Hideo Kobayashi

Kobayashi Hideo
Born:	11 April 1902 Tokyo, Japan
Died:	1 March 1983 Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan
Occupation:	Literary critic
Genres:	literary criticism
Influences:	Yasunari Kawabata, Riichi Yokomitsu, Okawa Shumei.

This is a Japanese name; the family name is Kobayashi.

Hideo Kobayashi (小林秀雄, Kobayashi Hideo^?, 11 April 1902 – 1 March 1983) was a Japanese author, who established literary criticism as an independent art form in Japan. is the 101st day of the year (102nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...   , literally Eastern capital) is a unique subnational administrative region of Japan with characteristics of both a prefecture and a city. ... is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... Kamakuras location in Japan Crowds of visitors in Kamakura (Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine) Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in Kamakura (Japanese: 鎌倉市; -shi) is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan, about 50 km south-south-west of Tokyo (to which it is linked by the railway line to Yokosuka). ... For the album by the Kaiser Chiefs see Employment (album) Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... A literary genre is one of the divisions of literature into genres according to particular criteria such as literary technique, tone, or content. ... Yasunari Kawabata ); (14 June 1899 - 16 April 1972) was a Japanese short story writer and novelist whose spare, lyrical, subtly-shaded prose won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968, the first Japanese to receive the award. ... Yokomitsu Riichi (横光 利一 Yokomitsu Riichi, 17 March 1898 - 30 December 1947) was a Japanese writer. ... ÅŒkawa ShÅ«mei was a Japanese ultra nationalist and Pan-Asian writer born December 6, 1886, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan and died December 24, 1957, Tokyo. ... Yamada Tarō (), a typical Japanese name (male), equivalent to John Smith in English. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 101st day of the year (102nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... This is an alphabetical list of authors who are Japanese, or are famous for having written in the Japanese language. ... Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. ...

Early life

Kobayashi was born in the Kanda district of Tokyo. He studied French literature at Tokyo Imperial University and graduated in 1927. Chuya Nakahara was one of his friends then. Kanda can mean:- Kanda, Tokyo, a place in Japan. ...   , literally Eastern capital) is a unique subnational administrative region of Japan with characteristics of both a prefecture and a city. ... French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak other traditional non-French languages. ... The Yasuda Auditorium on the University of Tokyos Hongo Campus. ... ChÅ«ya Nakahara ); (29 April 1907 - 22 October 1937) was a poet active in early Showa period Japan. ...

Literary critic

In the early 1930s he was associated with the novelists Yasunari Kawabata and Riichi Yokomitsu and collaborated on articles for the literary journal Bungaku-kai and became editor in 1935. At that time Kobayashi felt literature should be relevant to society, with writers and critics practicing social responsibilities. His editorials covered a wide range from contemporary literature to the classics, philosophy, and the arts. He began to serialize his life of Fyodor Dostoevsky in the magazine. Around this time, he also published Watakushi Shosetsu Ron, an attack on the popular Japanese literary genre of the shishosetsu, the autobiographical novel or I Novel. Yasunari Kawabata ); (14 June 1899 - 16 April 1972) was a Japanese short story writer and novelist whose spare, lyrical, subtly-shaded prose won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968, the first Japanese to receive the award. ... Yokomitsu Riichi (横光 利一 Yokomitsu Riichi, 17 March 1898 - 30 December 1947) was a Japanese writer. ... A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense — including the short story, poetry and essay — and also literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews, letters and gossip. ... Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (Russian: Фёдор Миха́йлович Достое́вский, IPA: , sometimes transliterated Dostoyevsky,Dostoievsky, or Dostoevski  ) (November 11 [O.S. October 30] 1821 – February 9 [O.S. January 28] 1881) is considered one of two greatest prose writers of Russian literature, alongside close contemporary Leo Tolstoy. ... This Side Of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a famous example of an autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel is a novel based on the life of the author. ... I-Novel (私小説, Watakushi shōsetsu, or Shishōsetsu) is a literary genre in Japanese literature used to describe writing about oneself. ...

By the mid-1930s, Kobayashi was well established as a literary critic. His aversion to abstract ideas, and conceptualizing in general, was widely known, as was his preference for spontaneity and intuition. In literature, he reserved his highest praise for the works of Kikuchi Kan and Shiga Naoya, whereas he expressed a low opinion of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa for being too cerebral. Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. ... Kikuchi Kan (菊池 寛), (December 26, 1888 - March 6, 1948) was a Japanese author. ... Shiga Naoya (志賀 直哉, February 20, 1883 - October 21, 1971) was a Japanese writer. ... This is a Japanese name; the family name is Akutagawa RyÅ«nosuke Akutagawa ); (March 1, 1892 - July 24, 1927) was a Japanese writer active in Taisho period Japan. ...

He made Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture his home from 1931 and was a central figure in local literary activity. Kamakuras location in Japan Crowds of visitors in Kamakura (Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine) Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in Kamakura (Japanese: 鎌倉市; -shi) is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan, about 50 km south-south-west of Tokyo (to which it is linked by the railway line to Yokosuka). ... Kanagawa Prefecture ) is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Honshū, Japan. ...

