 3, 1964) is a Japanese author, translator, and scholar of French…
Toshiyuki Horie (堀江 敏幸, Horie Toshiyuki; born January 3, 1964) is a Japanese author, translator, and scholar of French literature.
Atsushi Koyano (小谷野 敦, Koyano Atsushi; 21 December 1962) is a Japanese scholar of comparative literature and critic. He…
Atsushi Koyano (小谷野 敦, Koyano Atsushi; 21 December 1962) is a Japanese scholar of comparative literature and critic. He also has advanced degrees and pedagogy careers in Osaka University, Meiji University, Tokyo University.
Takashi Aoyagi (青柳 隆志, Aoyagi Takashi; born August 17, 1961 in Chiba) is a Japanese scholar of Japanese literature and…
Takashi Aoyagi (青柳 隆志, Aoyagi Takashi; born August 17, 1961 in Chiba) is a Japanese scholar of Japanese literature and college professor from Chiba, Chiba. He was the Japanese voice actor for the Disney character Mickey Mouse from 1991 until 2018.
Yoshihiko Kazamaru (風丸 良彦, Kazamaru Yoshihiko; born 1958) is a Japanese contemporary literary critic.
Alan Hale (March 7, 1958 – June 6, 2026) was an American professional astronomer who co-discovered Comet Hale–Bopp…
Alan Hale (March 7, 1958 – June 6, 2026) was an American professional astronomer who co-discovered Comet Hale–Bopp independently of its other co-discoverer, Thomas Bopp, an amateur astronomer. Hale specialized in the study of Sun-like stars and the search for extra-solar planetary systems, and had side interests in the fields of comets and near-Earth asteroids. He was an astronomer most of his life and served as the president of the Earthrise Institute, which he founded, and which has as its mission the use of astronomy as a tool for breaking down international and intercultural barriers. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) named an asteroid in Hale's honor, 4151 Alanhale, in recognition of his numerous comet observations.
Anna Ogino (荻野 アンナ, Ogino Anna; born November 7, 1956) is a Japanese author and emeritus professor of literature at…
Anna Ogino (荻野 アンナ, Ogino Anna; born November 7, 1956) is a Japanese author and emeritus professor of literature at Keio University. She has won the Akutagawa Prize, the Yomiuri Prize, and the Itō Sei Literature Prize.
Hisaki Matsuura (松浦 寿輝, Matsuura Hisaki; born March 18, 1954) is a Japanese professor, poet, and novelist.
Kazuko Takemura (February 3, 1954 – December 13, 2011) was a Japanese scholar of English literature. Her areas of…
Kazuko Takemura (February 3, 1954 – December 13, 2011) was a Japanese scholar of English literature. Her areas of expertise included Anglo-American literature, critical theory, film studies, and feminist thought. She was a former professor at Ochanomizu University. Takemura translated the works of Judith Butler and Trinh T. Minh-ha, among others, significantly contributing to the development of feminist theory and thought in Japan.
Inuhiko Yomota (四方田 犬彦, Yomota Inuhiko; born February 20, 1953) is a Japanese author, cultural essayist, translator…
Inuhiko Yomota (四方田 犬彦, Yomota Inuhiko; born February 20, 1953) is a Japanese author, cultural essayist, translator, film historian, and critic. His real name is Goki Yomota (四方田 剛己, Yomota Gōki).
Genichiro Takahashi (高橋 源一郎, Takahashi Gen'ichirō; born 1 January 1951) is a Japanese novelist.
Takanobu Takahashi (高橋 孝信, Takahashi Takanobu; born 1951) is a Japanese Indologist, who is currently associate…
Takanobu Takahashi (高橋 孝信, Takahashi Takanobu; born 1951) is a Japanese Indologist, who is currently associate professor of Indian literature at International Buddhist University at Osaka, Japan. He is the second translator of the Kural into Japanese.
