Fumio Niwa’s Followers (3)

Fumio Niwa

Born

in Mie Prefecture, Japan

November 22, 1904

Died

April 20, 2005

Genre

Fiction, Romance

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Fumio Niwa (丹羽文雄 Niwa Fumio, born on November 22, 1904 in Mie Prefecture, Japan, died April 20, 2005 in Musashino, Tokyo) was a Japanese novelist with a long list of works, the most famous in the West being his novel The Buddha Tree (Japanese Bodaiju, 1956).

The eldest son of a priest in the Pure Land sect of Buddhism, Niwa grew up at Sogenji, a temple in Yokkaichi near Nagoya. After his graduation from Waseda University, he reluctantly entered the hereditary priesthood at Sogenji but quit two years later, at the age of 29, in order to become a writer, walking out of the temple grounds on 10 April 1932 and heading back to Tokyo. He was supported by his girlfriend until his marriage in 1935. During this time he published Sweetfish (Japanese A Fumio Niwa (丹羽文雄 Niwa Fumio, born on November 22, 1904 in Mie Prefecture, Japan, died April 20, 2005 in Musashino, Tokyo) was a Japanese novelist with a long list of works, the most famous in the West being his novel The Buddha Tree (Japanese Bodaiju, 1956).

The eldest son of a priest in the Pure Land sect of Buddhism, Niwa grew up at Sogenji, a temple in Yokkaichi near Nagoya. After his graduation from Waseda University, he reluctantly entered the hereditary priesthood at Sogenji but quit two years later, at the age of 29, in order to become a writer, walking out of the temple grounds on 10 April 1932 and heading back to Tokyo. He was supported by his girlfriend until his marriage in 1935. During this time he published Sweetfish (Japanese Ayu), serialised in Bungei Shinju, and the novel Superfluous Flesh (Japanese Zeiniku).

Niwa's work was controversial and during World War II a couple of his novels were banned for immorality; he worked as a war correspondent in China and New Guinea; he accompanied Rear Admiral Gunichi Mikawa's Eighth Fleet and was on board the flagship Chōkai during the Battle of Savo Island on 9 August 1942. He was wounded at Tulagi. These experiences inspired Naval Engagement (Japanese Kaisen) and Lost Company (Kaeranu Chutai), both censored.

After the war Niwa became the extremely prolific author of more than 80 novels, 100 volumes of short stories, and 10 volumes of essays. His most celebrated short story was The Hateful Age (Japanese Iyagarase no Nenrei, 1947), about a family terrorised by a senile grandmother, which became so famous that the phrase "the hateful age" entered the language for a time.

The novel The Buddha Tree uses his unhappy childhood at Sogenji as a backdrop. When he was eight years old his mother eloped with an actor from the Kansai Kabuki company, an event that greatly traumatised him; in this novel the story is elaborated fictionally.

Later works include, from 1969, a five-volume biography of Shinran (1173-1262), the founder of the Pure Land sect, and in 1983 an eight-volume work on Rennyo, a 15th Century monk who died on a pilgrimage to India.

In 1965 Niwa was elected a member of the Art Academy of Japan, and the following year he was elected as the chief director of the Japanese Writers' Association, a position he held for many years. Niwa encouraged fellow members to play golf, organised health insurance, and bought land for a writers' graveyard. He was awarded the Order of Culture in 1977.

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Combine Editions
Fumio Niwa’s books

Average rating: 3.77 · 396 ratings · 58 reviews · 51 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Buddha Tree by Fumio Niwa, Kenneth Strong (Translator) 3.65 avg rating — 84 ratings — published 1971 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	L'âge des méchancetés by Fumio Niwa, Jean Cholley (Translator) 3.10 avg rating — 31 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Hateful Age 3.86 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Waga haha, waga tomo, waga jinsei 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ichiro 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	親鸞　１　叡山の巻 (P+D BOOKS) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Age of moth while not hate Mass Market Japanese literature to (28) straight time Ayu Nanohana (1971) ISBN: 4106201283 [Japanese Import] 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Maki Rennyo <3> Honganji decline (Chuko Bunko) (1998) ISBN: 4122030730 [Japanese Import] 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Maki Rennyo <4> Rennyo birth (Chuko Bunko) (1998) ISBN: 4122031001 [Japanese Import] 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Maki Rennyo <7> Yamashina Gobo (Chuko Bunko) (1998) ISBN: 4122031745 [Japanese Import] 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Fumio Niwa…

Quotes by Fumio Niwa (?)

“The fact is that once people are wrecks, life becomes a spiteful force which turns on its owner, as if to punish him for hanging on to it so long. The blessings of old age, indeed!”
― Fumio Niwa

2 likes

“Surely people should fade out like music, leaving a beautiful melody in the air.”
― Fumio Niwa

1 likes

“She had passed the age when religion could any longer have real meaning.”
― Fumio Niwa

0 likes

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Fumio Niwa’s Followers (3)

Fumio Niwa

Combine EditionsFumio Niwa’s books

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
Fumio Niwa’s books