was 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 ...

of a writer of biographies and stage-plays, and a

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, 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 analysis of literature' ...

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. His real name was Koba Ichirō.

Early life

Nakamura Mitsuo was 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 ...

, in the plebeian district of Shitaya, (present-day

Akihabara is a neighborhood in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, Japan, generally considered to be the area surrounding Akihabara Station (nicknamed ''Akihabara Electric Town''). This area is part of the and Kanda-Sakumachō districts of Chiyoda. There is an ...

). In 1923, he attended the Tokyo Normal High School, where one of his classmates was

Kaoru Ishikawa was a Japanese organizational theorist and a professor in the engineering faculty at the University of Tokyo who was noted for his quality management innovations. He is considered a key figure in the development of quality initiatives in Japan, ...

. He studied the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

while at the

First Higher School The First Higher School (第一高等学校, Daiichi ''Kōtō Gakkō'') was a university preparatory boy's boarding school in Tokyo, Japan. It is the direct predecessor of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Tokyo. Overview ...

, and in April 1931, he entered the

Tokyo Imperial University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...

’s Law School. He dropped out after two months, but returned the following year as a student in the Department of French Literature, where his thesis was on the works of

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, celebrated as a master of the short story, as well as a representative of the naturalist school, depicting human lives, destinies and s ...

Literary career

Nakamura exhibited a talent for literature at an early age, and while still a student at Tokyo Imperial University was submitting

ism essays to the literary journal ''

Bungakukai is a Japanese monthly literary magazine published by Bungeishunjū as a oriented publication. History and profile The first version of ''Bungakukai'' was published from 1893 to 1898. The founders were the first generation romantic authors in ...

'' ("The Literary World"). His critical study of the novelist

Futabatei Shimei was a Japanese writer, translator, and literary critic. His writings are in the realist style popular in the mid to late 19th century. His work '' The Drifting Cloud'' (''Ukigumo'', 1887) is widely regarded as Japan's first modern novel. Bi ...

, published as ''Futabatei Shimei ron'' in 1936, received high acclaim, winning the 1st Ikeya Shinzaburo award, which encouraged him to devote his energies into similar critiques of contemporary Japanese and Western writers, focusing on cultural comparisons. In 1938 he went to study at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

on the invitation of the French Government, but was forced to return to Japan the following year at the outbreak of

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 ...

. In 1939, together with

Nakamura Mitsuo was the pen-name of a writer of biographies and stage-plays, and a literary critic active in Shōwa period Japan. His real name was Koba Ichirō. Early life Nakamura Mitsuo was born in Tokyo, in the plebeian district of Shitaya, (present-day Akih ...

and

Yamamoto Kenkichi was the pen-name of Ishibashi Teikichi, a Japanese writer and literary critic. As a critic he wrote notable studies of Shishōsetsu as well as of the poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaro. He has been referred to as supportive of Shishōsetsu in an orthod ...

, Yoshida co-founded the literary magazine (literally, "Critique(s)"), which published critiques of modern

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

authors. In 1940, he briefly worked for the

Foreign Ministry In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

, and in 1941 accepted a post at Chikuma Shobo publishing company. After the war, Nakamura was briefly an instructor at the

Kamakura Academy , 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 total ...

, before accepting a post as a professor at

Meiji University is a Private university, private research university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Originally founded as Meiji Law School () by three lawyers in 1881, it became a university in April 1920. As of May 2023, Meiji has 32,261 undergradu ...

in 1949. in 1950, Nakamura published ''Fuzoku Shosetsu Ron'', in which he analyzed modern Japanese realism as expressed by

Fumio Niwa was a Japanese novelist with a long list of works, the most famous in the West being his novel ''The Buddha Tree'' (Japanese ''Bodaiju'', "The Linden", or "The Bodhi Tree", 1956). He was ordained as a Shin Buddhist priest in his youth, but aba ...

and made a scathing attack against the

I-Novel The I-novel (, , ) is a literary genre in Japanese literature used to describe a type of Confessional writing, confessional literature where the events in the story correspond to events in the author's life. This genre was founded based on the Jap ...

format which he criticized as being little more than thinly disguised autobiographies, lacking in any meaningful social commentary and removed from modern urban life and realities. In 1951, his analysis of

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

brought him into direct conflict with

Hirotsu Kazuo was a Japanese novelist, literary critic and translator active in the Shōwa period. Early life Hirotsu was born in the Ushigome neighborhood in Tokyo as the second son of the noted novelist Hirotsu Ryurō, whose pupils included Kafū Nagai. ...

