Hino Ashihei

Hino Ashihei

Hino Ashihei ( Japanese 火 野 葦 平 , real name: 玉井 勝 則 , Tamai Katsunori ; born January 25, 1907 in Wakamatsu (today: Kitakyūshū ), Fukuoka Prefecture ; † January 24, 1960 ) was a Japanese writer.

Life

Ashihei was the eldest of five children of Tamai Kingorō (?) , A dockworker from Matsuyama in Ehime Prefecture , and his wife Man ( マ ン ) from Shōbara in Hiroshima Prefecture . He attended Kokura Middle School in Wakamatsu. Even while he was still in high school, he was self-publishing fairy tales . In 1926 he enrolled in English studies at Waseda University . Together with Terazaki Hiroshi and Tabata Shūichirō , he edited the magazine Machi ( 街 ) and published short stories and poems. In 1928 he broke off his studies and did his military service in the 24th Infantry Regiment of Fukuoka.

After his release, he was hired as a dock worker in the port of Wakamatsu and sat down. a. started a union for the dockers and the labor movement. A related arrest caused a change of heart, so Ashihei returned to literature. He participated in a local group of poets and their literary magazine Toranshitsuto ( と ら ん し つ と ).

In August 1930 he married Yoshino, who gave birth to his eldest son Toshi a month later. With Funnyōtan ( 糞尿 譚 , roughly: "Tales of excrement and urine") Ashihei won the Akutagawa Prize in 1937 . Shortly afterwards he was called up again for the military and took part in the Sino-Japanese War. With the three following works Wheat and Soldiers ( 麦 と 兵 隊 , Mugi to heitai ), Tsuchi to heitai ( 土 と 兵 隊 , roughly: "Ground and soldiers") and Hana to heitai ( 花 と 兵 隊 , roughly: "Flowers and soldiers") ), which were sold as bestsellers with a circulation of 3 million copies, Ashihei established his success as a writer. Nevertheless, in addition to his writing activities, he continued to work as a dock worker.

Ashihei died in 1960 at the age of 53 in his home. It was initially thought to have had a heart attack, but it was found that Ashihei had committed suicide using sleeping pills. This fact was kept secret for a long time and only announced in the mass media on the 13th anniversary of death by the relatives. A handwritten farewell note from Ashihei with the title Health memo serves as evidence .

Ashihei's nephew Nakamura Tetsu is a doctor and co-founder of the Peshawar Society , which provides support and help for earthquake victims, particularly in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The youngest brother Shitarō runs a memorial under the name Kahakudō ( 河伯 洞 ) in the family's former home . Ashihei was awarded the Prize of the Japanese Academy of Arts ( 日本 芸 術 院 賞 , Nihon Geijutsuin-shō ) for his life's work.

Works (selection)

• Funnyōtan ( 糞尿 譚 )
• Mugi to heitai ( 麦 と 兵 隊 )
  • Wheat and soldiers. War letters, records and diaries of a Japanese non-commissioned officer . Translated by A. von Cholnatzky. Stuttgart, Cotta, 1940
• Hana to heitai ( 花 と 兵 隊 )
• Tsuchi to heitai ( 土 と 兵 隊 )
• Sanjō gunkan ( 山上 軍艦 )
• Taishakukyō-ki ( 帝 釈 峡 記 )
• Umi to heitai ( 海 と 兵 隊 )
• Yogisha ( 夜 汽車 )
• Ren'ai kazoku ( 恋愛 家族 )
• Hana to ryū ( 花 と 竜 ) - autobiography

filming

• 1973 Hana to ryū seiun aizo dotohen , directed by Tai Katō

Web links

• List of works at Aozora
• In the footsteps of Ashihei in Kitakyūshū (Japanese) - with illustrations
• Website on the 50th anniversary of Ashihei's death

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ashihei Memorial  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Japanese)  
2. ↑ Waseda University website: Waseda to Bungaku
3. ↑ General presentation of war literature ( 戦 争 文学 の 常 套 的 な 記述 ) ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Japanese; PDF; 788 kB) 
4. ↑ Website of the Peshawar Society ( Memento of the original from February 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus, Hino is the family name, Ashihei is the first name.