was a Japanese

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

active in

Shōwa period Shōwa most commonly refers to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa ** Shōwa era (昭和), the era of Hirohito from 1926 to 1989 * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufactu ...

Japan.

Biography

Kojima was born in the plebeian Shitaya district of

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

to a family of clothing merchants. While attending

Keio University , abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally established as a school for Rangaku, Western studies in 1858 in Edo. It was granted university status in 1920, becomi ...

he studied

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japa ...

and the works of European authors. He was especially attracted to the works of

Nagai Kafū Nagai may refer to: * Nagai (surname), a Japanese surname *Nagai, Yamagata, a city in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan *An alternative name for Nagapattinam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in ...

and

Mori Ōgai Lieutenant-General , known by his pen name , was a Japanese people, Japanese Military medicine, Army Surgeon general officer, translator, novelist, Japanese poetry, poet and father of famed author Mori Mari, Mari Mori. He obtained his medical l ...

. His literary career began as a student, when he contributed short stories to the journal of Keio University's literature department, '' Mita Bungaku''. After graduation in 1918, he worked with

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

, editing the literary magazine, ''Akai Tori'' ("Red Bird"), and writing tales for children. However, Kojima established himself as a mainstream author with serious, adult-orientated stories, such as ''Ichimae Kanban'', ("One Card") based on the life of a professional storyteller, and ''Ie'' ("Family"), the story of relatives who were forced out of their home. He later gained a reputation as a writer of popular fiction with such stories as ''Midori no Kishi'' ("Green Knight"), ''Kaiso'' ("Seaweed"), and ''Hitozuma Tsubaki'' ("Tsubaki, a Married Woman"). As many of his works dealt with human relationships, his writings were a favorite of movie directors and script writers. His ''Ganchu no Hito'' ("Centre of Attention"), a semi-documentary work on his awakening to the possibilities of literature was almost a history of Taishō period

, and was highly praised by the famed authors

Natsume Sōseki , born , was a Japanese novelist. He is best known for his novels ''Kokoro'', ''Botchan'', ''I Am a Cat'', ''Kusamakura (novel), Kusamakura'' and his unfinished work ''Light and Darkness (novel), Light and Darkness''. He was also a scholar of Br ...

and

Kikuchi Kan , also known as Kan Kikuchi (which uses the same kanji as his real name), was a Japanese author and publisher. He established the publishing company Bungeishunjū, the monthly magazine Bungeishunjū (magazine), of the same name, the Japan Writer ...

. Along with Kikuchi Kan, he was one of the pallbearers at the funeral of Akutagawa Ryunosuke in 1927* page 312 In 1938, Kojima joined the

Pen butai The was a Japanese government organisation which existed between 1938 and 1942. It was composed of Japanese authors who travelled the front during the Second Sino-Japanese War to write favourably of Japan's war efforts in China. History The Pen ...

(lit. "Pen corps"), a government organisation which consisted of authors who travelled the front during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

to write favourably of Japan's war efforts in China. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he wrote a number of biographical works, including ''Taifu no Me no yo no'' ("Like the Eye of a Typhoon"), (later retitled, ''Suzuki Miekichi''), ''Ogai, Kafu, Mantaro'', about the three writers he respected, and ''Encho''. Kojima lived briefly in

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

Kanagawa prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

in the 1930s but returned to Tokyo shortly afterwards. He served many years on the review committee for the

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 Th ...

and the

Naoki Prize The Naoki Prize, officially , is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. It was created in 1935 by Kikuchi Kan, then editor of the ''Bungeishunjū'' magazine, and named in memory of novelist Naoki Sanjugo. Sponsored by the Society for ...

. He returned to Kamakura in 1944, where he lived till his death in 1994 at the age of 100. He broke his thigh in an accident at home in 1983, and was hospitalized for the remainder of his days, although he kept writing from his hospital bed until well into the 90s. His grave is at the temple of Tenno-ji in

Yanaka Cemetery is a large cemetery located north of Ueno in Yanaka 7-chome, Taito, Tokyo, Japan. The Yanaka sector of Taito is one of the few Tokyo neighborhoods in which the old Shitamachi atmosphere can still be felt. The cemetery is famous for its beautif ...

References

Bibliography

*Inoue, Charles Shiro. ''The Similitude of Blossoms: A Critical Biography of Izumi Kyōka (1873-1939)'', Harvard University Asia Center (1998); {{DEFAULTSORT:Kojima, Masajiro 1894 births 1994 deaths Japanese men centenarians Japanese children's writers 20th-century Japanese novelists People from Taitō Writers from Tokyo Keio University alumni

Biography

See also

References

Bibliography