Authors Connected to Kanazawa University

Japanese

Tokuda Shusei

Tokuda Shusei was a writer who walked the mainstream of modern Japanese literature, from naturalism to personal novels, and is truly worthy of being called a literary master.

Shusei’s real name was Tokuda Sueo, and he was born on December 23, 1872, in Yokoyama-cho, Kanazawa City, as the sixth child and third son of Tokuda Unpei. Unpei was a samurai who served as a retainer of the Yokoyama family, a chief retainer of the Kaga domain, and had a stipend of 70 koku, but lost his status during the Meiji Restoration. As a result, the Tokuda family fell into extreme poverty and were forced to move repeatedly within Kanazawa.

After graduating from Yojo Elementary School (now Baba Elementary School), Shusei took the entrance exam for Ishikawa Prefectural College, one of the predecessors of our university, in 1886 and was accepted. In April 1888, as part of the education system reform, the school became the Fourth Higher Middle School, and he was admitted as one of the first students to the school as a supplementary student in the second class. There he became acquainted with lifelong friends such as Kiryu Yuyu and developed his literary interests.

The literary world at that time was in the heyday of the Kenyusha school centered around Ozaki Koyo, and Izumi Kyoka, who had been Shusei’s junior at Yojo Elementary school, had become his apprentice. Shusei also dropped out of the Fourth Higher Middle School after his friend Ota Shiro told him, “There’s no point in going through all those tedious school courses if you want to study literature.” He moved to Tokyo with Kiryu Yuyu, who had also dropped out.Although he was not able to become a pupil of Koyo when he moved to Tokyo, in 1895 he finally realised his wish to become an apprentice. A year and a half later, he published the short story Yabukoji and entered the literary world.

He also made full use of the English skills he had acquired at Shiko and began translating energetically, gradually solidifying his position in the literary world. Later, anticipating the trends of the times, he turned to a naturalistic style, publishing novels such as Arajotai (The New Household, 1908), Kabi (Mold, 1911), Arakure(Rough Living, 1915), Kasō jimbutsu (Masquerade, 1935-1938), and Shukuzu (Miniature , 1941). Although he went through a period of stagnation, he made a comeback with Machi no Odoriba(The Town Dance Floor, 1933), which depicts events that occur when he returns to Kanazawa for his sister’s funeral, and was highly praised by Kawabata Yasunari . He looked back on his time in Kanazawa in his autobiographical novel Hikari o Oute(Chasing the Light, 1938-1940) as well as in several other novels and essays. He passed away on November 18, 1943.

Related Website

Tokuda Shusei Kinenkan Museum

Nakano Shigeharu

Nakano Shigeharu was a great writer who survived the turbulent Showa era, transforming from lyric poetry to proletarian literature, and then to conversion literature after being imprisoned.

Nakano was born on January 25, 1902, in Takaharu Village, Sakai County, Fukui Prefecture (present-day Maruoka Town) as the second son of his father Tosaku and mother Tora. His family were self-sufficient farmers and small landowners, and his father worked for the Fukui Court, the Taiwan Government-General, the Ministry of Finance’s Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, the Government-General of Korea, Itochu Corporation, and Hakusan Hydroelectric Power Company, but later became a farmer.

Nakano studied at Fukui Prefectural Fukui Middle School (now Fukui Prefectural Fujishima High School) in 1914, and entered the humanities department of the Fourth Higher School in 1919, where he lived in the Jishu Dorm. He became acquainted with a junior colleague, Kubokawa Tsurujiro, who later became his comrade in the proletarian literature movement. In 1920, four tanka poems that he had written at the Shiko Tanka Club were published in Hokushinkai Zasshi (Hokushinkai association magazine of Shiko). He was also involved in editing until graduation, and published 29 tanka poems, four poems, four novels, six translated poems, and more. He also worked on creating paintings. In the same year, he entered Jakuetsu Gijuku, a dormitory for students from Fukui Prefecture that was located in Tatemachi at the time. He failed in 1921 and the following year. He moved from one boarding house to another. In 1923, he met Muro Saisei, who had returned home to Kanazawa after the Great Kanto Earthquake, and continued to admire him.

Graduated from Shiko in 1924. Entered the Department of Literature, Faculty of Letters, Tokyo Imperial University. The following year, he launched the coterie magazine Gunzo. From around 1925, he began to resonate with socialism and Marxism. After graduating from Tokyo Imperial University in 1927, he supported the proletarian literary movement by working hard to establish the All-Japan Proletarian Artistic League (NAP [Nipponia Artista Proleta Federacio]) and editing its journal, Senki (Battle Flag). However, he was arrested on suspicion of violating the Peace Preservation Law.

