was the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of a

Japanese author This is an alphabetical list of writers who are Japanese, or are famous for having written in the Japanese language. Writers are listed by the native order of Japanese names, family name followed by given name to ensure consistency although some ...

, novelist, and playwright 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 Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. His real name was .

Biography

Born in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

and a graduate of

Kansai University , abbreviated as or , is a private non-sectarian and coeducational university with its main campus in Suita, Osaka, Japan and two sub-campuses in Sakai and Takatsuki, Osaka. Founded as Kansai Law School in 1886, It has been recognized as one o ...

, Hōjō moved to

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 ...

in 1926 and found employment with the

Hakone Tozan Railway The is a private railway company in Japan, part of the Odakyu Group. It is best known for its operation of the Hakone Tozan Line, the first mountain railway in Japan, but like most Japanese railway companies, also operates bus service, namely Hako ...

. In 1933, he quit his job to devote his attention to

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

, becoming a student with Okamoto Kido and Hasegawa Shin. He became a leading member of the ''

shinpa (also rendered ''shimpa'') is a form of theater in Japan, usually featuring melodramatic stories, contrasted with the more traditional ''kabuki'' style. It later spread to cinema. Art form The roots of ''Shinpa'' can be traced to a form of agi ...

'' modern drama movement in the 1930s. During

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 ...

, he was active in writing ''kokumingeki'' (government propaganda plays) such as '' Tamna Tunnel'', intended to help the war effort. page 621 Hōjō was author of more than 200 plays and the leader of commercial theatre in Japan after

, working in a wide range of genres, from

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

, to ''shinpa'' and

Takarazuka Revue The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals and stories adapted from films, novels, manga, and Japane ...

s. In ''Behind the Flower Garden'' in 1960, he wrote a play in which actor Shotaro Hanayagi had to play both the male and female leads. His psychological dramas about average citizens appealed to mainstream audiences. He is especially known for his screenplay adaptations of ''

Miyamoto Musashi , also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman, philosopher, strategist, writer and rōnin, who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship a ...

'', '' Genji Monogatari'', and many other

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

s. Hōjō was awarded numerous

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. Ma ...

s in his career, including the

Shinchosha is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in Yaraichō, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinchosha is one of the sponsors of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award. Books * Haruki Murakami: ''Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World'' (1985), ...

Prize, the Yomiuri Literary Award and the

Kikuchi Kan Prize The honors achievement in all aspects of Japanese literary culture. It was named in honor of Kikuchi Kan. The prize is presented annually by the literary magazine ''Bungei Shunjū'' and the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature. Histor ...

. In 1987, he was designated a

Person of Cultural Merit is an official Japanese recognition and honor which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...

by the Japanese government. His grave is at the temple Ryuho-ji in Ofuna,

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 ...

, where he lived for many years.

Filmography

* ''

Koi sugata kitsune goten is a 1956 black and white Japanese film directed by Nobuo Nakagawa. Cast * Hibari Misora as Maruya, Tomone * Haruhisa Kawada as Akinobu * Senjaku Nakamura * Chieko Naniwa as Okon * Chikage Oogi as Akemi * Shunji Sakai as Heihachi * Kyu Saz ...

'' (恋すがた狐御殿) (1956), writer

References

* *

External links

Monuments with Hojo Hideji’s poem, Tsukudajima, Tokyo

Notes

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hojo, Hideji 1902 births 1996 deaths People from Osaka 20th-century Japanese dramatists and playwrights Kansai University alumni Yomiuri Prize winners 20th-century Japanese screenwriters

Biography

Filmography

See also

References

External links

Notes