was a Japanese writer of novels, short stories, poetry and essays, noted for his political consciousness. His most acclaimed works include ''Hiroba no kodoku'' (lit. "Solitude in the Public Square", 1951), which was awarded the

Akutagawa Prize The is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. Because of its prestige and the considerable attention the winner receives from the media, it is, along with the Naoki Prize, one of Japan's most sought after literary prizes. History Th ...

, and ''Kage no bubun'' (''Shadow Pieces'', 1952). Hotta has also been associated with the Atomic bomb literature genre.

Biography

A graduate from

Keio University , abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally established as a school for Rangaku, Western studies in 1858 in Edo. It was granted university status in 1920, becomi ...

, Hotta already published poems and essays in the literary journal ''Hihyō'' during his student years. He experienced the end 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 ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, where he stayed for two years to write for the

Chinese Nationalist Party The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the sole ruling party of the country during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until its relocation to Taiwan, and in Taiwan ruled under ...

before returning to Japan in 1947. His early works centered on Japan's recent history, thematising events like the

bombing of Hiroshima On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civili ...

(in ''Kage no bubun'', 1952, or ''Shimpan'', 1963) or the

Nanjing Massacre The Nanjing Massacre, or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly Chinese postal romanization, romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians, noncombatants, and surrendered prisoners of war by the Imperial Japanese Army in Nanji ...

(in ''Jikan'', 1955), and life in Japan during the early post-war years. Later, he turned his attention also to International relationships and history, attending meetings of the Afro-Asian Writers' Association and writing books about historic figures like

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, an ...

Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Seigneur de Montaigne ( ; ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), commonly known as Michel de Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularising the essay as ...

and François de La Rochefoucauld.

Selected works

* 1951: ''Hiroba no kodoku'' * 1952: ''Kage no bubun'' (''Shadow Pieces'') * 1952: ''Kankan'' * 1952: ''Rekishi'' * 1955: ''Jikan'' * 1957: ''Indo de kangaeta koto'' * 1963: ''Shimpan'' (''Judgment'') * 1971: ''Hōjōki shiki'' * 1974–77: ''Goya'' * 1991–94: ''Misheru jōkan no hito'' * 1998: ''Ra Roshufūkō kōshaku densetsu''

Awards

* 1951: Akutagawa Prize for ''Hiroba no kōdoku'' * 1971:

Mainichi Publishing Culture Award is an annual award given to distinguished literary works and activities in the sectors literature and art, humanities and social science, natural science, and encyclopedic work, plus a special award. It was founded in 1947 and is sponsored by the M ...

for ''Hōjōki shiki'' * 1977: Jirō Osaragi Prize for ''Goya'' * 1977:

Lotus Prize for Literature The Lotus Prize for Literature (also known as Lotus International Reward for Literature or The Lotus Prize for African and Asian Literature) is a literary award presented annually to African and Asian authors by the Afro-Asian Writers' Associati ...

* 1994:

Asahi Prize The , established in 1929, is an award presented by the Japanese newspaper ''Asahi Shimbun'' and Asahi Shimbun Foundation to honor individuals and groups that have made outstanding accomplishments in the fields of arts and academics and have greatl ...

* 1998: Japan Art Academy Prize for Literature

Adaptations

''Hiroba no kodoku'' was adapted into a film in 1953, written by Katsuhito Inomata and directed by and starring

Shin Saburi was a Japanese actor and film director. Biography Shin Saburi was born Yoshio Ishizaki in Utashinai, Hokkaidō, Japan. He made his acting debut in 1931 and started working for the Shochiku studio in the mid-1930s, where he became one of the st ...

. Together with

Shin'ichirō Nakamura was a Japanese author. Prizes * 1978 Tanizaki Prize for ''Natsu'' (Summer, 夏) English translations * The Genie and Her Magic Bottle', translated by Hanabusa, ''Prism International'', Vol. 11, No. 2, Autumn 1971. Selected works * ''Kin ...

and Takehiko Fukunaga, Hotta wrote the original story which was later adapted into the

kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' ...

film ''

Mothra is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's '' 1961 film of the same name'', produced and distributed by Toho. Mothra has appeared in several Toho ''tokusatsu'' films, often as a recur ...

'', first published in ''

Asahi Shimbun is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...

''.

Bibliography

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotta, Yoshie 1918 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Japanese novelists Japanese historical novelists Keio University alumni Akutagawa Prize winners 20th-century Japanese male writers Writers from Toyama Prefecture