Yoshiko Noguchi (Japanese: 野口 芳子, born (1949-07-07)7 July 1949) is one of the leading researchers on Grimm's Fairy…
Yoshiko Noguchi (Japanese: 野口 芳子, born (1949-07-07)7 July 1949) is one of the leading researchers on Grimm's Fairy tales in Japan. She is a professor of German, comparative literature, cultural studies, children's literature, folklore, and gender studies. She is a professor emeritus at Mukogawa Women's University and a professor at division of children's literature, graduate school of Letters, Baika Women's University. She was born in Osaka and her maiden name is Hiiragi (Japanese: 柊木). She is different from other researchers in that she discusses how Grimm's fairy tales are accepted in Japan and the UK from an interdisciplinary perspective. She has recently unraveled a long-standing mystery in the history of German-Japanese cultural exchange. She successfully identified three Japanese that visited Jacob Grimm in Berlin in 1862.
Ken'ichi Nomoto (野本 憲一 Nomoto Ken'ichi, born 1 December 1946 in Tokyo) is a Japanese astrophysicist and astronomer…
Ken'ichi Nomoto (野本 憲一 Nomoto Ken'ichi, born 1 December 1946 in Tokyo) is a Japanese astrophysicist and astronomer, known for his research on stellar evolution, supernovae, and the origin of heavy elements.
Shuji Sato (佐藤 修二, SATO Shuji; born 9 April 1945, in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese astronomer and Professor…
Shuji Sato (佐藤 修二, SATO Shuji; born 9 April 1945, in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese astronomer and Professor Emeritus of Nagoya University. His specialty is infrared astronomy.
Toshiyuki Takamiya (高宮利行, Takamiya Toshiyuki; born 23 February 1944) is a Japanese academic and author. He is an…
Toshiyuki Takamiya (高宮利行, Takamiya Toshiyuki; born 23 February 1944) is a Japanese academic and author. He is an authority on medieval English literature and medieval English manuscript studies and a collector of antiquarian books. As Director of Keio University's Humanities Media Interface Project (HUMI) he has led the digital documentation, facsimile reproduction, and distribution of many medieval books and manuscripts including the Gutenberg Bible and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. He is an Emeritus Professor at Keio University since 2009.
Norio Kaifu (海部 宣男, Kaifu Norio; 21 September 1943 – 13 April 2019) was a Japanese astronomer. He was best known as the…
Norio Kaifu (海部 宣男, Kaifu Norio; 21 September 1943 – 13 April 2019) was a Japanese astronomer. He was best known as the president of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) from 2012 to 2015. He directed the Subaru telescope project, which housed the largest monolithic primary mirror in the world from its commission until 2005. Kaifu researched in radio astronomy, extragalactic astronomy, cosmic magnetic fields, non-stable stars, and infrared astronomy. The minor planet 6412 Kaifu is named in his honor. Kaifu died of pancreatic cancer on 13 April 2019, at the age of 75.
Kazuo Ueda (born 1943) is a Japanese linguist and scholar. He is Japan's leading Yiddishist. Ueda graduated from Kōchi…
Kazuo Ueda (born 1943) is a Japanese linguist and scholar. He is Japan's leading Yiddishist. Ueda graduated from Kōchi University and received a master's degree in German literature from the University of Tokyo. While studying German-language Jewish writer Franz Kafka in graduate school, he learned of Yiddish. He said it fascinated him because reading it felt like solving a puzzle. He was mostly self-taught, with some aid from Japan's limited Jewish community and multiple visits to Israel. One of two scholars to introduce the study of Yiddish to Japan, Ueda published the first Japanese examination of Yiddish grammar and literature in 1970, the first Japanese book on Yiddish in 1985, and the first Japanese dictionary on Yiddish in 2010. His Yiddish dictionary was the first in a non-European language, besides Hebrew. Ueda also worked on Ladino, as a scholar of Kafka, and on Jewish studies. Beginning in 1969 and until he retired in 2012, Ueda was a German studies professor at Ehime, Kōchi, and Fukuoka University.
Sadakazu Fujii (藤井 貞和, Fujii Sadakazu; born 27 April 1942, Tokyo) is a Japanese poet and scholar of Japanese…
Sadakazu Fujii (藤井 貞和, Fujii Sadakazu; born 27 April 1942, Tokyo) is a Japanese poet and scholar of Japanese literature, which includes the genres of ancient novels, the Man'yōshū, oral literature, Okinawan culture, Ainu language, and contemporary poetry. He is well known for his study on the Genji Monogatari. His poems and palindromes have been used in the musical compositions of Takahashi Yuji.
