Masuji Ibuse

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Masuji Ibuse (井伏 鱒二 Ibuse Masuji?, February 15, 1898—July 10, 1993) was a Japanese author.

Contents

[edit] Life and work

Ibuse was born in 1898 to a landowning family in Kamo District, Hiroshima. At the age of 19 he started studying at Waseda University in Tokyo. He was at first interested in studying poetry and painting but was encouraged to study fiction and ended up specialising in French literature. He was harassed sexually by a gay professor named Noburu Katagami, so he had to leave the university before graduation, but began publishing stories in the early 1920s. He began to be recognised in the late 20's when his work was favorably mentioned by some of Japan's top critics. The themes he employed were usually intellectual fantasies that used animal allegories, historical fiction, and the country life. During World War II he worked for the government as a propaganda writer.

Ibuse was known and appreciated for most of his career until after the war when he became famous. In 1966 he published his most well known work: Kuroi Ame ("Black Rain") which won him international acclaim and several awards including the Noma Prize and The Order of Cultural Merit, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a Japanese author. The novel draws its material from the bombing of Hiroshima with the title referring to the nuclear fallout.

[edit] Selected works

  • Yu Hei "Confinement" (1923)
  • Sanshouo (1929) "Salamander and Other Stories" (trans. by John Bester)
  • Sazanami Gunki (1930-38) "Waves: A War Diary"
  • Shigotobeya, (1931)
  • Kawa (1931-32) - "The River"
  • Zuihitsu, (1933)
  • Keirokushu )(1936) - "Miscellany"
  • Jon Manjiro Hyoryuki, (1937) - "John Manjiro, the Cast-Away: His Life and Adventures"
  • Shukin Ryoko, (1937)
  • Sazanami Gunki, (1938) - "trans. in Waves: Two Short Novels"
  • Tajinko Mura, 1939
  • Shigureto Jokei, 1941
  • Ibuse Masuji Zuihitsu Zenshu, 1941 (3 vols.)
  • Hana No Machi, 1942 - "City of Flowers"
  • Chushu Meigetsu, 1942
  • Aru Shojo No Senji Nikki, 1943 - "A Young Girl's Wartime Diary"
  • Gojinka, 1944
  • Wabisuke, 1946 - "trans. in Waves: Two Short Novels"
  • Magemono, 1946
  • Oihagi No Hanashi, 1947
  • Ibuse Masuji Senshu, 1948 (9 vols)
  • Yohai Taicho, 1950 - "Lieutenant Lookeast and other stories"
  • Kawatsuri, 1952
  • Honjitsu Kyushin, 1952 - "No Consultations Today",
  • Ibuse Masuji Sakuhinshu, 1953 (5 vols.)
  • Hyomin Usaburo, 1954-55
  • Nyomin Nanakamado, 1955
  • Kanreki No Koi, 1957
  • Ekimae Ryokan, 1957
  • Nanatsu No Kaidō, 1957
  • Chinpindo Shujin, 1959
  • Bushu Hachigatajo, 1963
  • Mushinjo, 1963
  • Ibuse Masuji Zenshu, 1964 (2 vols.)
  • Kuroi Ame, 1966 - Black Rain (trans. by John Bester) - film 1989, dir. by Shohei Imamura - Musta sade
  • Gendai Bungaku Taikei, 1966
  • Hanseiki, 1970 - "The First Half of My Life"
  • Shincho Nihonbungaku, 1970
  • Tsuribito, 1970
  • Ibuse Masuji Zenshu, 1975 ( 14 vols.)
  • Choyochu No Koto, 1977-80 - "Under Arms"
  • Gikubo Fudoki, 1981 - "An Ogikybo Almanac"

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  • Encyclopædia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, article- "Ibuse Masuji"
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