Tamura Ryuichi
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese
poet
, essayist and translator of English language
novels and poetry who was active during the Showa period
of Japan
.
, Tokyo
, and was a graduate of the Literature Department of Meiji University
, where he met a group of young poets interested in modernism
. He was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Navy
in 1943, and although he did not see combat, the fact that many of his friends died in the war left him psychologically scarred.
In 1947, after World War II
, he revived the literary magazine
Arechi ("The Waste Land"), with his surviving school friends, and became an important figure in post-war modern Japanese poetry.
His first poetry anthology, Yosen no hi no yoru ("Four Thousand Days and Nights", 1956), introduced a hard tone to modern Japanese poetry, using paradox
es, metaphor
s, and sharp image
ry to describe the sense of dislocation and crisis experienced by people who had suffered through the rapid modernization of Japan and the destruction of World War II. With the publication of Kotoba no nai sekai ("World Without Words", 1962), he was established as a major poet. He spent five months at the University of Iowa
's International Writing Program in 1967-68 as Guest Poet. Later, he traveled to England
, Scotland
and India
. These travel experiences filled another twenty eight volumes of poetry.
Tamura was awarded the 54th Japan Academy of Arts Award for Poetry in 1998. He died of esophageal cancer
later that same year.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
poet
Japanese poetry
Japanese poets first encountered Chinese poetry during the Tang Dynasty. It took them several hundred years to digest the foreign impact, make it a part of their culture and merge it with their literary tradition in their mother tongue, and begin to develop the diversity of their native poetry. For...
, essayist and translator of English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
novels and poetry who was active during the Showa period
Showa period
The , or Shōwa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of the Shōwa Emperor, Hirohito, from December 25, 1926 through January 7, 1989.The Shōwa period was longer than the reign of any previous Japanese emperor...
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Biography
Tamura was born in what is now SugamoSugamo
is a neighborhood in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. It is well known for , a popular shopping street for the older generation . It lies at the crossing point of the JR Yamanote railway line, and national road route Route 17.-See also:* Sugamo Prison* Sugamo Station...
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, and was a graduate of the Literature Department of Meiji University
Meiji University
is a private university in Tokyo and Kawasaki, founded in 1881 by three lawyers of the Meiji era, Kishimoto Tatsuo, Miyagi Kōzō, and Yashiro Misao. It is one of the largest and most prestigious Japanese universities in Tokyo, Japan....
, where he met a group of young poets interested in modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
. He was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
in 1943, and although he did not see combat, the fact that many of his friends died in the war left him psychologically scarred.
In 1947, after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he revived the literary magazine
Literary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
Arechi ("The Waste Land"), with his surviving school friends, and became an important figure in post-war modern Japanese poetry.
His first poetry anthology, Yosen no hi no yoru ("Four Thousand Days and Nights", 1956), introduced a hard tone to modern Japanese poetry, using paradox
Paradox
Similar to Circular reasoning, A paradox is a seemingly true statement or group of statements that lead to a contradiction or a situation which seems to defy logic or intuition...
es, metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
s, and sharp image
Image
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
ry to describe the sense of dislocation and crisis experienced by people who had suffered through the rapid modernization of Japan and the destruction of World War II. With the publication of Kotoba no nai sekai ("World Without Words", 1962), he was established as a major poet. He spent five months at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
's International Writing Program in 1967-68 as Guest Poet. Later, he traveled to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. These travel experiences filled another twenty eight volumes of poetry.
Tamura was awarded the 54th Japan Academy of Arts Award for Poetry in 1998. He died of esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
later that same year.
Publications in Japan
- Four Thousand Days and Nights (1956)
- The World Without Words (1962)
- Poetry of Ryuichi Tamura (1966)
- A Green Thought (1967)
- New Year’s Letter (1973)
- Dead Language (1976)
- Misunderstanding (1978)
- Water Hemisphere (1980)
- A Little Bird Laughed (1981)
- The Water Mills of Scotland (1982)
- Five Minutes to Go (1982)
- A Cheerful End of the Century (1983)
- The Joy of A Slave (1984)
- A Wine Red Summer Solstice (1985)
- A Poison Cup (1986)
- The Joy of Living (1988)
- From the New World (1990)
- My Sailing Journal (1991)
- Hummingbird (1992)
- The Ashen Colored Notebook (1993)
- Foxglove (1995)
- 1999 (1998)
- The Traveler Returned (1998)