Kaiko Takeshi
Encyclopedia
was a prominent post-World War II
Japanese
novelist, short-story writer, essayist, literary critic, and television documentary
writer. He was distinguished by his knowledge, intellect, sense of humor and conversational skills, and although his style has been criticized as wordy and obtuse, he was one of the more popular Japanese writers in the late Showa period
. His pen name was Kaikō Ken, which is written with the same kanji
.
as the son of an elementary school teacher. In 1948, he enrolled in the Law Department of Osaka City University
, but was often absent from class, as he had to take a variety of part-time jobs in order to pay for his tuition. While in school, rather than study law he was sidetracked by the works of Motojirō Kajii
, Mitsuharu Kaneko
and Atsushi Nakajima. He also translated the works of Sherwood Anderson
and Louis Aragon
into Japanese. He graduated in 1953 and moved to Tokyo
, where he took a job with Kotobukiya (the present Suntory
), where he worked in the public-relations department.
He married Yōko Maki
, a poet.
Kindai Bungaku soon after his move to Tokyo. It was largely ignored by critics. However, his second work, a short story titled Panniku (Panic, 1957) published in the Shin Nippon Bunkaku, caused a sensation for its unusual concept and style. It was a story about a dedicated forester in a rural prefecture of Japan, who struggles against government incompetence and corruption. Kaikō wrote the story as a satirical
allegory
comparing human beings to mice.
Kaikō won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize
in 1957 with his Hadaka no ōsama (The Naked King), a story critical of the pressures placed on school children by Japan's educational system.
Kaikō is considered a leftist activist, respected in many Indochinese
countries, in particular, for his vocal opposition to Japan
's support of the United States
politics in Indochina in the 1960s. He was one of the founders of the Beheiren
(Betonamu ni heiwa o! Shimin rengo), or the League for Peace in Vietnam. This activity was related to his experience as a war correspondent
in Vietnam
with the Asahi Shimbun
; he was briefly imprisoned by the Viet Cong. These experiences translated into his novel, Kagayakeru yami (Into a Black Sun, 1968), an account of a Japanese journalist experiencing first-hand the life of the Americans and South Vietnamese troops in Vietnam. The novel won the prestigious Mainichi Book Award.
However, Kaikō had a wide range of topics in his repertory. Natsu no yami (Darkness in Summer, 1971) was essentially a romance between a reporter and an expatriate Japanese woman living in Europe.
Kaikō enriched the Japanese language
with the word "apache
", to denote scavengers of recyclables
, described in his novel, Japan's Threepenny Opera
.
Considered a gourmet, in his later years, Kaikō wrote numerous essays on food and drink, as well as appearing on food-related or fishing-related TV shows and in TV commercial.
He died of esophageal cancer
. His grave is at the Shorei-in sub-temple of the Engakuji Temple complex, Kamakura, Kanagawa
.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
novelist, short-story writer, essayist, literary critic, and television documentary
Television documentary
Documentary television is a genre of television programming that broadcasts documentaries.* Documentary television series, a television series which is made up of documentary episodes....
writer. He was distinguished by his knowledge, intellect, sense of humor and conversational skills, and although his style has been criticized as wordy and obtuse, he was one of the more popular Japanese writers in the late Showa period
Showa period
The , or Shōwa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of the Shōwa Emperor, Hirohito, from December 25, 1926 through January 7, 1989.The Shōwa period was longer than the reign of any previous Japanese emperor...
. His pen name was Kaikō Ken, which is written with the same kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
.
Early life
Kaikō was born in the Tennoji Ward of OsakaOsaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
as the son of an elementary school teacher. In 1948, he enrolled in the Law Department of Osaka City University
Osaka City University
, abbreviated to , is a public university in Japan. It is located in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka City.- History :OCU's predecessor was founded in 1880, as the Osaka Commercial Training Institute with donations by local merchants. It developed into Osaka Commercial School in 1885, then was municipalized in...
, but was often absent from class, as he had to take a variety of part-time jobs in order to pay for his tuition. While in school, rather than study law he was sidetracked by the works of Motojirō Kajii
Motojiro Kajii
was a Japanese author in the early Shōwa period of Japan. He left masterpieces of poetic short stories such as "The Lemon", "Winter Days", and "Under the Cherry Trees"...
