was a Japanese

tanka is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. Etymology Originally, in the time of the ''Man'yōshū'' (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to distinguish "short poem ...

poet and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

active during the

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 ...

of Japan.

Biography

Kawada was born in the plebeian

Asakusa is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the . History The ...

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 third son of noted Chinese literature scholar Kawada Oko. He graduated from the Law School of

Tokyo Imperial University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

in 1907. On graduation, he obtained a job at the headquarters of the

Sumitomo The is one of the largest Japanese ''keiretsu'', or business groups, founded by Masatomo Sumitomo (1585-1652) around 1615 during the early Edo period. History The Sumitomo Group traces its roots to a bookshop in Kyoto founded circa 1615 by Masa ...

zaibatsu is a Japanese language, Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertical integration, vertically integrated business conglomerate (company), conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over signi ...

.'' He wrote a modern translation to the poetry classic ''

Shin Kokin Wakashū The , also known in abbreviated form as the or even conversationally as the Shin Kokin, is the eighth imperial anthology of waka poetry compiled by the Japanese court, beginning with the ''Kokin Wakashū'' circa 905 and ending with the ''Shinshok ...

,'' and was active in submitting poetry to various

literary magazine A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letter ...

s. He considered himself to be a disciple of the noted poet

Sasaki Nobutsuna was a ''tanka'' poet and scholar of the Nara and Heian periods of Japanese literature. He was active during the Shōwa period of Japan. Early life Sasaki was born in what is now part of Suzuka city, Mie prefecture. He was considered a child p ...

. In 1942, he was nominated to the Imperial Academy of the Arts. He was known for his prolific production of poetry on patriotic themes 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 ...

. After the war, Kawada was responsible for organizing the annual New Year Poetry Reading ceremony at the Imperial Palace, and as

poet laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ...

he was the selector of the poems to be read by the

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

. In 1950 he gained notoriety by eloping at the age of 68 with the young wife of one of his disciples. In a poem about this relationship, he wrote that "to an old man approaching his grave, love holds no fear." His grave is at the temple of Tokei-ji in

Kamakura, Kanagawa 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawada, Jun 1882 births 1962 deaths People from Tokyo University of Tokyo alumni 20th-century Japanese poets

Biography

See also

References