Junji Kunishige (國重 純二, Kunishige Junji; January 20, 1942 – December 14, 2013) was a Japanese scholar and translator of…
Junji Kunishige (國重 純二, Kunishige Junji; January 20, 1942 – December 14, 2013) was a Japanese scholar and translator of American literature.
Kōjin Karatani (柄谷 行人, Karatani Kōjin; born 6 August 1941) is a Japanese philosopher and literary critic.
Tadaaki Miyake (三宅 忠明, Miyake Tadaaki; born 7 March 1939) is a Japanese folklorist born in 1939 at Okayama Prefecture.
Yoshikichi Furui (古井 由吉, Furui Yoshikichi; 19 November 1937 – 18 February 2020) was a Japanese author and translator.…
Yoshikichi Furui (古井 由吉, Furui Yoshikichi; 19 November 1937 – 18 February 2020) was a Japanese author and translator. He has won the Akutagawa Prize, the Tanizaki Prize, and the Yomiuri Prize, among other literary awards.
Noriko Mizuta (水田 宗子, Mizuta Noriko; born August 19, 1937) is a scholar of comparative literature and a poet. She is…
Noriko Mizuta (水田 宗子, Mizuta Noriko; born August 19, 1937) is a scholar of comparative literature and a poet. She is the trustee of Jōsai University Educational Corporation in Japan. She was awarded the Pro Cultura Hungarica prize in 2011 and the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary (civil division) in 2013.
Taijirō Amazawa (Japanese: 天沢 退二郎 Amazawa Taijirō; 21 July 1936 – 25 January 2023) was a Japanese poet, translator, and…
Taijirō Amazawa (Japanese: 天沢 退二郎 Amazawa Taijirō; 21 July 1936 – 25 January 2023) was a Japanese poet, translator, and scholar.
Shigehiko Hasumi (Japanese: 蓮實重彥, also romanized Shiguéhiko; born 29 April 1936) is a Japanese literary critic, film…
Shigehiko Hasumi (Japanese: 蓮實重彥, also romanized Shiguéhiko; born 29 April 1936) is a Japanese literary critic, film critic, French literature scholar, and novelist. He was a professor at the University of Tokyo (Cultural Studies, or the Study of Culture and Representation), dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and the 26th President (1997-2001). Hasumi started his academic career as a Gustave Flaubert scholar, and played a central role in the early introduction of the contemporary French philosophy, such as Gilles Deleuze and Michel Foucault, into Japan in the 1970s. He is known as one of the most prolific Japanese reviewers of modern literature and film. Since the 1980s, Hasumi has been active in introducing the French New Wave filmmakers' thought and Hollywood B-films. His method of viewing and writing about film, inspired by the 1950s French film criticism appearing in Cahiers du Cinéma, played a major role in Japanese film culture in the late 20th century. His influential work includes Directed by Yasujiro Ozu (1983). Reflecting on Hasumi, Kiyoshi Kurosawa noted, "The international recognition of Yasujiro Ozu and Mikio Naruse would never have been achieved without Hasumi. Even the popularity of Clint Eastwood and Wim Wenders in Japan owes much to his influence. And as for myself—there’s no doubt that I’m only able to be here, doing what I do, all thanks to the good fortune of having met Shiguéhiko Hasumi." He is married to Chantal Van Melkebeke, the daughter of the Belgian painter, journalist, and writer Jacques Van Melkebeke, who is known for having been the first chief editor of Tintin magazine. They had one son, Shigeomi Hasumi. In 1970, the French Broadcasting and Television Office interviewed him, his wife and his son in French in Tokyo for 20 minutes. Hasumi curated a film series entitled Shiguéhiko Hasumi: Another History of the Movie in America and Japan for Japan Society in 2025, including works by Richard Fleischer, Michael Mann and Makoto Sato. Director Sho Miyake attended, presenting his collaboration with Hasumi—the montage film John Ford and Throwing.
Manabu Murakami (shinjitai 村上 学, kyūjitai 村上 學, Murakami Manabu; born 1936) is a Japanese scholar specializing in…
Manabu Murakami (shinjitai 村上 学, kyūjitai 村上 學, Murakami Manabu; born 1936) is a Japanese scholar specializing in medieval Japanese literature.
