Tatsuhiro Ōshiro
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was an Okinawan novelist and playwright from
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
,
Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and A ...
. He was awarded 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 ...
in 1967 for his novella of the same year, ''The Cocktail Party'', which has been adapted for the stage and made into a film. Ōshiro has also been an innovator of the traditional Ryukyuan narrative dance form known as
kumi odori is a form of narrative traditional Ryūkyūan dance. ''Kumi odori'' or ''Kumi wudui'' means "combination dance" or "ensemble dance". Originating in the Ryūkyūan capital of Shuri, Okinawa in 1719, the original purpose of this dance was to ...
. Having added twenty new pieces to the repertoire, Ōshiro is credited as having "single-handedly revived the genre that originated in the 18th century" by incorporating Okinawa shibai (dramas in the
Okinawan language Okinawan (, , , ), or more precisely Central Okinawan, is a Northern Ryukyuan languages, Ryukyuan language spoken primarily in the southern half of the Okinawa Island, island of Okinawa, as well as in the surrounding islands of Kerama Islands, K ...
) and distinctive rhythms to construct a fluid, hybrid cultural identity. His writings have been noted for making Okinawan culture and history accessible to Japanese readership, while his more popular works have been critically praised for "offering an acute perspective on the psychological and moral implications of war and military occupation."


Education and background

In 1943, Ōshiro enrolled at Tōa Dobunshoin University (East Asian University of Literature), a Japanese institution of higher education established in Shanghai’s Hongqiao neighborhood. In 1946, he returned to Japan following the nation's defeat in
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 ...
and worked as a high school teacher. He later worked in the governmental offices of Okinawa Prefecture, where he was in charge of editing materials in the fields of economics and history. From 1983 to 1986, he served as the director of the
Okinawa Prefectural Museum The , or Okimu for short, is a museum in the most southern prefecture of Japan. The museum complex in the Omoro-machi area of Naha, the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture. It opened in November 2007, and includes art, history, and natural history ...
& Art Museum.


Works

Many of Oshiro's works depict the complex, controversial geopolitics of Okinawa. His stories show individuals caught in the turmoil of historical conditions such as the transformation of the premodern
Ryukyu Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom was a kingdom in the Ryukyu Islands from 1429 to 1879. It was ruled as a Tributary system of China, tributary state of Ming dynasty, imperial Ming China by the King of Ryukyu, Ryukyuan monarchy, who unified Okinawa Island t ...
into a prefecture of modern Japan, Okinawa's post-World War II military occupation by the United States, and the island's extensive hosting of U.S. military bases in the 21st century despite widespread local opposition and protests. His book ''Noroeste Railway'' (1985) is considered one of the best works on the lives and minds of Japanese emigrants ('Nikkei'). It dwells on a Japanese couple who were amongst the first Japanese to emigrate to Brazil, in 1908, and their struggle to manage their dual national and cultural connections. (Prof. Nishi Masahiko)


''The Cocktail Party''

His first major success was ''The Cocktail Party'' (1967), for which he won an Akutagawa Prize in 1967, becoming the first Okinawan author to earn the distinction. The novella tells the story of an Okinawan man, the narrator, who is invited to a house party on a U.S. base also attended by American, Chinese, and Japanese guests. During the party, the narrator is forced to navigate a conversational minefield due to the cultural perceptions and divergent political views among the guests. When he returns home that evening, he learns that his daughter was raped by the U.S. serviceman renting a room from him. When he turns to friends and acquaintances, he discovers that unresolved historical issues will impede justice for his daughter. The novella has been noted for addressing the epidemic of military rape, exemplified in such incidents as the
Yumiko-chan incident The Yumiko-chan incident was the rape and murder of five-year-old Japanese girl Yumiko Nagayama, sometimes reported as Yumiko Arakaki, by United States, U.S. soldier ‌Sergeant Isaac J. Hurt in Kadena, Okinawa, on September 4, 1955. Nagayama's bo ...
, in which efforts to pursue criminal charges against a U.S. soldier over the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl were hampered by Okinawa's
extraterritoriality In international law, extraterritoriality or exterritoriality is the state of being exempted from the jurisdiction of local law, usually as the result of diplomatic negotiations. Historically, this primarily applied to individuals, as jurisdict ...
. In 2015, ''The Cocktail Party'' was made into an independent film directed by Regge Life. The novella has been adapted for the stage, with a premiere at the Hawaii Okinawa Center in 2011.


