Takehiro Irokawa (色川 武大, Irokawa Takehiro, March 28, 1929 - April 10, 1989) was a noted Japanese writer who published both serious literature and light fiction under a variety of pseudonyms including Asada Tetsuya (阿佐田哲也) and Budai Irokawa (色川武大). Many of his works were autobiographical in nature and concerned his life as a mahjong gambler.
Irokawa was born in Shinjuku, Tokyo. His father was a retired navy captain who remained at home on a military pension, and with whom Irokawa had troubled relations. Irokawa began skipping school from an early age to see movies and vaudeville in the Asakusa entertainment district. In 1943 he was drafted to work in the factory labor mobilization, and at the end of the war, was expelled from school when it was discovered that he had been editing a mimeographed magazine deemed rebellious. As his father's pension lapsed, he took to small-time criminal activities and gambling, particularly mahjong.
In the early 1950s Irokawa began writing under pseudonyms. He first received literary recognition in 1961 for a short story, winning the Chuokoron Newcomers Prize and praise from Yukio Mishima and Taijun Takeda. He continued to publish copiously through the 1970s. Over the years, Irokawa won the 79th Naoki Prize (1978上),[1] the 9th Kawabata Yasunari Literature Prize (1982),[2] and the 40th Yomiuri Prize (1988) for Kyōjin nikki.[3] He was briefly hospitalized in 1968 for visual and auditory hallucinations, perhaps related to narcolepsy; he died of a heart attack in 1989 at the age of 60. He was buried in Tokyo and enshrined at a temple in Kyoto where the New Japan Mahjong Federation holds a festival every year in his honor.
Adaptationsedit
In 1984 Makoto Wada directed a film adaptation of Irokawa's most famous novel, Mahjong Drifters Chronicles (麻雀放浪記) which was titled Mahjong hōrōki.
A video game adaptation named Mahjong Mahjong Wanderers Story CLASSIC was developed by Alpha Unit and published by Imagineer (Japanese company) on August 1, 1997, for the Nintendo 64.
Preface to "Sparrows" in Tokyo stories: a literary stroll; see reference above.
Japanese Literary Authors Name List
External linksedit
J'Lit | Authors : Takehiro Irokawa* | Books from Japan (in English)
April 18, 2024
takehiro, irokawa, this, article, unclear, citation, style, references, used, made, clearer, with, different, consistent, style, citation, footnoting, november, 2022, learn, when, remove, this, template, message, 色川, 武大, irokawa, takehiro, march, 1929, april, . This article has an unclear citation style The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation and footnoting November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Takehiro Irokawa 色川 武大 Irokawa Takehiro March 28 1929 April 10 1989 was a noted Japanese writer who published both serious literature and light fiction under a variety of pseudonyms including Asada Tetsuya 阿佐田哲也 and Budai Irokawa 色川武大 Many of his works were autobiographical in nature and concerned his life as a mahjong gambler Contents 1 Biography 2 Adaptations 3 English translations 4 References 5 External linksBiography editIrokawa was born in Shinjuku Tokyo His father was a retired navy captain who remained at home on a military pension and with whom Irokawa had troubled relations Irokawa began skipping school from an early age to see movies and vaudeville in the Asakusa entertainment district In 1943 he was drafted to work in the factory labor mobilization and at the end of the war was expelled from school when it was discovered that he had been editing a mimeographed magazine deemed rebellious As his father s pension lapsed he took to small time criminal activities and gambling particularly mahjong In the early 1950s Irokawa began writing under pseudonyms He first received literary recognition in 1961 for a short story winning the Chuokoron Newcomers Prize and praise from Yukio Mishima and Taijun Takeda He continued to publish copiously through the 1970s Over the years Irokawa won the 79th Naoki Prize 1978上 1 the 9th Kawabata Yasunari Literature Prize 1982 2 and the 40th Yomiuri Prize 1988 for Kyōjin nikki 3 He was briefly hospitalized in 1968 for visual and auditory hallucinations perhaps related to narcolepsy he died of a heart attack in 1989 at the age of 60 He was buried in Tokyo and enshrined at a temple in Kyoto where the New Japan Mahjong Federation holds a festival every year in his honor Adaptations editIn 1984 Makoto Wada directed a film adaptation of Irokawa s most famous novel Mahjong Drifters Chronicles 麻雀放浪記 which was titled Mahjong hōrōki A video game adaptation named Mahjong Mahjong Wanderers Story CLASSIC was developed by Alpha Unit and published by Imagineer Japanese company on August 1 1997 for the Nintendo 64 The manga and anime The Legend of the Gambler Tetsuya was inspired by Irokawa s novels and includes many of his characters English translations edit Sparrows Suzume in Tokyo stories a literary stroll translated by Lawrence Rogers University of California Press 2002 ISBN 978 0 520 21788 1 References edit 直木賞受賞者一覧 Naoki Prize Winners List in Japanese 日本文学振興会 Retrieved September 13 2018 川端康成文学賞 過去の受賞作品 Kawabata Yasunari Literature Prize Past Winning Works in Japanese Shinchosha Retrieved September 13 2018 読売文学賞 Yomiuri Prize for Literature in Japanese Yomiuri Shimbun Retrieved September 13 2018 Japanese Wikipedia article circular reference Preface to Sparrows in Tokyo stories a literary stroll see reference above Japanese Literary Authors Name ListExternal links editJ Lit Authors Takehiro Irokawa Books from Japan in English Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Takehiro Irokawa amp oldid 1168388980, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
