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Ooka Makoto
- Profile
- He was born in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1931. The eldest son of the poet Hiroshi Ōoka, he began writing songs and poetry during his junior high school years. After graduating from the University of Tokyo’s Department of Japanese Literature in the Faculty of Letters, he joined the Yomiuri Shimbun and became a reporter in the Foreign News Department. He later taught at Meiji University and Tokyo University of the Arts. During this time, he immersed himself in poetry, exploring renshi (linked poetry), a collaborative form where multiple poets contribute to a single work, as well as projects combining painting and poetry. He also served as a critic, discussing a wide range of subjects, including literature, art, and music. He wrote a regular column, Oriori no Uta (Occasional Poems), for the Asahi Shimbun between 1979 and 2007. He has received numerous awards, including the Kan Kikuchi Award and the Yomiuri Literary Prize. In 1995, he received the Imperial Prize and the Japan Art Academy Prize. He was named a Person of Cultural Merit in 1997 and awarded the Order of Culture in 2003. In addition to his poetry collections, such as Kioku to Genzai (Memory and the Present) and Haru: Shōjo ni (Spring: To a Young Girl), he also authored many books, including Kino Tsurayuki, Kotoba no Chikara (The Power of Words), Masaoka Shiki, Okakura Tenshin, and Nihon no Shika (Japanese Poetry). He also penned radio and television dramas, such as a Sharaku wa Doko e Itta (Where Did Sharaku Go?, NHK, 1968). He died in April 2017 at the age of 86.
- Masterpieces
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写楽はどこへ行った