, known by his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume 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 name may be used to make the author's na ...

, was a Japanese author. Noted for his

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

s, he was active during the

Shōwa era The was a historical period of History of Japan, Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) from December 25, 1926, until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death on January 7, 1989. It was preceded by the T ...

of Japan.

Early life

Chōgorō was born in present-day Okuchi city

Kagoshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,527,019 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 9,187 Square kilometre, km2 (3,547 Square m ...

. He was a voracious reader as a youth, and although it was forbidden to read books on school grounds outside of the classroom, he would sneak books out of the library and read in secret on the school roof. He entered the

Kogakkan University is a private university at Ise, Mie, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1882, and it was chartered as a university in 1940. Kogakkan University is one of only two universities in Japan to offer a Shinto studies program, whose gr ...

Ise, Mie , formerly called Ujiyamada (宇治山田), is a Cities of Japan, city in central Mie Prefecture, on the island of Honshū, Japan. Ise is home to Ise Grand Shrine, the most sacred Shinto shrine, Shintō shrine in Japan. The city has a long-stan ...

in 1921, but returned home in 1922 to get married. In 1923, he went to Tokyo, where he enrolled in the

Kokugakuin University Kokugakuin University , abbreviated as ''Kokugakudai'' () or ''Kokudai'' (), is a Shinto-affiliated private research university in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. The university consists of undergraduate departments in humanities and social sciences and ...

. On graduation in 1926, he initially returned to Kagoshima as a high school teacher of

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and

Chinese literature The history of Chinese literature extends thousands of years, and begins with the earliest recorded inscriptions, court archives, building to the major works of philosophy and history written during the Axial Age. The Han dynasty, Han (202 ...

. However, after two years, he relocated to

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

in a similar position.

Literary career

Chōgorō began writing fiction while teaching at a junior high school, at first in his native Kagoshima, and later in Kyoto. His early novel ''Utakata Zoshi'' (''Transient Notes'') won prizes a contest run by the ''

Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English-language news website called , and publishes a bilin ...

'' weekly magazine, ''Sunday Mainichi'' in 1929, and he repeated this feat in 1932 with his second novel ''Fuun'' (''Wind and Clouds''). Kaionji moved to

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

Kanagawa prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

from Kyoto in 1934, when he made a resolution to pursue a career as a professional writer. He won the prestigious

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 ...

in 1936 with ''Tensho Onna Gassen'' (''Tenshō Women's Battle''), about the life of the tea master

Sen no Rikyū , also known simply as Rikyū, was a Japanese tea master considered the most important influence on the ''chanoyu'', the Japanese "Way of Tea", particularly the tradition of '' wabi-cha''. He was also the first to emphasize several key aspect ...

and his daughter Ogin. He followed this with ''Budō Denraiki'' (''Samurai Chronicles'') and other works with a similar medieval warrior theme, which were serialized in newspapers. However, his ''Yanagisawa Sōdō'' (''Yanagisawa Disturbance'') serialized in the ''Sunday Mainichi'' drew the wrath of the

censors Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

in the

Home Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a Ministry (government department), government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law e ...

, and its publication was suspended by government order in 1938. With the start of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

, he was drafted into the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

in 1941, and served for a year in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

. Life in the army did not agree with him, and he returned to Japan in 1942 on medical leave, which he managed to stretch out for the next three years until the end of the war. In the postwar years, he completed epic historical novels such as ''Moko Kitaru'' (''Mongol Attack''), ''

Taira no Masakado was a Heian period provincial magnate (''gōzoku'') and samurai based in eastern Japan, notable for leading the first recorded uprising against the central government in Kyōto. Along with Sugawara no Michizane and Emperor Sutoku, he is of ...

'' and ''Ten to Chi to'' (" Heaven and Earth", 1960–1962), which formed the basis of some equally epic movies. He won the 16th

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. Histo ...

in 1968, and was made a member of the review committee for the Naoki Prize in 1970. In 1973, he was designated a

Person of Cultural Merit is an official Japanese recognition and honour 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. He won the Academy of Arts Prize in 1976. While writing TV dramas on the side, he contributed to the field of historical/biographical novels with ''Busho Retsuden'' ("Biographies of Warriors") and ''Akunin Retsuden'' ("Biographies of Villains"). He considered his life's work to be a biography of

Saigō Takamori Saigō Takamori (; 23 January 1828 – 24 September 1877) was a Japanese samurai and politician who was one of the most influential figures in Japanese history. He played a key role in the Meiji Restoration, which overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate ...

, which he failed to complete due to his death by a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

in 1977. His grave is at the

Tsukiji Hongan-ji , officially romanized ''Hongwan-ji'', is a Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, Buddhist temple located in the Tsukiji district of Tokyo, Japan. The temple is adjacent to Tsukiji Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. History Tsukiji Hongan-ji's prede ...

in Tokyo.

References

* Frédéric, Louis. ''Japan Encyclopedia''. Harvard University Press (2002),

External links

Literary Figures of Kamakura
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaionji, Chogoro 1901 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Japanese novelists People from Kagoshima Prefecture Naoki Prize winners Japanese male writers 20th-century Japanese male writers Japanese television writers Male television writers Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II Kokugakuin University alumni Persons of Cultural Merit 20th-century Japanese screenwriters Writers from Kagoshima Prefecture

Early life

Literary career

See also

References

External links