Kanji Nishio (西尾 幹二, Nishio Kanji; July 20, 1935 – November 1, 2024) was a Japanese intellectual and professor emeritus…
Kanji Nishio (西尾 幹二, Nishio Kanji; July 20, 1935 – November 1, 2024) was a Japanese intellectual and professor emeritus of literature at the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo, Japan.
Akira Nakamura (中村 粲, Nakamura Akira; 24 April 1934 – 23 June 2010) was a Japanese academic of English literature and…
Akira Nakamura (中村 粲, Nakamura Akira; 24 April 1934 – 23 June 2010) was a Japanese academic of English literature and self-trained historian specialising in Japan's wartime role in the first half of the 20th century. Born in Tokyo, Nakamura studied English literature and graduated from University of Tokyo in March 1959. He worked as a senior high school teacher of English until he clashed with the school principal. From April 1964 onwards he lectured at the newly founded Dokkyo University on a full-time basis until his retirement in March 2005 to become an emeritus professor. A representative of Showa History Research Institute, he frequently joined controversies surrounding Japan's wartime past, particularly the denialism or minimization of the Nanking Massacre of 1937–38. He completely rejected the Chinese government's claim of 300,000 death toll as mere propaganda, giving his own estimate of around 10,000 deaths. He was also a supporter of the film The Truth About Nanjing, containing apologism for Japan's wartime past, and which denied the existence of the Nanking Massacre. He detested what he viewed as "left leaning" mass media, especially The Asahi Shimbun newspaper and NHK public broadcasting organisation.
Hideo Kiyama (木山 英雄, Kiyama Hideo; born 20 April 1934) is a Japanese Sinologist. He was born in Arakawa, Tokyo and…
Hideo Kiyama (木山 英雄, Kiyama Hideo; born 20 April 1934) is a Japanese Sinologist. He was born in Arakawa, Tokyo and graduated from the University of Tokyo.
Jun Kubota (久保田 淳 Kubota Jun, born 13 June 1933) is a scholar of Japanese literature. He is best-known for his work on…
Jun Kubota (久保田 淳 Kubota Jun, born 13 June 1933) is a scholar of Japanese literature. He is best-known for his work on medieval waka.
Suehiro Tanemura (種村 季弘, Tanemura Suehiro; 21 March 1933 – 29 August 2004) was a translator (from German into Japanese)…
Suehiro Tanemura (種村 季弘, Tanemura Suehiro; 21 March 1933 – 29 August 2004) was a translator (from German into Japanese) and critic. Tanemura was born in Toshima, Tokyo in 1933. His mother died in 1946. He became interested in German while still a teenager, and entered the University of Tokyo in 1951. He first majored in aesthetics but switched to German literature, graduating in 1957 and for a short time thereafter working in Kōbunsha in editing the women's magazine Josei Jishin. From 1963 until 1968, Tanemura taught as an adjunct lecturer at Komazawa University. In 1968 he obtained a tenured post at Tokyo Metropolitan University, but he resigned in 1971 and went to Europe, where he spent much time until 1978, when he took another tenured post at Kokugakuin University, where he would teach until December 2002. At around this time he was diagnosed with cancer, from which he died in 2004. Tanemura was a prolific translator from German, writer and anthologizer of others' writings, with a certain tendency toward subjects like vampires and Sacher-Masoch. His own writings were first collected in a ten-volume set in 1979; two decades later this was supplemented by an eight-volume set.
Hiroki Kosai (香西 洋樹, Kōsai Hiroki; 8 February 1933 – 26 March 2026) was a Japanese astronomer with the Kiso…
Hiroki Kosai (香西 洋樹, Kōsai Hiroki; 8 February 1933 – 26 March 2026) was a Japanese astronomer with the Kiso Observatory. He is best known for helping to popularize astronomy in Japan and for his observations of comets and asteroids, most notably with his co-discovery of the comet 1976 XVI. He is credited by the Minor Planet Center (MPC) with the discovery of nearly 100 asteroids. Kosai died on 26 March 2026, at the age of 93.
