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 Japanese novelist and poet 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 was Takami Yoshio.

Early life

Takami was born in

Mikuni, Fukui was a town located in Sakai District, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. In the 1870s, the Meiji government constructed a harbor at Mikuni, under supervision of the Dutch engineer George Arnold Escher. As of 2003, the town had an estimated population o ...

(part of the present-day city of

Sakai is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and in ...

),
Fukui Prefectural Library as the illegitimate son of the prefecture's governor and a young woman who had been assigned to entertain him on a visit to her town. The famous writer Nagai Kafu was his half-brother.

Literary career

Takami was interested in literature from youth, and was particularly attracted to the

humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

expressed by the ''

Shirakaba The was an influential Japanese literary coterie, which published the literary magazine '' Shirakaba'', from 1910 to 1923. History In 1910, a loose association of alumni of the prestigious Gakushuin Peer’s School in Tokyo began a literary so ...

'' writers. On entering

Tokyo Imperial University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

he joined a leftist student arts group, and contributed to their

literary journal 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 ...

(''Sayoku Geijutsu''). After graduation, he went to work for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, and continued his activities as a Marxist writer, as part of the

proletarian literature Proletarian literature refers here to the literature created by left-wing writers mainly for the class-conscious proletariat. Though the '' Encyclopædia Britannica'' states that because it "is essentially an intended device of revolution", it is ...

movement. page 121 In 1932, he was arrested with other

communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

and suspected members of the

Japan Communist Party The is a left-wing to far-left political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party advocates the establishment of a democr ...

under the

Peace Preservation Law The was a Japanese law enacted on April 22, 1925, with the aim of allowing the Special Higher Police to more effectively suppress socialists and communists. In addition to criminalizing forming an association with the aim of altering the '' koku ...

s, and was released six months later after being coerced into recanting his leftist ideology. An auto-biographical account of his experience appeared in ''Kokyu Wasureubeki'' ("Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot", 1935), which, although considered wordy, was nominated for the first

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 ...

. The theme of ironic self-pity over the weakness that led to his “conversion” and his subsequent intellectual confusion were recurring themes in his future works. He gained a popular following in the pre-war years with ''Ikanaru Hoshi no Moto ni'' ("Under Whatever Star", 1939–1940)., a story set 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 ...

entertainment district of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. During and immediately after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Takami served as Director of the Investigation Bureau of the Japanese Literature Patriotic Association. After the war, he suffered from poor health, but continued to write poetry from his sickbed. In 1962, Takami helped establish the

Museum of Modern Japanese Literature A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

. In 1964, his poetry collection ''Shi no Fuchi yori'' ("From the Abyss of Death", 1964) won the

Noma Prize The Noma Prizes were established by Shoichi Noma, or in his honor. More than one award is conventionally identified as the ''Noma Prize''. Noma was the former head of Kodansha, the Japanese publishing and bookselling company. Kodansha is Japan's ...

. The same year, he also published, ''Takami Jun Nikki'', ("The Diaries of Takami Jun"), an extremely detailed account of over 3000 pages, in which he described his experiences during the war and immediately afterwards. Takami Jun lived in

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kama ...

Kanagawa prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

from 1943 until his death of

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse vo ...

. His grave is at the temple of

Tōkei-ji , also known as or , is a Buddhist temple and a former nunnery, the only survivor of a network of five nunneries called , in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the Rinzai school of Zen's Engaku-ji branch, and was op ...

in Kamakura.

Legacy

The Takami Jun Prize was established in 1967 by the Association for the Promotion of Literature by Takami Jun (''Takami Jun Bungaku Shinkō Kai'') in accordance with his last will and testament. A portion of Takami's royalties was set aside to establish a fund used to present an annual

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. ...

to the writer of an outstanding collection of poetry, based upon the recommendations of poets, critics, and journalists. The winner receives a cash award of 500,000

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the ...

. His daughter Kyoko is married to professional wrestler and politician

Hiroshi Hase is a Japanese politician who is currently the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture. He served as the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology under Prime Minister o ...

References

* Kanbayashi, Michio. ''Shijin Takami Jun: Sono sei to shi''. Kodansha (1991). (Japanese) *Jang, Hoi Sik. ''Japanese Imperial Ideology, Shifting War Aims and Domestic Propaganda''. (2007) * Jun Takami. "School of Trees". http://stihi.ru/2011/05/08/4752 (English)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takami, Jun 1907 births 1965 deaths Deaths from cancer in Japan Deaths from esophageal cancer Japanese communists Japanese diarists Japanese Marxists Marxist writers Writers from Fukui Prefecture University of Tokyo alumni 20th-century Japanese novelists 20th-century Japanese poets 20th-century diarists People from Sakai, Fukui

Early life

Literary career

Legacy

See also

References

Notes