Yū Aku (阿久 悠, Aku Yū), occasionally credited as You Aku (February 7, 1937 – August 1, 2007), was a Japanese lyricist…Yū Aku (阿久 悠, Aku Yū), occasionally credited as You Aku (February 7, 1937 – August 1, 2007), was a Japanese lyricist, poet, and novelist.
Tokiko Iwatani (岩谷時子, Iwatani Tokiko; March 28, 1916 – October 25, 2013) was a Japanese lyricist, poet, and translator.…Tokiko Iwatani (岩谷時子, Iwatani Tokiko; March 28, 1916 – October 25, 2013) was a Japanese lyricist, poet, and translator. Born Tokiko Iwatani (岩谷トキ子, Iwatani Tokiko) in Seoul, Korea, she moved with her family to Japan at the age of 5, where they settled in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture. After attending schools in her hometown she entered the English Literature Department of Kobe College, and graduated in 1939. She then joined the publishing department of the Takarazuka Revue, where she became acquainted with the future star Fubuki Koshiji. When Koshiji decided to leave the revue in 1951 to join Tōei and become an actress and singer, Iwatani also quit the company, and moved to Tokyo with Koshiji, whose manager she was for about 30 years, until Koshiji died in 1980. After becoming a full-time independent lyricist in 1963, she wrote the lyrics to or translated over 3000 songs, for singers or groups including The Peanuts, Yūzō Kayama, Frank Nagai, Hiromi Go, and translated the lyrics of, among others, Hymne à l'amour, Save the Last Dance for Me, Million Roses, My Way, and the musicals Kiss Me, Kate, Anne of Green Gables – The Musical, Me and My Girl, and Les Misérables. In 2010 she established the Iwatani Tokiko Foundation, which awards the annual ¥3,000,000 yen Iwatani Tokiko Award. She died in October 2013 from pneumonia.
Hiroshi Noma (野間宏, Noma Hiroshi; February 23, 1915 – January 2, 1991) was a Japanese poet, novelist and essayist.…Hiroshi Noma (野間宏, Noma Hiroshi; February 23, 1915 – January 2, 1991) was a Japanese poet, novelist and essayist. According to literary scholar Doug Slaymaker, Noma is widely credited with having discovered or invented the style of writing called by the term "postwar literature" (sengo bungaku) in Japan.
Iku Takenaka (竹中郁, Takenaka Iku 1904–1982) was a Japanese poet from Hyogo prefecture. He graduated from Kwansei Gakuin…Iku Takenaka (竹中郁, Takenaka Iku 1904–1982) was a Japanese poet from Hyogo prefecture. He graduated from Kwansei Gakuin University. His best-known work is a cinepoem Rugby. He met Ryunosuke Akutagawa who wrote closet screenplays, just before Akutagawa's suicide, and then, in Akutagawa's home, he also met Tatsuo Hori, whose work 'Kaze Tachinu' inspired Hayao Miyazaki's last work. He also met Man Ray in Paris, when Ray created cinepoems, to interview Ray for a magazine. His Dharma name was Shunkōin Shisen Ikudō Koji (春光院詩仙郁道居士).
Masao Miki (Japanese: 三木 操, Hepburn: Miki Masao) (23 June 1889 – 29 December 1964), better known by his pen name Rofū…Masao Miki (Japanese: 三木 操, Hepburn: Miki Masao) (23 June 1889 – 29 December 1964), better known by his pen name Rofū Miki (三木 露風, Miki Rofū), was a Japanese poet, children's book author and essayist. He is considered a significant representative of Japanese symbolism.