He was arrested in April 1932 and spent about two years in prison, after which he was released after making a “conversion” in which he promised to withdraw from the Marxist movement. This deep remorse led him to write many novels that are known as conversion literature. After the war, he ran as a candidate for the Japanese Communist Party in the first House of Councillors election in April 1947, was elected, and served as a member of the House of Councillors. He continued to be active in the New Japan Literary Society and other organisations, creating literary works and engaging in political activities.
He passed away on August 24, 1979.

Some of his most noted works include Collection of Nakano Shigeharu’s Poetry (1935), the novels Uta no Wakare (Farewell to Poetry, 1939), Muragimo (In the Depths of the Heart, 1954), Nashi no Hana (Pear Blossoms, 1959), and Ko,Otsu, Hei, Tei (ABCD, 1969). In particular, Uta no Wakare depicts his youth in Kanazawa, a city “sleeping idly across two rivers and three hills.”

Inoue Yasushi

Inoue Yasushi was a great writer who won the Akutagawa Prize and had even been considered a candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature. His works depict the youthful years of his time at Shiko, and he contributed to shaping the image of Shiko that continues to this day.

Inoue Yasushi was born on May 6, 1907, in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. His father worked as an army doctor in the 7th Asahikawa Division, and his registered domicile was Yugashima, Kamikano Village, Tagata County, Shizuoka Prefecture (present-day Yugashima, Izu City). As his grandmother lived there, he spent his childhood there and graduated from Numazu Middle School (present-day Shizuoka Prefectural Numazu East High School). Around that time, his father became the director of Kanazawa Army Hospital, so his family moved to Kanazawa. He studied hard for the entrance exams and entered the science department of Shiko in 1927. At Shiko, he joined the judo club and underwent rigorous training, becoming captain in his third year, but all of the third-year students quit the club due to differences of opinion with their seniors. It was around that time that he began to write poetry. After spending his youth like this at Shiko and in Kanazawa, he graduated in 1930. After entering the Faculty of Law and Letters at Kyushu Imperial University, he transferred to the Department of Philosophy at Kyoto Imperial University, where he began devoting himself to writing novels.

While working for the Mainichi Newspapers in 1949, his novel Togyu(The Bullfight) was published in Bungakukai magazine, and in February of the following year it won the 22nd Akutagawa Prize, instantly making him famous in the literary world. He was 42 years old. He later gained fame with his autobiographical coming-of-age novels such as Asunaro Monogatari(The Story of Asunaro), Shirobamba, and Natsugusa Fuyunami, and became a worldwide acclaimed literary figure as a master of historical novels such as Tempyo no Iraka( The Roof Tile of Tempyo).

Of particular note in relation to our university is Kita no Umi(The Northern Sea, 1968-1969). Kita no Umi is an attempt to write from the outside about life in a higher school judo club as seen through the eyes of a higher school student preparing for entrance exams. It is based on the lifestyle of the judo club that the author experienced when he was a first-year student at Shiko. This led to him portraying the Shiko judo club from an outsider’s perspective, and it was successful as “a coming-of-age novel dealing with uninhibited, cheerful, non-elite students” (The Trajectory of My Literature, 1977). Each of the students from Shiko depicted in Kita no Umi was based on a real person, and the atmosphere at Shiko was faithful to the actual atmosphere. This novel is also important for understanding the spirit of former students at this university.

Moriyama Kei, Takahashi Osamu, and Furui Yoshikichi

○ Moriyama Kei (1904-1991) was a poet and novelist. He was born in Niigata Prefecture, but moved to Takaoka City, Toyama Prefecture, and Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture following his father, a middle school teacher. His classmate was Fukada Kyuya, and his senior was Nakano Shigeharu. In 1920, he entered the Humanities Department of the Fourth Higher School.
Nakano was an upperclassman and Kubokawa Tsurujirou was a lowerclassman. Although he took a leave of absence due to pleurisy, he published poems and other works in Hokushinkai Zasshi. In 1925, he entered the Department of Philosophy at the Faculty of Letters of the Imperial University of Tokyo. He founded the literary magazine Sanjo (Mountain Top) with a group of graduates from Shiko and published his novels. Through an introduction from Nakano, he joined the Social and Literary Research Group and the Newcomers’ Group.
He walked the path of a proletarian autohor. After the war, he devoted himself for a long time to writing in Komatsu City and Matto City (now Hakusan City). He died in 1991.

