Literary Career
Although in his youth, Shimaki published a short-lived literary magazine called Kunugi no Mi ("Acorn", 1918), containing tanka poems and essays which he wrote under the pen-name of Asakura Tengai, his literary career did not begin in earnest until after he was released from prison the second time.
In 1934, Shimaki published his first work Rai ("Leprosy"), a serialized novel which appeared in the magazine Bungaku Hyōron (Literary Review). It was based on his experiences while in prison, and was critically well received. Shimaki followed this work with Mōmoku ("Blindness") in the magazine Chūō Kōrōn ("Central Review"), which further established his position as a writer.
Shimaki lived in Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture from 1937, and was part of a social and literary circle which included Kawabata Yasunari, Kobayashi Hideo and Takami Jun. He traveled to Manchukuo in 1939. The success of his early works were followed in quick succession by Goku ("Prison"), Reimei ("Dawn"), Saiken ("Reconstruction") and Seikatsu no Tankyu ("The Quest for Life"); however, Shimaki's struggle against illness was a losing one. Shimaki died in 1945 at the relatively young age of 41. His grave is at the temple of Jōchi-ji (浄智寺) in Kamakura.
Read more about this topic: Shimaki Kensaku
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