Takeshi Oka (岡 武史, Oka Takeshi; born 1932), , is a Japanese-American spectroscopist and astronomer specializing in the…
Takeshi Oka (岡 武史, Oka Takeshi; born 1932), , is a Japanese-American spectroscopist and astronomer specializing in the field of galactic astronomy, known as a pioneer of astrochemistry and the co-discoverer of interstellar trihydrogen cation (H+3). He is now R.A. Milliken Distinguished Service Emeritus Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Chemistry; Enrico Fermi Institute; and the College of University of Chicago.
Kazutami Watanabe (渡邊一民, Watanabe Kazutami; January 5, 1932 – December 21, 2013) was a Japanese scholar and translator…
Kazutami Watanabe (渡邊一民, Watanabe Kazutami; January 5, 1932 – December 21, 2013) was a Japanese scholar and translator of French literature. Watanabe, who was born in Tokyo, graduated from the Literature Department, School of French Studies of the University of Tokyo in 1955. After getting his Ph.D at the same university, he became a lecturer at Rikkyo University's General Education Department in 1960, and an assistant professor in 1963. In 1965, he became an assistant professor at the School of French Literature of the same university and in 1970 a full professor. From 1981 to 1983, he was the dean of the Literature Department. After his retirement in 1997, he was named professor emeritus. His wife, Hitomi, is the eldest daughter of Shūichi Sakō, a diplomat. Watanabe died at the age of 81 from sepsis in December 2013.
Takashi Fujinuma (Japanese 藤沼貴) (1931 — January 9, 2012) was a Japanese translator of Russian and a Doctor of Philology.
Kazumi Takahashi (高橋 和巳, Takahashi Kazumi; 31 August 1931—3 May 1971) was a Japanese novelist and scholar of Chinese…
Kazumi Takahashi (高橋 和巳, Takahashi Kazumi; 31 August 1931—3 May 1971) was a Japanese novelist and scholar of Chinese literature in Shōwa-era Japan. His wife was fellow writer Takako Takahashi.
Kazuo Okamatsu (岡松和夫, Okamatsu Kazuo; June 23, 1931 – January 21, 2012) was a Japanese philologist and novelist.
Chimako Tada (多田智満子, Tada Chimako; April 1, 1930 – January 23, 2003) was a Japanese poet renowned for her surreal style…
Chimako Tada (多田智満子, Tada Chimako; April 1, 1930 – January 23, 2003) was a Japanese poet renowned for her surreal style and evocation of women's experience in post-war Japan. She authored more than 15 books of Japanese poetry, and also translated prose and poetry from French. Tada wrote in traditional styles, such as tanka and haiku, as well as contemporary prose poetry.
Susumu Nakanishi (中西進, Nakanishi Susumu; born 21 August 1929 in Tokyo) is a scholar of Japanese literature…
Susumu Nakanishi (中西進, Nakanishi Susumu; born 21 August 1929 in Tokyo) is a scholar of Japanese literature, particularly of the Man'yōshū. He earned his Doctor of Literature degree from the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) in 1962. He is widely believed to have conceived the name of the current era of the official calendar of Japan, Reiwa (令和, 2019-). However, it is a custom not to reveal the conceiver of the name of an era, and he has said, 'Era names are not for secular individuals like Susumu Nakanishi to decide, but are determined by divine inspiration. There is no such person as the inventor of the name "Reiwa"'.
Kiichirō Furukawa (Japanese: 古川 麒一郎, Hepburn: Furukawa Kiichirō; Kunrei: Hurukawa Kiitirô, 22 July 1929 – 29 June 2016)…
Kiichirō Furukawa (Japanese: 古川 麒一郎, Hepburn: Furukawa Kiichirō; Kunrei: Hurukawa Kiitirô, 22 July 1929 – 29 June 2016) was a Japanese astronomer and discoverer of minor planets at the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory. Furukawa was also associated with Nagoya University Department of Astrophysics.
Yoshihide Kozai (Japanese: 古在 由秀; 1 April 1928 – 5 February 2018) was a Japanese astronomer specialising in celestial…
Yoshihide Kozai (Japanese: 古在 由秀; 1 April 1928 – 5 February 2018) was a Japanese astronomer specialising in celestial mechanics. He is best known for discovering, simultaneously with Michael Lidov, the Kozai mechanism, for which he received the Imperial Prize of the Japan Academy in 1979. He was the first Japanese president of the International Astronomical Union from 1988 to 1991, and was director of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan from 1988 to 1994. He was professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and The Graduate University for Advanced Studies.
