Nakayama Gishu - Literary Career

Literary Career

While a student at Waseda, Gishū founded a literary magazine, To ("Tower") together with Yokomitsu Riichi and others, to which he contributed his first story, Ana ("The Hole").

In 1938, he published his first short story collection, Denko ("Electric Light"), and two years later, won the 7th Akutagawa Prize for his novelette Atsumonozaki (厚物咲). These works were followed by the short stories, Ishibumi ("Monument"), Seifu Sassa ("Swift Breeze") and Fuso ("Wind and Frost"), which secured his reputation in the literary world.

Gishū moved to Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture, from 1943 to the end of his life and took an active interest in the lending library, Kamakura Bunko, and the publishing house of the same name.

His experiences as a war correspondent in World War II led to the short story Teniyan no matsujitsu in 1948, about two young intellectuals who died on Tinian in the Mariana Islands towards the end of the war. This marked a new start for Gishu, who later concentrated on historical novels, with the main subject being historical figures fighting for lost causes. These works include Shoan, about the 16th century warrior Akechi Mitsuhide, which won the Noma Prize in 1964, and the Japan Art Academy Prize in 1967.

Gishū died of acute anemia in 1969. Shortly before his death, he converted to Christianity; however, his grave is at Shorei-in sub-temple of the Zen-sect temple of Engaku-ji in Kamakura.