The Third Generation of Postwar Writers
Encyclopedia
The Third Generation of Postwar Writers is a classification in Modern Japanese literature
used to group writers who appeared on the postwar literary scene between 1953 and 1955.
Endō Shusaku, a member of the Third Generation once said, "In those days, although we had received the Akutagawa Prize
one after another, hardly did anyone expect that we would become great writers. We were regarded as if we would soon be forgot by the literary world.
Precicely, almost all people did not start to know Akutagawa Prize until Ishihara Shintaro had won the prize and surfed away mass media and provoked public opinion into asunder, as the first manifesto from one of the Postwar Generation."
However, despite this, this generation has made a major mark on Japanese literature. The works of Endō in particularly have also been translated into many languages and are widely read in the United States
, France
, and Germany
.
At that same time, women writers such as Aya Koda
(幸田文), Minako Oba, and Sawako Ariyoshi
also made their debuts.
After this generation, predominant and various writers like Shintaro Ishihara
, Morio Kita
, and Kenzaburo Oe
appeared.
Japanese literature
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...
used to group writers who appeared on the postwar literary scene between 1953 and 1955.
Endō Shusaku, a member of the Third Generation once said, "In those days, although we had received the Akutagawa Prize
Akutagawa Prize
The is a Japanese literary award presented semi-annually. It was established in 1935 by Kan Kikuchi, then-editor of Bungeishunjū magazine, in memory of author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa...
one after another, hardly did anyone expect that we would become great writers. We were regarded as if we would soon be forgot by the literary world.
Precicely, almost all people did not start to know Akutagawa Prize until Ishihara Shintaro had won the prize and surfed away mass media and provoked public opinion into asunder, as the first manifesto from one of the Postwar Generation."
However, despite this, this generation has made a major mark on Japanese literature. The works of Endō in particularly have also been translated into many languages and are widely read in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
At that same time, women writers such as Aya Koda
Aya Kōda
was a Japanese essayist and novelist. She was the second daughter of Meiji period novelist Kōda Rohan. Her daughter Aoki Tama and granddaughter Nao Aoki were also writers....
(幸田文), Minako Oba, and Sawako Ariyoshi
Sawako Ariyoshi
was a Japanese writer and novelist.-Biography:Born in Wakayama City and a graduate of Tokyo Women's Christian College, Sawako Ariyoshi spent part of her childhood in Java...
also made their debuts.
After this generation, predominant and various writers like Shintaro Ishihara
Shintaro Ishihara
is a Japanese author, actor, politician and the governor of Tokyo since 1999.- Early life and artistic career :Shintarō was born in Suma-ku, Kobe. His father Kiyoshi was an employee, later a general manager, of a shipping company. Shintarō grew up in Zushi...
, Morio Kita
Morio Kita
was the pen name of , a Japanese novelist, essayist, and psychiatrist.A graduate of Tohoku University's School of Medicine, Kita initially worked as a doctor at Keio University Hospital. Motivated by the collections of his father's poems and the books of German author Thomas Mann, he decided to...
, and Kenzaburo Oe
Kenzaburo Oe
is a Japanese author and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His works, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issues including nuclear weapons, social non-conformism and existentialism.Ōe was awarded...
appeared.
List of Third Generation writers
- Shusaku EndoShusaku EndoShūsaku Endō was a 20th-century Japanese author who wrote from the unusual perspective of being both Japanese and Catholic...
（遠藤周作） - Shotarou Yasuoka (安岡章太郎)
- Junnosuke Yoshiyuki(吉行淳之介）
- Junzou Shouno (庄野潤三)
- Shumon Miura (三浦朱門)
- Ayako SonoAyako Sonois a Catholic Japanese writer.She went to the Catholic Sacred Heart School in Tokyo after elementary school. During World War II, she evacuated to Kanazawa...
- Hiroyuki AgawaHiroyuki Agawais a Japanese author born on December 24, 1920, in Hiroshima, Japan. He is known for his fiction centered on World War II, as well as his biographies and essays.- Literary career :...
（阿川弘之）
See also
- Japanese literatureJapanese literatureEarly works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...
- The First Generation of Postwar WritersThe First Generation of Postwar WritersThe First Generation of Postwar Writers is a classification in Modern Japanese literature used to group writers who appeared on the postwar literary scene between 1946 and 1947.-List of First Generation writers:* Ōoka Shōhei * Noma Hiroshi...
- The Second Generation of Postwar WritersThe Second Generation of Postwar WritersThe is a classification in modern Japanese literature used for writers who appeared on the postwar literary scene between 1948 and 1949.Exceptional in this generation of postwar writers is Mishima Yukio and Abe Kōbō, both of whom have received acclaim in Japan and abroad...