Niimi Nankichi

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Niimi Nankichi

Niimi Nankichi ( Japanese 新 美 南吉 , real name: Watanabe Shōhachi 渡 辺 正 八 ; * July 30, 1913 in Handa ; † March 22, 1943 ) was a Japanese writer .

Life

Niimi was born in 1913 as the second eldest son of the tatami maker Watanabe Tazō ( 渡 辺 多 蔵 ) and his wife Rie. His brother, who was born the year before, died just 18 days after he was born. Niimi lost his mother in 1917 when he was just four years old. Two years later, his father remarried. Three days after the marriage, Niimi's younger brother Masakichi was born.

From 1926 on he attended the prefectural high school in Handa. Around the age of 15 he began to write children's songs and poems. During this time he also came across the magazine Roter Vogel ( 赤 い 鳥 , Akai Tori ) and the collection of Japanese fairy tales by Ogawa Mimei . His literary talent showed up early on, because when he finished school he impressed with a haiku and his graduation speech. In March 1931, he applied to the Okazaki Teachers Training College , but failed the health exam. From April on he worked as an assistant teacher at the Second Elementary School in Handa, which he left again in August 1931 for personal reasons. Meanwhile, his first children's song appeared in the May issue of Roter Vogel magazine , and the following year the fairy tale Gongitsune .

In the same year, 1932, Niimi went to Tokyo to study at the Foreign Language School (today: Foreign Language University Tokyo ). During his studies, he became infected with tuberculosis , which forced him to return to his hometown after graduating in 1936. He worked there again as an assistant teacher in a primary school, but was dismissed in the summer of 1937 for health reasons. In 1938 he became a teacher of English, Japanese and agriculture at a girls' school. His first book ( Ryōkan monogatari temari to hachi no ko ) was published three years later, followed by the fairy tale collection Ojīsan no rampu ( Grandfather's lamp ) in 1942 . Niimi's health deteriorated dramatically in early 1943. He died in March 1943 at the age of 29. Niimi is often compared to the children's and youth author Miyazawa Kenji , who died at the age of 37 , because of his early death and work as a teacher .

The Niimi Nankichi Memorial Museum was opened in his hometown of Handa on June 5, 1994, one year after Niimi's 50th anniversary of his death and his 80th birthday . Since 1983, the Niimi Nankichi Youth Literature Prize has also been awarded in his memory as one of the "Three Akai Tori" prizes.

Works

Memorial stone for Niimi's work 手袋 を 買 い に , Buying Mittens

Niimi was not able to publish many works in his short life, but wrote 123 fairy tales, 57 novels / stories, 332 children's songs, 223 poems, 452 haiku , 331 tanka , 14 plays and 17 essays . But his children's stories are still read with great pleasure in Japan today.

  • Tebukuro o kai ni ( 手袋 を 買 い に ), Buying Mittens (English), ISBN 0-8248-2129-7 .
  • 1932 Gongitsune ( ご ん 狐 )
  • Ryōkan monogatari temari to hachi no ko ( 良 寛 物語 手 毬 と 鉢 の 子 )
  • Ushi wo tsunaida tsubaki no ki ( 牛 を つ な い だ 椿 の 木 )
  • 1942 Ojīsan no rampu ( お ぢ い さ ん の ラ ン プ , Grandfather's lamp ) - is the only collection of fairy tales that was published by Tatsumi Seika during Niimi's lifetime as part of the Shijin Dōwashū ( 新人 童話 集 , for example: collection of fairy tales by new authors) by Tatsumi Seika. Many of the fairy tales contained therein revolve around the boy Kyusuke-kun. The text is written in the Chita dialect of Aizu Prefecture.
  • Hananoki Mura to Nusubitotachi ( 花 の き 村 と 盗 人 た ち , for example: The village of Hanaoki and the thieves) - Third collection of seven children's stories, which also includes Gongitsune . First edition: 5000 copies.

Translations

The picture book author and illustrator Kuroi Ken illustrated Gongitsune , which was translated into French:

  • Le petit Renard Gon , translated by Hélene Morita, Éditions Grandir

Kuroi also illustrated Tebukuro o kai ni , which was translated into German, French, English and Korean. Further works have been translated into Chinese.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Page of the Niimi Nankichi Memorial Museum (Japanese)
  2. ↑ Page of the Niimi Nankichi Memorial Museum (Japanese)
  3. ↑ Page of the Niimi Nankichi Memorial Museum (Japanese)
  4. ↑ FAQ page of the memorial (Japanese)
  5. ↑ One hundred japanese books for children - detail page (English)
  6. ↑ One hundred japanese books for children - detail page (English)
  7. ↑ [1]
  8. ↑ FAQ page of the memorial (Japanese)
Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Niimi is the family name, Nankichi the first name.
personal data
SURNAME Niimi, Nankichi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 新 美 南吉 (Japanese); Watanabe Shōhachi (real name); 渡 辺 正 八 (real name, Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese writer
DATE OF BIRTH July 30, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Handa
DATE OF DEATH March 22, 1943