Awards

* Akutagawa Prize for ''The Cocktail Party'', 1967 *
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
, Purple Ribbon (Shiju Hōshō), 1990 * Okinawa Times Prize, 1991 * Taiko Hirabayashi Literary Prize, 1993 *
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 ...
, 1995 *
Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...
, 1996 * Ryūkyū Shinpō Prize, 1998 * Okinawa Person of Merit, 2000 * Yasunari Kawabata Literary Prize, 2015


Bibliography

* "Turtleback Tombs" (1966) - edited by
Steve Rabson Steve Rabson (born May 7, 1943) is an American Japanologist, historian, translator, academic and professor emeritus of East Asian Studies at Brown University. Career Rabson's research has focused on modern Japanese literature, especially works de ...
and Michael Molasky in ''Southern Exposure: Modern Japanese Literature From Okinawa'' (University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2000) * ''The Cocktail Party'' (1967) - edited and translated by
Steve Rabson Steve Rabson (born May 7, 1943) is an American Japanologist, historian, translator, academic and professor emeritus of East Asian Studies at Brown University. Career Rabson's research has focused on modern Japanese literature, especially works de ...
in ''Okinawa: Two Postwar Novellas'' (Institute of East Asian Studies, 1989) * ''The Ryūkyū Disposition: A Novel'' (1968) * ''White Season'' (1968) * ''Okinawa: An On-Location Report'' (1969) * ''Hidden Okinawa: Its Heart and Culture'' (1972) * ''Panari Island Fantasy'' (1972) * ''On the Border of Assimilation and Dissimilation'' (1972) * ''Japan: Torn Between Love and Hate'' (1972) * ''Master of the Wind: The Life and Times of Takuji Iwasaki'' (1974) * ''Island of the Gods'' (1974) * ''Okinawa, Now Officially Japan: Reflections on the Transitional Era'' (1977) * ''Visions of a Motherland'' (1978) * ''After the Glorious Banquet'' (1979) * ''Okinawan History Primer: An Alternative Japanese History of Life on the South Seas'' (1980) * ''Views on Teaching About Okinawa'' (1980) * ''The Heart Sutra: An Introduction'' (1981) * ''Mornings in Shanghai: Works From Tōa Dobunshoin University'' (1983) * ''Goddess'' (1985) * ''Flower Monument'' (1986) * ''Death of a Goddess'' (1987) * ''A Restorative Energy: Okinawa's Place Within Asia" (1987) * ''Thoughts on Buddhist Peace: A Plea for the Wisdom to Avoid War'' (1987) * ''Fish God'' (1989) * ''Northwest Railroad'' (1989) * ''Highlights of Okinawan Theater'' (1990) * ''Echoes From the Afterlife'' (1992) * ''Heroes of the Ryūkyū Kingdom'' (1992) * ''The Season of the Ryūkyū Kingdom'' (1993) * ''From the Day's End'' (1993) * ''A Farewell to the Fuzhou Ryūkyū Hotel'' (1994) * ''Halftime Okinawa'' (1994) * ''20 Days and Nights'' (1995) * ''Burnt Wilderness'' (1995) * ''Over the Ages: Collected Plays'' (1997) * ''In Search of Light'' (1997) * ''A Family That Sells Love'' (1998) * ''The Finery of Water'' (2000) * ''Pearl Road: Musical Dramas of the Ryūkyū Kingdom'' (2001) * ''The Collected Works of Tatsuhiro Ōshiro'' (2002) * ''Tsushima Maru'' (2005) * ''Fateful Scenes: 100 Selected Tales'' (2007) * ''The Vision of a Flower: Ryūkyūan Kumi Odori No. 10'' (2007) * ''To Futenma'' (2011) * ''Northern Winds Blow: A Sequel to Ryūkyūan Kumi Odori No. 10'' (2011) * ''The Hills of Life: Selected Ryūkyūan Autobiographical Poems'' (2013)


Selected Kumi Odori

* ''Gods Beyond the Sea'' (Umi no Tenzakai) * ''Escape, Marriage'' (Hingire, Niibichi) * ''The Rainbow Over Madama Bridge'' (Madamamichi) * ''Life in the Moonlight'' (Tsukiyo no Jinsei) * ''The Vision of a Flower'' (Hana no Maboroshi)


References


External links


"Okinawan author Tatsuhiro Oshiro: Okinawa and disaster-struck Tohoku region sacrificed for Tokyo"
- Author profile by ''Mainichi Shimbun'' reporter Yudai Nakazawa
''To Futenma''
- Excerpt from the 2011 novella in ''The Brooklyn Rail'' translated by Bonnie Huie {{DEFAULTSORT:Oshiro, Tatsuhiro 1925 births 2020 deaths Japanese dramatists and playwrights Japanese novelists Ryukyuan people Writers from Okinawa Prefecture Akutagawa Prize winners