Murō Saisei’s Followers (30)

Murō Saisei

Born

in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

August 01, 1889

Died

March 26, 1962

Genre

Poetry

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Murō Terumichi, pen name Murō Saisei, was a famous poet and novelist in modern Japanese literature.

In 1902, he left Kanazawa High Elementary school (equivalent to junior high school today) and started working as a clerk at the Kanazawa Regional Court. His bosses included Haiku-readers such as Kawagoe Bukotsu (河越風骨) and Akakura　Kinpu (赤倉錦風) who taught him how to read/compose haiku. After numerous applications to local newspapers, his haiku was first published on October 8, 1904 in Kitakuni-Shimbun. この時の号は照文。 Eventually, he also started writing poems and tanka (a Japanese poem of thirty‐one syllables).

He started to use his pen name - Saisei - in 1906. The name was an attempt to compete against Kokubu Saito, an active kanshi(Chinese-poetry) wr Murō Terumichi, pen name Murō Saisei, was a famous poet and novelist in modern Japanese literature.

In 1902, he left Kanazawa High Elementary school (equivalent to junior high school today) and started working as a clerk at the Kanazawa Regional Court. His bosses included Haiku-readers such as Kawagoe Bukotsu (河越風骨) and Akakura　Kinpu (赤倉錦風) who taught him how to read/compose haiku. After numerous applications to local newspapers, his haiku was first published on October 8, 1904 in Kitakuni-Shimbun. この時の号は照文。 Eventually, he also started writing poems and tanka (a Japanese poem of thirty‐one syllables).

He started to use his pen name - Saisei - in 1906. The name was an attempt to compete against Kokubu Saito, an active kanshi(Chinese-poetry) writer in the Kanazawa area at the time. He choose "Saisei" to mean "West of the Sai-River" which was the place he grew up. The Uho Temple was located on the left side of the River Sai. Saisei adored the atmosphere of this river and the mountainous sceneries up the river.
In 1913, he was invited by Kitahara Hakushu to write for Hakushu’s poem collection “Zanboa”. He befriended Hagiwara Sakutaro through this occasion. In 1916, Saisei and Sakutaro started an unofficial magazine called “Kanjo” (emotions) to publish their work. They continued to publish the magazine until their 32nd issue in 1919. During the same year, Saisei had written for Chūōkōron, a renowned literary magazine in Japan. He had published such literature as “Childhood” and “Awakening to Sexuality” and was gaining publicity as a writer. He published his first Haiku Collection “Gyomindouhatsu-kushu” (『魚眠洞発句集』) in 1929.

By the 1930s, he entered his era of writing novels and published a book titled “Goodbye Poem, I am breaking up with you” in 1934 as his declaration of farewell to poetry, but he actually had composed quite a lot of poems even after this public announcement. In 1935, he received the Bungei Konwakai (Discussion Group) Award with his novel “Ani Imouto” (Big Brother and Little Sister). He became part of the committee on the Akutagawa Prize (one of the most prestigious literature award in Japan) and continued until 1942. He also received the Kan Kikuchi Award in 1941.

It was after World War II that Saisei established his status as a novelist, producing many excellent novels. "Anzukko"(Apricot-girl) released in 1958 was a partial autobiography based on his daughter Asako. He won the Yomiuri Prize for this piece. Also in 1958, he received the Mainichi Publishing Culture Prize for his review "The biography of my beloved poet". For his classic based novel "Remenants from the Mayfly's diary" (1959), he received the Noma Literary Prize. In the following year, he created the 'Muro Saisei Poet Prize' from the money he received from the prize. He died of cancer in 1962.

The full collection of his literature was published both before (by publisher Hibonkaku, 1936–37, 13 Volumes plus 1 attachment) and after (by publisher Shinchosha, 1964–68, 12 Volumes plus 2 attachments) his death . For his poetry, two publishers (Chikuma Shobo, Fuyukisha) have published full collection of poems. As for his novels, his daughter Asako Muro has edited and published "The Full Kingdom Story of Muro Saisei" (Sakuhinsha).

He has never returned to his hometown Kanazawa after his success in Tokyo but always kept a picture of the River Sai.
A monument honoring Shusei Tokuda was erected near the summit of Mount Utatsu in 1947. The monument features writing authored by Saisei and was designed by architect Yoshirō Taniguchi.

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Murō Saisei’s books

Average rating: 3.9 · 279 ratings · 39 reviews · 19 distinct works • Similar authors

	Tokyo: City of Illusions by Murō Saisei, J.D. Wisgo (Goodreads Author) (Translator) 3.60 avg rating — 20 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
	Muro Saisei: Three Works by Murō Saisei, James O'Brien (Translator) 4.33 avg rating — 3 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
	Murō Saisei Shishū liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — expected publication 32767 — 3 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
	MurouSaiseihakoredakeyome it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2013	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
	Bitter Honey (The Intriguing Stories of Muro Saisei Book 2) by Murō Saisei, J.D. Wisgo (Goodreads Author) (translator) it was ok 2.00 avg rating — 1 rating	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
	Muroo Saisei zen ōchō monogatari 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
	Anzukko 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
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	Mitsu no Aware 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
	Kakesu 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

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Murō Saisei’s Followers (30)

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Combine EditionsMurō Saisei’s books

Combine Editions
Murō Saisei’s books