Takeshi Kaikō

Takeshi Kaikō, 1956

Takeshi Kaikō ( Japanese 開 高 健 , as an author in Japan also Kaikō Ken (same spelling); * December 30, 1930 in Tennōji-ku , Osaka ; † December 9, 1989 in Chigasaki ) was a Japanese writer. He wrote stories, short stories, essays and documentary television reports.

Life

Kaikō was born as the eldest son of Seigi ( 正義 ) and Fumiko ( 文 子 ). At the age of 7, he and his parents moved to Osaka in the Sumiyoshi ( 住 吉 区 , today: Higashisumiyoshi ) district. One month after starting the local middle school, in May 1943, his father died. After the Second World War , Kaikō studied law at the Osaka Municipal University . During his studies he participated in the magazine Enpitsu , which was published by a literature group led by Eiichi Tanizawa . Through this literary group he met the poet Yōko Maki , whom he married in 1952. Their daughter Michiko was born in the same year.

His wife, who already worked for Suntory , quit in 1954 to devote herself to raising their daughter, while Takeshi took over her position in Suntory's advertising department. He published the advertising magazine Yōshu Tengoku ( 洋酒 天国 ) for Suntory , which u. a. became a success through his articles. After receiving the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 1957 , he quit his job at Suntory to devote himself to writing.

In 1964 he reported on the Vietnam War as a foreign correspondent for the Asahi Shimbun . In the course of his reporting he got caught in a machine gun ambush by the guerrillas, which he barely survived with 16 of 200 soldiers. Kaikō processed the experiences of the war in the works: Kagayakeru yami , Natsu no yami and Hana owaru yami (unfinished). He joined the Beheiren group (short form of: ベ ト ナ ム に 平和 を！ 市民 連 合 , Betonamu ni Heiwa o! Shimin Rengo , " Civil Association Peace for Vietnam!"), A group of the anti-war movement around Makoto Oda and left them again as the anti-American, left wing of the group grew stronger.

Kaikō died at the age of 58 of pneumonia as a result of treatment for a tumor in the esophagus. His tomb is located in the temple complex of Engaku-ji in Kamakura . In memory of his achievements, the TBS Britanica ( TBS ブ リ タ ニ カ , today: Hankyū Communications 阪急 コ ミ ュ ニ ケ ー シ ョ ン ズ ) awarded the Ken Takeshi Prize from 1992 to 2001. In addition, the Shūeisha publishing house has been awarding the Ken Takeshi Non-Fiction Prize for non-fictional works since 2003.

Prizes and awards

• 1957 38th Akutagawa Prize for Hadaka no ōsama ( 裸 の 王 様 )
• 1968 Mainichi Culture Prize (Category: Literature) for Kagayakeru yami ( 輝 け る 闇 )
• 1979 Kawabata-Yasunari Literature Prize for Tama, kudakeru ( 玉 、 砕 け る )
• 1981 Kikuchi Kan Prize
• 1987 Grand Prize for Japanese Literature for Mimi no monogatari ( 耳 の 物語 )

Works

• 1959 Nihon sanmon opera ( 日本 三 文 オ ペ ラ )
  • German "Japanese Threepenny Opera". Translated by Jürgen Berndt, edition q, Berlin, 1994 ISBN 3-86124-183-8 (originally EA : Verlag Volk und Welt , 1967, Berlin)
• 1968 Ketto ( 決 闘 )
  • German "The Duel". Translated by Siegfried Schaarschmidt, in: Das große Japan Lesebuch, Munich 1990s
• 1972 Natsu no yami ( 夏 の 闇　 )
  • German " Darkness of a Summer ". Translated by Jürgen Berndt, edition q, Berlin, 1993 ISBN 3-86124-228-1
• 1978 Tama, kudakeru ( 玉 、 砕 け る )
  • German "The rubbed ball". Translated by Sigrid Pfeiffer, in: Explorations, 19 Japanese stories, Berlin 1989

Others

Kaikō was a passionate fisherman and is considered to be the one who made catching and releasing previously caught fish famous in Japan.

Web links

• Kaikō Takeshi Memorial in Chigasaki, Kanagawa (Japanese)
• Biographical summary (Japanese)
• The experience of the Vietnam War with Takeshi Kaikô (Master's thesis, engl.)

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