was a poet and playwright active during the
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 ...
in Japan. He also was a scriptwriter.
Biography
Born in
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 ...
, Nagata was the brother of fellow writer
Nagata Hideo. Influenced by his brother, and his brother's associates
Kitahara Hakushū Kitahara (written: ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Aiko Kitahara (born 1982), Japanese former pop singer and songwriter
* Aiko Kitahara (novelist) (1938–2013), Japanese novelist
* Fumi Kitahara (1968–2025), ...
and
Yoshii Isamu
Count was a Japanese ''tanka'' poet and playwright active in Taishō and Shōwa period Japan. Attracted to European romanticism in his youth, his later works were more subdued.
Early life
Yoshii Isamu was born in the elite Takanawa district Tok ...
, he also turned to poetry and literature as a career, He contributed to the
literary journal ''
Myōjō
was a monthly literary magazine published in Japan between April 1900 and November 1908. The name ''Myōjō'' can be translated as either Bright Star or Morning Star.
History and profile
The magazine was established in 1900. It was the organ ...
'' and
''Subaru'' while still a student at
Waseda University
Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...
, but left university without graduating and went to
Hokkaido
is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...
to work as a laborer at coal mines and at railroad construction sites.
Nagata and
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work range from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle portr ...
were close friends, even to the extent that Nagata used the
pen name
A pen name or nom-de-plume 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 name may be used to make the author's na ...
“Mikihiko Jun'ichirō” on some of his early works; however, after Tanizaki went to
Kyoto
Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
in 1912, their relations deteriorated, and afterwards they had little contact.
Nagata is best known for his semi-factual work on the
Great Kantō earthquake
Great may refer to:
Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
* Artel Great (bo ...
, ''Daichi wa furu'' ("The Earth Shakes", 1923) and for numerous works on the
Gion
is a district of Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan, originating as an entertainment district in the Sengoku period, in front of Yasaka Shrine (Gion Shrine). The district was built to accommodate the needs of travellers and visitors to the shrine. ...
district of Kyoto. He later turned to scriptwriting and directed a theatrical troupe. In 1947, he staged a play called ''Shōwa Ichidai Onna'' ("A Woman of the Shōwa period"), which starred the notorious
Sada Abe
was a Empire of Japan, Japanese geisha and Prostitution in Japan, prostitute who murdered her lover, , via strangulation on May 18, 1936, before cutting off his Human penis, penis and testicles and carrying them around with her in her kimono. T ...
, who had been released from prison shortly before, in a one-act dramatization of her crime.
Nagata died of
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
in 1964, and his grave is at the
Kanei-ji Cemetery in
Ueno, Tokyo
is a district in Taitō, Tokyo. The area extending from Ueno to Asakusa is part of the historical Shitamachi (literally "low city") district of Tokyo, which is often associated with working-class traditions and culture as well as their distin ...
.
See also
*
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 ...
*
List of Japanese authors
This is an alphabetical list of writers who are Japanese, or are famous for having written in the Japanese language.
Writers are listed by the native order of Japanese names—family name followed by given name—to ensure consistency, although ...
References
*Johnston, William. ''GEISHA - HARLOT - STRANGLER - STAR: A Woman, Sex, And Morality in Modern Japan''. Columbia University Press (2005). page 152.
*Kunimoto, Tadao. ''Japanese Literature Since 1868''. Hokuseido Press (1938).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagata, Mikihiko
1887 births
1964 deaths
20th-century Japanese novelists
Writers from Tokyo
Waseda University alumni
20th-century Japanese poets