Ogawa Mimei
Ogawa Mimei ( Japanese 小川 未 明 , Ogawa Mimei , actually Ogawa Kensaku; * 1882 in Takada in the Japanese prefecture of Niigata ; † 1961 in Tokyo ) is the author of short stories, children's stories and fairy tales.
Life
Ogawa Mimei studied English literature at Waseda University . In 1905 Ogawa published his first literary works. Waseda was the academic center of Japanese naturalism at the time . Since Ogawa leaned towards the ideal of romanticism, his writing success initially failed. In 1910 he published his first fairy tales .
plant
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Nobara_gedenkstein_ogawa_mimei.jpg/220px-Nobara_gedenkstein_ogawa_mimei.jpg)
Natural romance and pure love are reflected in his fairy tales . Ogawa is known in Japan as the founder of modern children's literature . Its importance is comparable to that of Hans Christian Andersen . Ogawa's stories are often poignant and of considerable artistic accomplishment. They helped set a new benchmark for children's and young adult literature in Japan . For his children's stories, Ogawa primarily chooses materials from everyday life; many reflect his strong social concern.
Ogawa's peculiarity lies in the expression of religious and philosophical symbolism , which shows an everlasting cycle of life. Death is not final.
In 1946 he received the Noma Literature Prize .
selection
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Kūchū no geitô ( 空中 の 芸 当 )
- German bet in the ether, translated by Monique Humbert, in: Nippon, 1965, pp. 215-238
Sources and literature
- Ivan Morris (Ed.): Nippon . Diogenes Verlag, Zurich 1965
- Donald Keene : Japanese Literature . Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 1962 (Original title: Japanese Literature, John Murray, London 1953)
Web links
- Literature by and about Ogawa Mimei in the catalog of the German National Library
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Ogawa, Mimei |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 小川 未 明 (Japanese); Ogawa Kensaku |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Japanese writer |
DATE OF BIRTH | 1882 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Takada , Niigata Prefecture , Japan |
DATE OF DEATH | 1961 |
Place of death | Tokyo , Japan |