was a novelist of the ''

Buraiha The were a group of dissolute writers who expressed the aimlessness and identity crisis of post-World War II Japan. While not comprising a true literary school, the Buraiha writers were linked together by a similar approach to the subject matter ...

'' genre in

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

Japan. His name was also pronounced "Tanaka Eiko" on occasion.

Biography

Tanaka was born in the uptown Akasaka district of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

as the son of a historian; however, he was listed under his mother's maiden name of “Tanaka” in the family register rather than his father's surname of Iwasaki. He grew up in

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

and was a graduate of Waseda University’s School of Political Science and Economics. While still a student, he was influenced by his newspaper journalist brother towards a literary career, and towards membership in the Japan Communist Party. However, he was discouraged by the corruption of the senior leadership of the party, and left before graduation. Shortly after graduation, he met Dazai Osamu, who became his mentor. Also while still a university student, Tanaka was a member of the Japanese Olympic team to the

1932 Los Angeles Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

, where he participated as a rower. Although he competed in eight events, he was eliminated during the qualifying round. This experience led to two novels: ''Orinposu no Kajitsu'' (''The Fruit of Olympus'', 1940) and ''Tantei Soshu'' (''The Boat Rower'', 1944). In 1935, he was hired by the

Yokohama Rubber Company is a tire company based in Tokyo, Japan. The company was founded and began on October 13, 1917, in a joint venture between Yokohama Cable Manufacturing and B.F. Goodrich. In 1969, the company expanded to the United States as Yokohama Tire C ...

and was sent to

Keijo Keijo may refer to: *Keijō, a former name of Seoul, South Korea *Keijo (given name) Keijo is a masculine Finnish given name. Notable people with the name include: * Keijo Huusko (born 1980), Finnish footballer * Keijo Kuusela (1921–1984), Finni ...

, or today's

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

under the Japanese rule. He was used by Japanese authorities in Korea to organize Korean writers for a Greater East Asia Writer's Conference, the events of which he portrayed with bitterness and cynicism in his post-war novel ''The Drunken Ship''. He married Kiyo Kojima in 1937. He returned to Japan in 1944, and lived in

Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...

. In 1947, leaving his wife in Shizuoka, he moved to

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

, Tokyo with his mistress. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Tanaka re-joined the Japan Communist Party, but was so critical of its leadership that he was later expelled. He was greatly shocked by the

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

of his mentor Dazai Osamu. In his later years, he suffered from

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

and mental instability. He committed suicide at the grave of Dazai Osamu in 1949 by cutting his wrists after taking an overdose of sleeping pills. His grave is at the

Aoyama Cemetery is a cemetery in Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The cemetery is also famous for its cherry blossoms, and at the season of hanami, which many people would visit. History The cemetery was origin ...

in central Tokyo. His works include: * * *

References

*Tsurumi, Shinsuke. ''An Intellectual History of Wartime Japan: 1931–1945''. Taylor & Francis. (2010) *Ueda, Mekoto. ''Modern Japanese Writers: And the Nature of Literature''. Stanford University Press. (1976).

External links

E-text of works
at

Aozora Bunko Aozora Bunko (, literally the "Blue Sky Library", also known as the "Open Air Library") is a Japanese digital library. This online collection encompasses several thousands of works of Japanese-language fiction and non-fiction. These include out-o ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanaka, Hidemitsu 1913 births 1949 suicides Writers from Tokyo 20th-century Japanese novelists Japanese communists Olympic rowers of Japan Waseda University alumni Rowers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Drug-related suicides in Japan Suicides by sharp instrument in Japan Japanese male rowers 1949 deaths

Biography

See also

References

External links