, Mitsuharu Kaneko
Mitsuharu Kaneko
was a Japanese poet.-Biography:Mitsuharu Kaneko was born in Aichi Prefecture, but attended the private Catholic school Gyosei Gakuen in Tokyo. He published his first poetry collection Akatsuchi no Ie in 1919. He was known as an anti-establishment figure, and during the Second World War he...
and Atsushi Nakajima. He also translated the works of Sherwood Anderson
Sherwood Anderson
Sherwood Anderson was an American novelist and short story writer. His most enduring work is the short story sequence Winesburg, Ohio. Writers he has influenced include Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, J. D. Salinger, and Amos Oz.-Early life:Anderson was born in Clyde, Ohio,...
and Louis Aragon
Louis Aragon
Louis Aragon , was a French poet, novelist and editor, a long-time member of the Communist Party and a member of the Académie Goncourt.- Early life :...
into Japanese. He graduated in 1953 and moved to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, where he took a job with Kotobukiya (the present Suntory
Suntory
is a Japanese brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan. Its business has expanded to other fields, and the company now offers everything from soft drinks to sandwich chains...
), where he worked in the public-relations department.
He married Yōko Maki
Yoko Maki
Yoko Maki may refer to:*Yōko Maki , Japanese manga artist whose first success, at age 18, was 1999's Love Service! in Ribon Original magazine; best known for the comic Aishiteruze Baby...
, a poet.
Literary career
Kaikō published his first work, Na no nai machi (Nameless City, 1953) in the literary magazineLiterary 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, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
Kindai Bungaku soon after his move to Tokyo. It was largely ignored by critics. However, his second work, a short story titled Panniku (Panic, 1957) published in the Shin Nippon Bunkaku, caused a sensation for its unusual concept and style. It was a story about a dedicated forester in a rural prefecture of Japan, who struggles against government incompetence and corruption. Kaikō wrote the story as a satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
comparing human beings to mice.
Kaikō won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize
Akutagawa Prize
The is a Japanese literary award presented semi-annually. It was established in 1935 by Kan Kikuchi, then-editor of Bungeishunjū magazine, in memory of author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa...
in 1957 with his Hadaka no ōsama (The Naked King), a story critical of the pressures placed on school children by Japan's educational system.
Kaikō is considered a leftist activist, respected in many Indochinese
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
countries, in particular, for his vocal opposition to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's support of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politics in Indochina in the 1960s. He was one of the founders of the Beheiren
Beheiren
Beheiren was a Japanese activist group that existed from 1965 to 1974. As a coalition of a few hundred anti-war groups it protested Japanese assistance to the United States during the Vietnam War.-Accomplishments:They claim to have helped 20 U.S...
(Betonamu ni heiwa o! Shimin rengo), or the League for Peace in Vietnam. This activity was related to his experience as a war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
with the Asahi Shimbun
Asahi Shimbun
The is the second most circulated out of the five national newspapers in Japan. Its circulation, which was 7.96 million for its morning edition and 3.1 million for its evening edition as of June 2010, was second behind that of Yomiuri Shimbun...
; he was briefly imprisoned by the Viet Cong. These experiences translated into his novel, Kagayakeru yami (Into a Black Sun, 1968), an account of a Japanese journalist experiencing first-hand the life of the Americans and South Vietnamese troops in Vietnam. The novel won the prestigious Mainichi Book Award.
However, Kaikō had a wide range of topics in his repertory. Natsu no yami (Darkness in Summer, 1971) was essentially a romance between a reporter and an expatriate Japanese woman living in Europe.
Kaikō enriched the Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
with the word "apache
Apache (disambiguation)
Apache is the name of a group of related Native American tribes or a member of these tribes.Apache may also refer to:* Apache language, a subfamily of Athabaskan languages spoken by various groups of Apache and Navajo peoples...
", to denote scavengers of recyclables
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
, described in his novel, Japan's Threepenny Opera
Japan's Threepenny Opera
is a novel by Takeshi Kaiko in 1959.The name was derived from Bertold Brecht's Threepenny Opera and in a way is its variant, in the Japanese setting....
.
Considered a gourmet, in his later years, Kaikō wrote numerous essays on food and drink, as well as appearing on food-related or fishing-related TV shows and in TV commercial.
He died of esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
. His grave is at the Shorei-in sub-temple of the Engakuji Temple complex, Kamakura, Kanagawa
Kamakura, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called .Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the...
.