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 writer of biographies and stage-plays, and a

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 was Koba Ichirō.

Early life

Nakamura Mitsuo was born in

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, ...

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

Akihabara is a common name for the area around Akihabara Station in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, Japan. Administratively, the area called Akihabara mainly belongs to the and Kanda-Sakumachō districts in Chiyoda. There exists an administrative district c ...

). 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 noted for his quality management innovations. He is considered a key figure in the development of quality initiatives in Japan, particul ...

. He studied the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in ...

while at the First Higher School, and in April 1931, he entered the

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 ...

’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, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...

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 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 ...

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 t ...

'' ("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 (french: link=no, Université de Paris), Metonymy, metonymically known as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, active from 1150 to 1970, with the exception between 1793 and 1806 under the French Revo ...

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, 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 ...

. 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 A ...

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 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 Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evalu ...

(literally, "Critique(s)"), which published critiques of modern

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

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. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

authors. In 1940, he briefly worked for the

Foreign Ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

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

Kamakura Academy 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 ...

, before accepting a post as a professor at

Meiji University , abbreviated as Meiji (明治) or Meidai (明大'')'', is a private research university located in Chiyoda City, the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1881 as Meiji Law School (明治法律学校, ''Meiji Hōritsu Gakkō'') by three Meij ...

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, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature The 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded the French writer Alb ...

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 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 Shinbun 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 ranges from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle port ...

. 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 ...

. 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 , 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 ...

, 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 Bud ...

'' 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 , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff = 3,978 (Total Staff) , students = 22 ...

from 1963. Nakamura continued to write

stage play A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between characters and intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Plays are performed at a variety of levels, fro ...

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

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

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

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

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 (ward), Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. It is home to , a shopping street popular among the aging of Japan, older generation, earning it the nickname "Granny's Harajuku." It lies at the crossing point of the JR Yamanote ...

, 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 ...

''. The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 58, No. 1 (Feb., 1999), pp. 217–220 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakamura, Mitsuo 1911 births 1988 deaths 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