○Takahashi Osamu (1929-2015) was a novelist. Born in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture. In 1947, he entered the humanities department of the Fourth Higher School. He won the Shoriki Prize for his film theory published in the final issue of Hokushin. In 1950, he became the last student to graduate from Shiko, and entered the Faculty of Letters at the University of Tokyo. After graduating, he worked in the film industry before becoming a socially conscious author. In 1984, he won the 90th Naoki Prize for Hiden（Secret tradition）. His works include Namonaki Michi o (On a Nameless Road, 1984-85), which depicts a graduate of the former Shiko who repeatedly takes the bar exam.
Having a workplace in Shiramine, he also devoted himself to the nature conservation movement and opened the Hakusanroku Remote Village School, which continues to this day.

○ Furui Yoshikichi (1937-2020) was a novelist. Born in Tokyo. He received his master’s degree from the Department of German Literature, Faculty of Letters, University of Tokyo, and in April 1962, he became an assistant professor at Kanazawa University. He lodged at Nakamura Inbo in Zaimokucho (now Hashibacho) in Kanazawa City, and his experience encountering the heavy snow of the ’63 Snowstorm later came to fruition as the novel Yui no shita no Kani (Crab Under the Snow). He published papers on Robert Musil and Kafka in journals such as Studies in Humanities by the College of Liberal arts Kanazawa University. In 1965, he transferred to Rikkyo University, but retired in 1970.
In 1971, he won the 64th Akutagawa Prize for his novel Yoko. His unique writing style, which combined fantasy and realism, earned him a passionate fan base.
He often visits Kanazawa, and many of his works are set there.

Related Websites

Ishikawa Museum of Modern Literature

Contemporary Authors

Even after moving to Kakuma, the university continues to produce authors. Here we introduce three individuals who have been particularly outstanding in their work.

○ Shiroyama Shinichi (1972-) is a novelist from Nanao City. After graduating from Ishikawa Prefectural Nanao High School, he graduated from the Faculty of Law at Kanazawa University. He made his debut with Kokusen Petenshi Senju Yosuke (Nationally Selected Swindler Senju Yosuke , 2015). He won the 14th “This Mystery is Amazing!” Grand Prize for Black Venus: The Goddess of Investment. He currently resides in Kanazawa City and has released a string of hits, including  Nirei Akane no Tokumei Shikakeru (Nirei Akane’s Special Mission: Setting Up a Plan, 2017), Kanshu no Ryugi (The Prison Guard’s Way, 2019), and Kanshu no Shinnen (The Prison Guard’s Beliefs, 2022).

○ Yonezawa Honobu (1978-) is a novelist. After graduating from Gifu Prefectural Hida High School, he entered the Faculty of Letters at Kanazawa University. While still a student, he began publishing novels online, and after graduating he devoted himself to writing while working as a bookstore clerk in Takayama City. In 2001, his debut work Hyoka(Ice Candy) won the Encouragement Award in the Young Mystery & Horror category of the 5th Kadokawa School Novel Award. Since then, he has won many awards for his works such as Oreta Ryukotsu (Broken Keel, 2010), the short story collection Mangan (Fulfillment of a Vow, 2014), and Ou to Sakasu (The King and the Circus, 2015). Kokurojo (2021) won the 166th Naoki Prize.

○ Kogyoku Izuki (1984-) is a novelist from Kanazawa City. After graduating from Ishikawa Prefectural Kanazawa Sakuragaoka High School, she graduated from the Faculty of Letters at Kanazawa University. During her time at university, she became the university champion of Poetry Boxing. She won the Grand Prize at the 13th Dengeki Novel Prize for Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou (The Owl and the King of the Night, 2006), the first of her cannibal trilogy. She has also worked on series such as Youkoso Kojo Hoteru e (Welcome to the Castle Hotel , 2011-12) and Akuma no Kodoku to Suiginto no Shojo (The Devil’s Solitude and the Mercury Sugar Girl , 2018-19). 

---

The content of this page is the same as the panel exhibited in the “Shiko no Mori” at Kanazawa University Central Library.

Created in April 2025 by the Working Group on Collections, Kanazawa University Library.