was the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of a

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

author, translator and

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

active in

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

Japan. His real name (written in the same ''

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subse ...

'') was Ishikawa Kiyoshi.

Early life

Ishikawa was born in the

Asakusa is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the . History T ...

district of Tokyo as the son of a banker. He graduated from the Tokyo School of Foreign Languages (, later

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies , often referred to as TUFS, is a specialist research university in Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan. TUFS is primarily devoted to foreign language, international affairs and foreign studies. It also features an Asia-African institution. History The Uni ...

) with a degree in

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than Fr ...

. After graduation, he served a tour of duty in the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

from 1922 to 1923, following which he was hired by Fukuoka University as a professor of

. His early career involved translating works such as

Anatole France (; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie Franç ...

's ''Le lys rouge'' and author

André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (in 1947). Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism ...

's ''L'Immoraliste'' into Japanese. The next year, he was resigned from the university due to controversy over his participation in student protest movements. He returned to Tokyo and began a bohemian existence, living out of cheap pensions while translating

's ''Les Caves du Vatican'' and

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

's '' Le Misanthrope'' and ''

Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; french: Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur, ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical thea ...

''.

Literary career

His literary career began in 1935, when he began writing a series of short stories, starting with ''Kajin'' (佳人, Lady), and ''Hinkyu mondo'' (貧窮問答, Dialog on Poverty) in which he depicted the struggles of a solitary writer attempting to create a Parnassian fiction. In 1936 he won the fourth annual

Akutagawa Prize The is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. Because of its prestige and the considerable attention the winner receives from the media, it is, along with the Naoki Prize, one of Japan's most sought after literary prizes. History ...

for his story ''Fugen'' (普賢, The Bodhisattva). In early 1938, when Japan's war against China was at its height, Ishikawa published the brilliantly ironic ''Marusu no uta'' (マルスの歌, Mars' Song), an antiwar story soon banned for fomenting antimilitary thought. His first novel, ''Hakubyo'' (白描, Plain Sketch, 1940) was a criticism of

Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the the ...

. During the war years, he turned his attention to non-fiction, producing biographies on

Mori Ōgai Lieutenant-General , known by his pen name , 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 la ...

and Watanabe Kazan. However, his main interest was in the comic verses of the

Tenmei is a Japanese era name (年号, ''nengō'', literally "years name") for the years between the An'ei Era and before the Kansei Era, from April 1781 through January 1789. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 1781 : The new era name of Tenm ...

era of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

(''狂歌, Kyoka''), of which he became a master. He wrote poetry using the pen-name of . Along with the likes of

Osamu Dazai was a Japanese author. A number of his most popular works, such as '' The Setting Sun'' (''Shayō'') and '' No Longer Human'' (''Ningen Shikkaku''), are considered modern-day classics. His influences include Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Murasaki Sh ...

, Sakaguchi Ango, and Oda Sakunosuke, Ishikawa was known as a member of the '' Buraiha'' (literally "Ruffian") tradition of anti-conventional literature. In the post-war period, he wrote ''Ogon Densetsu'' (黄金伝説, Legend of Gold, 1946) and ''Yakeato no Iesu'' (焼跡のイエス, Jesus in the Ashes, 1946). The author Abe Kobo became his pupil. He also continued his work in essays, which took two forms. In ''Isai hitsudan'' (夷斎筆談, Isai's Discourses, 1950–1951), he covered a wide range of topics in art, literature and current events, in an irreverent, and at times, bitter, style. On the other hand, ''Shokoku Kijinden'' (諸国畸人伝, Eccentrics and Gallants from around the country, 1955–1957), is a series of biographical sketches of unusual persons from various points in Japanese history. He turned also to ancient

Japanese history The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inven ...

, with the serial publication of ''Shinshaku Kojiki'' (新釈古事記, Another Translation of the ''Kojiki''), ''Hachiman Engi'' (八幡縁起, Origins of Gods of Hachiman, 1957) and ''Shura'' (修羅, Demons, 1958), in which he explored the origin of Japanese nation and conflict between the Jōmon and

Yayoi The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...

peoples. In 1964 he went to a journey to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and western Europe together with Abe Kobo. It was his first overseas travel, and resulted in ''Seiyu Nichiroku'' (西游日録, A Record of a Journey West, 1965). In 1967 he joined Kawabata Yasunari,

Mishima Yukio , born , was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, nationalist, and founder of the , an unarmed civilian militia. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was considered fo ...

and Abe Kōbō in issuing a statement protesting the destruction of

Chinese art Chinese art is visual art that originated in or is practiced in China, Greater China or by Chinese artists. Art created by overseas Chinese, Chinese residing outside of China can also be considered a part of Chinese art when it is based in or d ...

during the Chinese

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated go ...

. Ishikawa was immensely popular in the post-war era, and won numerous awards. His ''Edo Bungaku Shoki'' (江戸文学掌記, A Brief Survey of Edo Literature, 1980), won the Yomiuri Literary Award. He died of lung cancer while working on his last novel, ''Hebi no Uta'' (蛇の歌, A Song of Snakes, 1988),

In English

* Ishikawa, Jun. ''The Legend of Gold and Other Stories. '' Trans. William J. Tyler. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1988. * Ishikawa, Jun. ''The Bodhisattva''. Columbia University Press (1990). Trans. William J. Tyler.

References

External links

Jun Ishikawa
at J'Lit Books from Japan

at JLPP (Japanese Literature Publishing Project)
Ishikawa, Jun 1899–1987Ishikawa Jun to Sengo Nihon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ishikawa Jun 1899 births 1987 deaths Japanese essayists 20th-century Japanese novelists Japanese male short story writers People from Tokyo Akutagawa Prize winners Deaths from lung cancer in Japan 20th-century Japanese poets 20th-century Japanese translators 20th-century Japanese short story writers 20th-century essayists 20th-century Japanese male writers

Early life

Literary career

In English

See also

References

External links