was a Japanese writer of novels, short stories, poetry and essays, who has been associated with Japanese postwar literature and the

Atomic bomb literature is a literary genre in Japanese literature which comprises writings about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Definition The term "atomic bomb literature" came into wide use in the 1960s. Writings affiliated with the genre can include ...

genre.

Biography

Inoue was born in 1926 as the son of a pottery manufacturer. While Inoue asserted that he was born in Lüshun, China, other sources name

Kurume is a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, the city has an estimated population of 303,579 and a population density of 1,320 persons per km². The total area is 229.96 km². On February 5, 2005, the town of Kitano (from ...

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

as the actual place of birth. After his mother had left the family, he and his sister were raised by their grandmother. As a youth, he worked in a steel factory in

Amagasaki file:Amagasaki Castle Tenshu 20181125.jpg, 270px, Amagasaki Castle file:Amagasaki city center area Aerial photograph.1985.jpg, 270px, Aerial view of Amagasaki city center file:Amagasaki st03s3000.jpg, 270px, Amagasaki Station is an industrial Citi ...

and a coal mine in

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

, before graduating from the Army Radio Weapon Technology Training Center. In 1946, he joined the

Japanese Communist Party The is a left-wing to far-left political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party advocates the establishment of a democr ...

(JCP), but after facing criticism for his short story ''Kakarezaru isshō'' (lit. "An Unwritten Chapter", 1950) and his critical attitude towards

Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory ...

, he and the JCP broke ties in 1953. Inoue's writings deal extensively with social and political issues, such as the living conditions of mining workers,

Koreans in Japan comprise ethnic Koreans who have permanent residency status in Japan or who have become Japanese citizens, and whose immigration to Japan originated before 1945, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South ...

and the

Burakumin is a name for a low-status social group in Japan. It is a term for ethnic Japanese people with occupations considered as being associated with , such as executioners, undertakers, slaughterhouse workers, butchers, or tanners. During Japan's ...

, the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, and the effect of the

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

. His most acknowledged works include ''Kyokō no kurēn'' (lit. "Fictitious Crane", 1960) and ''Chi no mure'' (lit. "People of the Land", 1963). In the

Kenzaburō Ōe is a Japanese writer and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His novels, short stories and essays, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issues, i ...

edited anthology ''The Crazy Iris and Other Stories of the Atomic Aftermath'', Inoue was attested to "capture the tension of post-war Japan in a unique and distinguished style". In 1970, he established and edited the quarterly literary magazine ''Henkyō'' ("Frontier"). In addition, he constituted literary schools for aspiring writers. Translations of his works appeared in English, German, Russian, Czech and Serbian language anthologies, in particular his short story ''

The House of Hands is a 1960 short story in the atomic bomb literature genre by Japanese writer Mitsuharu Inoue. It depicts the fate of a group of young women who survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and grew up as orphans on a small island inhabited by descen ...

'' about a group of survivors of the

atomic bombing of Nagasaki The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the on ...

. Inoue died of cancer in 1992. His last years living with his illness were documented in

Kazuo Hara is a Japanese documentary film director. After dropping out of university to work at a special education school, he made his 1972 debut work ''Goodbye CP'' about a group of individuals with cerebral palsy. He won the award for Best Director a ...

's film ''

A Dedicated Life is a 1994 Japanese documentary and docudrama film directed by Kazuo Hara about writer Mitsuharu Inoue. It shows the last four years of Inoue's life while fighting cancer, and tries to capture his character and the influence he had on the people ...

'' (''Zenshin shosetsuka''), which revealed that many details about his life were his own inventions. In his memory, a museum was established and a monument erected in Sakito (now

Sakai is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and incl ...

), Nagasaki. His eldest daughter is the novelist and translator Kōya Inoue.

Selected works

* 1950: ''Kakarezaru isshō'' * 1953: ''Nagagutsu jima'' * 1960: ''

'' (''Te no ie'') * 1960: ''Kyokō no kurēn'' * 1963: ''Chi no mure'' * 1963–64: ''Kōhai no natsu * 1965: ''Takoku no shi'' * 1966: ''Kuroi shinrin'' * 1966: ''Akai temari'' * 1973: ''Kokoro yasashiki hangyakusha'' * 1976: ''Maruyama Ransuiro no yujotachi'' * 1982: ''Ashita''

Translations

Film adaptations

* 1970: ''

Apart from Life ''Apart from Life'' ( ja, 地の群れ, translit. Chi no mure) is a 1970 Japanese drama film directed by Kei Kumai. It was entered into the 20th Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Mizuho Suzuki as Unami * Hiroko Kino as Noriko Fu ...

'' (''Chi no mure''), directed by

Kei Kumai was a Japanese film director from Azumino, Nagano prefecture. After his studies in literature at Shinshu University, he began work as a director's assistant. He won the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award for his first film, '' Nihon r ...

* 1988: '' Tomorrow'' (''Tomorrow – Ashita''), directed by

Kazuo Kuroki was a Japanese film director who was particularly known for his films on World War II and the question of personal guilt. Career While Kuroki was often listed as being born in Miyazaki Prefecture, he was actually born in Matsusaka, Mie. He atten ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inoue, Mitsuharu 1926 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Japanese novelists 20th-century Japanese male writers Japanese Marxist writers Japanese communists