Wartime propagandist

In politics, Kobayashi praised the writings of militant nationalist Okawa Shumei. In November 1937, he wrote a strongly-worded essay Senso ni tsuite ("On War"), which appeared in a leading intellectual magazine, Kaizo. In the essay, he lashed out at fellow writers and intellectuals who continued to oppose the growing war in China, sharply reminding them that their duty as subjects of the emperor took precedence over all else. It made little difference what the war is about, all that mattered was that it existed and must be dealt with. Kobayashi equated the war as if it were an act of nature, such as a storm, impervious to analysis and beyond human control. Just as a storm must be weathered, a war must be won, regardless of right or wrong. Ōkawa Shūmei was a Japanese ultra nationalist and Pan-Asian writer born December 6, 1886, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan and died December 24, 1957, Tokyo. ... Combatants Republic of China Empire of Japan Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Cheng, Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang, Li Zongren, Xue Yue, Mao Zedong, Peng Dehuai Fumimaro Konoe, Hideki Tojo, Matsui Iwane, Jiro Minami, Kesago Nakajima, Toshizo Nishio, Yasuji Okamura, Umezu Yoshijiro Strength 5,600,000 4,100,000 (including 900...

Kobayashi went to China for the first time in March 1938 as a special correspondent for the popular magazine Bungei Shunju, and as a guest of the Imperial Japanese Army. This was the first of six wartime trips to the continent, which took him through Japanese-occupied areas of eastern and northern China. In 1940, together with Kikuchi Kan and fifty-two other writers including Kawabata Yasunari and Yokomitsu Riichi, Kobayashi toured Japan, Korea, and Manchukou as members of the Literary Home-Front Campaign (Bungei Jugo Undo), a speech-making troupe organized by Kikuchi to promote support for the war. The company office in Chiyoda, Tokyo Bungeishunju Ltd. ... The Imperial Japanese Army (: 大日本帝國陸軍 Shinjitai: 大日本帝国陸軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was the official ground based armed force of Japan from 1867 to 1945 when it was Imperial Japan. ... Kikuchi Kan (菊池 寛), (December 26, 1888 - March 6, 1948) was a Japanese author. ... Yasunari Kawabata (川端 康成 Kawabata Yasunari, June 14, 1899 - April 16, 1972) was a Japanese novelist who became the first Japanese, and second Asian, to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, in 1968. ... Yokomitsu Riichi (横光 利一 Yokomitsu Riichi, 17 March 1898 - 30 December 1947) was a Japanese writer. ... Korea (Korean: 한국 in South Korea or ì¡°ì„  in North Korea, see below) is a geographic area, civilization, and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. ... Manchukuo was a nominally independent puppet state set up by the Empire of Japan in Manchuria (Northeastern China) which existed from 1931 to 1945. ...

Later career

Following the end of World War II, Kobayashi was sharply attacked by leftists for his collaboration with the Japanese military, but the US occupation authorities never filed any charges against him, and he was not even purged from public life. Kobayashi's reputation as a brilliant literary critic emerged from the war largely intact. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Look up scap in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In the post-war period, he started a business as an antique dealer (amassing a considerable collection of Japanese art in the process), traveled to Europe, wrote essays and gave lectures on a huge variety of subjects, made radio broadcasts, took part in dialogues with writers, artists and scientists, and wrote about golf. His Watashi no jinseikan ("My View of Life") and Kangaeru hinto ("Hints for Thinking") became bestsellers. Bronze statue of Amida Buddha at Kotokuin in Kamakura (1252 CE) Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture in wood and bronze, ink painting on silk and paper, and a myriad of other types of works of art. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... Radio broadcasts have been a popular entertainment since the 1910s, though popularity has declined a little in some countries since television became widespread. ... Golf is a sport in which individual players or teams of players strike a ball into a hole using several types of clubs. ...

Kobayashi became a member of the Japan Art Academy in 1951, and was awarded the Order of Culture by the Japanese government in 1967. The Japan Art Academy Japan Art Academy ) is the highest ranking artistic organization in Japan. ... The Order of Culture (文化勲章) is a Japanese Order (decoration), established on February 11, 1937. ...

His grave is at the temple of Tokei-ji in Kamakura. Tōkei-ji (東慶寺) is a Buddhist temple in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. ...

Legacy

The Kobayashi Hideo Prize (Kobayashi Hideo Shō) was established in 2002 by the Shinchō Bungei Shinkō Kai (Shinchō Society for the Promotion of the Literary Arts). It is awarded annually to a work of nonfiction published in Japanese, between July 1 and the following June 30, that offers a fresh image of the world based on the demonstration of a free spirit and supple intellect. The winner receives a commemorative gift and a cash award of 1 million yen. Japanese 10 yen coin (obverse) showing Phoenix Hall of Byodoin Yen is the currency used in Japan. ...

See also

• Japanese literature
• List of Japanese authors

Japanese literature spans a period of almost two millennia. ... This is an alphabetical list of authors who are Japanese, or are famous for having written in the Japanese language. ...

External Links

• Literary Figures from Kamakura
• Site on Shinchosha Publishing Company (Japanese)

References

• Anderer, Paul. ed. Literature of the Lost Home: Kobayashi Hideo Literary Criticism, 1924-1939. Stanford University Press (1995). ISBN 0804741158
• Takamizawa, Junko. My Brother Hideo Kobayashi. University of Hawaii Press (2001). ISBN: 187695700X