Hamada Hirosuke

Hamada Hirosuke ( Japanese 浜 田 広 介 , Kyūjitai 濱 田 廣 介 ; born May 25, 1893 in Takahata , Yamagata Prefecture ; † November 17, 1973 ) was a Japanese author of books for children and young people. He was a contemporary of Kenji Miyazawa and is still known today as "Andersen of Japan". He was also a co-founder and, from 1961 to 1973, the first chairman of the " Association of Japanese Children's Book Authors " ( 日本 児 童文芸 家 協会 , Nihon jidō bungeika kyōkai ). His work, along with that of Tsubota Jōji and Mimei Ogawa , based on the designation for the throne insignia of Japan , is one of the three treasures of children's book literature.

life and work

Hirosuke studied English at Waseda University from 1914 after attending Yonezawa Middle School . From the first year he published his own works first in the magazine "Yorozu Chōhō" ( 萬 朝 報 ), then in the "Asahi Shimbun Osaka" ( 大阪 朝日 新聞 ). In 1918 he received the Kitamura Tōkoku Prize and shortly thereafter decided to become a children's book author. After completing his studies, Hirosuke works in the editorial department for two children's magazines from Kodomo . In 1925 he founded the Sōdai dōwakai ( 早 大 童話 会 ), a working group at Waseda University to study fairy tales and youth literature. This was followed by other awards including the Noma Literature Prize in 1942. Most recently, Hirosuke and Mimei had to experience painfully that they were in 1953 by the researcher Shin Torigoe and the critic Taruhi Furuta in their “Manifesto of Youth Literature” ( 少年 文学 宣言 , shōnen bungaku sengen ) as old children's books were rejected.

In honor of Hirosuke, the Hamada-Hirosuke memorial was built in his native town in Takahata . In addition, the Hirosuke Fairy Tale Prize ( ひ ろ す け 童話 賞 , Hirosuke dōwashō ) has been awarded for children's literature since 1989 .

Works (selection)

• 1941 Ryū no me no namida ( 竜 の 目 の 涙 )
• 1948–50 Hirosuke dōwa senshū ( ひ ろ す け 童話 選集 ), six volumes
• 1969 Dōwa bungaku to jinsei ( 童話 文学 と 人生 )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 浜 田 広 介 . In: デ ジ タ ル 版 日本人 名 大 辞典 + Plus at kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 24, 2013 (Japanese). 
2. ↑ 歴 代 の 会長 ・ 理事長 一 覧 . (No longer available online.) Japan Juvenile Writers Association, archived from the original on May 24, 2015 ; Retrieved July 24, 2013 (Japanese). 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.  
3. ↑ 少年 文学 宣言 . In: デ ジ タ ル 版 日本人 名 大 辞典 + Plus at kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 24, 2013 (Japanese). 

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