was a Japanese novelist and songwriter. He won the 122nd

Naoki Prize The Naoki Prize, officially , is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. It was created in 1935 by Kikuchi Kan, then editor of the ''Bungeishunjū'' magazine, and named in memory of novelist Naoki Sanjugo. Sponsored by the Society for the ...

Career

Nakanishi was born Reizō Nakanishi () in

Mudanjiang Mudanjiang (; Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later ...

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...

. He graduated from Kudan High School in Tokyo and received a degree in

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than Fr ...

from

Rikkyo University , also known as Saint Paul's University, is a private university, in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan. Rikkyo is known as one of the six leading universities in the field of sports in Tokyo (東京六大学 "Big Six" — Rikkyo University, University of ...

. He lived in

Zushi, Kanagawa is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of June 2012, the city has an estimated population of 58,087, and a population density of 3,350 per km². The total area is . Geography Zushi is located at the head of Miura Peninsula, facin ...

. He first worked on translations of French

chanson A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic s ...

songs, but while on honeymoon he made the acquaintance of Yujiro Ishihara and became a Japanese popular song (''

kayōkyoku is a Japanese pop music genre, which became a base of modern J-pop. ''The Japan Times'' described ''kayōkyoku'' as "standard Japanese pop" or " Shōwa-era pop". ''Kayōkyoku'' represents a blend of Western and Japanese musical scales. Music i ...

'') writer. He is one of the main lyricists in the world of post-World War II ''kayōkyoku''. He gave the world an extensive collection of works—songs such as "Kyou de owakare" and "Kita sakaba" which became big hits, but also a large proportion of unusual songs. In 1969, his total sales exceeded 10 million records. He has displayed talent in many fields, including concert and stage production, movie performance, singing, composing, translation, novel and essay writing, and cultural broadcasting (as a personality on ''"Sei! Yangu!"'' and as a regular on NHK's ''"N-kyō"''). However, behind his showy life, he suffered from difficulties such as heart disease, divorce, and having to repay his elder brother's extensive debts. From those personal experiences came novels such as ''Kyōdai'' and ''Sakura no densetsu''. He was a pacifist and desired reconciliation with China and Korea, and this shows in his writing style and speech. He gave up lyric writing at the end of the Shōwa era and concentrated on opera production and performance and novel and essay writing. ''Kyōdai'' was nominated in 1998 for the 119th

. ''Nagasaki burabura-setsu'' won the 122nd Naoki Prize in 2000. Recently, Nakanishi served as a commentator on the Japanese "wide show" ''Wide! Scramble!'' on the Asahi Television Network. Nakanishi died in Tokyo on 23 December 2020, at the age of 82, after suffering a heart attack.

Awarded Songs

References

External links

IMdb entry for Rei Nakanishi

IMdb entry for Nagasaki Burabura
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakanishi, Rei 20th-century Japanese novelists 21st-century Japanese novelists Japanese people from Manchukuo People from Zushi, Kanagawa People from Mudanjiang 1938 births 2020 deaths Rikkyo University alumni Naoki Prize winners