Shozo Yoshigami (吉上 昭三, Yoshigami Shōzō; February 27, 1928 – January 28, 1996) was a Japanese translator of Polish…
Shozo Yoshigami (吉上 昭三, Yoshigami Shōzō; February 27, 1928 – January 28, 1996) was a Japanese translator of Polish literature, and a professor at the University of Tokyo.
Masao Miyoshi (三好将夫, Miyoshi Masao; 1928 – 1 October 2009) was a scholar of literature and culture and Hajime Mori…
Masao Miyoshi (三好将夫, Miyoshi Masao; 1928 – 1 October 2009) was a scholar of literature and culture and Hajime Mori Endowed Chair in Japanese Language and Literature at the University of California, San Diego.
Masatoshi Koshiba (小柴 昌俊, Koshiba Masatoshi; 19 September 1926 – 12 November 2020) was a Japanese physicist and one of…
Masatoshi Koshiba (小柴 昌俊, Koshiba Masatoshi; 19 September 1926 – 12 November 2020) was a Japanese physicist and one of the founders of neutrino astronomy. His work with the neutrino detectors Kamiokande and Super-Kamiokande was instrumental in detecting solar neutrinos, providing experimental evidence for the solar neutrino problem. Koshiba won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2002, jointly with Raymond Davis Jr., "for pioneering contributions to astrophysics, in particular for the detection of cosmic neutrinos". Koshiba was the first Japanese Nobel laureate to hold two doctoral degrees. In addition, he was the second Japanese recipient of both the Nobel Prize and the Wolf Prize. His mentor, Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, and his student, Takaaki Kajita, were also Nobel Prize winners in Physics. He was a senior counselor at the International Center for Elementary Particle Physics (ICEPP) and professor at the University of Tokyo.
Satoshi Kako (かこさとし, Kako Satoshi) (31 March 1926 – 2 May 2018) was a Japanese author and illustrator of children's…
Satoshi Kako (かこさとし, Kako Satoshi) (31 March 1926 – 2 May 2018) was a Japanese author and illustrator of children's books.
Genshō Imanari (今成 元昭, Imanari Genshō; 30 November 1925 - 10 January 2020) was a scholar of Japanese literature…
Genshō Imanari (今成 元昭, Imanari Genshō; 30 November 1925 - 10 January 2020) was a scholar of Japanese literature, specializing in Buddhist literature, Japanese medieval war literature and setsuwa. He is a professor emeritus at Rissho University, Japan. He was born in Tokyo, and graduated from the department of literature of Waseda University. He completed his master's degree from the same university in the year 1951, and completed his PhD in November 1983 from Waseda University. Subsequently, he worked at Kokushikan University, and later at Rissho University until he retired from that university in 1996. He died on 10 January 2020, aged 94.
Kunio Tsuji (辻 邦生, Tsuji Kunio; September 24, 1925 – July 29, 1999) was a Japanese author, novelist, and scholar of…
Kunio Tsuji (辻 邦生, Tsuji Kunio; September 24, 1925 – July 29, 1999) was a Japanese author, novelist, and scholar of French literature. Tsuji was born in Tokyo, attended Matsumoto High School with Kita Morio, and studied French literature at the University of Tokyo. After graduation, he became an instructor at Gakushūin University and a literary critic. He spent the years 1957-1960 in France, which strongly influenced his development as a novelist. In 1963 he published his first mature work, Kairō nite (In the Corridor), which was awarded the Prize for Modern Literature. Some of his more celebrated later novels include Azuchi ōkanki (1968, translated as The Signore), winner of a Ministry of Education Commendation in the Arts for New Artists; Haikyōsha Yurianusu (The Apostate Julianus, 1972), winner of a Mainichi Award for Art; and Saigyo kaden (西行花伝, The Life of Saigyo) for which he received the 1995 Tanizaki Prize. Tsuji's works were on the whole idealistic and spiritual. They included many historical novels in which the protagonists search for the meaning of life at times of great social change. Tsuji died of cardial infarction at a hospital in Karuizawa, Nagano.