, who had different viewpoints. The following year, he won the prestigious

Yomiuri Literary Prize The is a literary award in Japan. The prize was founded in 1949 by the Yomiuri Shimbun Company to help form a "strong cultural nation". The winner is awarded two million Japanese yen and an inkstone. Award categories For the first two years, ...

for his critique of

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 ...

. In 1956, he became a member of the selection 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 ...

. Nakamura’s debut as a playwright was in 1957 with Hito to Okami (Man and Wolf). In 1958, he formed a literary coterie with

Mishima Yukio Kimitake Hiraoka ( , ''Hiraoka Kimitake''; 14 January 192525 November 1970), known by his pen name Yukio Mishima ( , ''Mishima Yukio''), was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, ultranationalist, and the leader of an at ...

, Ōoka Shōhei and others called the ''Hachi-no-ki-kai''. In 1956 Nakamura had previously rejected Mishima’s ''

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion is a novel by the Japanese author Yukio Mishima. It was published in 1956 and translated into English by Ivan Morris in 1959. The novel is loosely based on the burning of the Reliquary (or Golden Pavilion) of Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto by a young ...

'' for publication, awarding it a “minus 120 points” and accusing Mishima of a lack of morality. Nakamura won the Yomiuri Literary Prize for a second time in 1958. In 1962, Nakamura became director of the Museum of Modern Literature in Tokyo, and taught at

Kyoto University , or , is a National university, national research university in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan. The university has ten undergraduate faculties, eighteen gra ...

from 1963. Nakamura continued to write

stage play A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. The creator of a play is known as a playwright. Plays are staged at various levels, ranging ...

s, including ''Pari Hanjoki'' ("Prospering in Paris") and ''Kiteki Issei'' ("Starting Whistle"), and novels, including ''Waga Sei no Hakusho'' ("Confessions of My Sexuality"), ''Nise no Guzo'' ("False Idols"), and ''Aru Ai'' ("A Certain Love"). He won the

Noma Literary Prize The Noma Literary Prize (''Noma Bungei Shō'') was established in 1941 by the Noma Service Association (''Noma Hōkō Kai'') in accordance with the last wishes of Seiji Noma (1878–1938), founder and first president of the Kodansha publishing c ...

in 1965 and Yomiuri Literary Prize for a third time in 1967, as well as the Japan Art Academy Prize the same year. He became a member of the

Japan Art Academy is the highest-ranking official artistic organization in Japan. It is established as an extraordinary organ of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁, Bunkacho) in the thirty-first article of the law establishing the Ministry of ...

in 1970. Nakamura announced his retirement in 1981, and was designated a

Person of Cultural Merit is an official Japanese recognition and honour which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...

by the Japanese government in 1982. Nakamura began living 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 ...

from the spring of 1933. Nakamura’s sister was the wife of

Kyūya Fukada was a Japanese people, Japanese writer and mountaineer active during the Shōwa period in Japan. Early life Kyūya was born in what is now Kaga, Ishikawa, Kaga city, Ishikawa prefecture. He attended the Fujishima High School, followed by the pr ...

. Nakamura was widowed at age 43, and his second wife, Kumiko Koba was also a playwright. Nakamura became a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

shortly before his death in 1988 at the age of 77. His grave is at the Arai Cemetery in

Sugamo is a neighborhood in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. It is home to , a shopping street popular among the older generation, earning it the nickname "Granny's Harajuku." It lies at the crossing point of the JR Yamanote Line and National Route 17. Availabl ...

, Tokyo.

References

* Morris,Ivan. ''Modern Japanese Stories: An Anthology''. Tuttle Publishing (2005). *Starrs, Roy. ''Deadly Dialectics: Sex, Violence, and Nihilism in the World of Yukio Mishima''. The University of Hawaii Press (1944). *Tomi, Suzuki. ''Narrating the Self''. Stanford University Press (1997) * Washburn Dennis. ''Studies in Modern Japanese Literature: Essays and Translations in Honor of

Edwin McClellan Edwin McClellan (24 October 1925 – 27 April 2009) was a British Japanologist, teacher, writer, translator and interpreter of Japanese literature and culture. Biography McClellan was born in Kobe, Japan in 1925 to a Japanese mother, Teruko Yo ...

''. The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 58, No. 1 (Feb., 1999), pp. 217–220 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakamura, Mitsuo 1911 births 1988 deaths People from Chiyoda, Tokyo Writers from Tokyo Japanese literary critics University of Tokyo alumni Japanese Roman Catholics 20th-century Japanese dramatists and playwrights Yomiuri Prize winners

Early life

Literary career

See also

References