Kunio Ogawa

Novelist. Born in Shizuoka Prefecture. Baptized as a Catholic at the age of 20. Entered the Japanese Literature Department of the University of Tokyo in 1950. Published "At the Edge of the Tokai" in the magazine "Modern Literature" in 1953. Traveled to France in the same year to study at the University of Paris and other institutions, and traveled the Mediterranean coast by motorcycle. Returned to Japan in 1956. The following year, founded the coterie magazine "Seido Jidai" with Koichi Iijima and others, wrote short stories based on his experiences in Europe, including "Apollon's Island," and self-published them. This private edition of "Apollon's Island" (1957) was highly praised by Toshio Shimao in 1965, marking his arrival at the forefront of the literary world. All of his works share a common style of writing that depicts the original forms of nature and human existence in a tense, rigid style, but Kunio Ogawa himself said that his style roughly had three main streams. The first type of story is based on the world of the Bible, and includes works such as "A Certain Bible" (1973), the collection "Blood and Vision" (1979), and "The Song of Kings" (1988), which depicts David. He also has many essays related to Christianity, such as "The Landscape of Jesus" (1982), "The Bible and Eschatology" (1987), and "My Bible" (1994). The second type is "drama of construction" set in his hometown, the Oi River basin, and includes "The Shore of Attempt" (1972), which questions the fundamental power behind life, death, and nature, and "The Age of Bronze" (1974), which focuses on a period of youth. The third type is a type of autobiographical novel with some embellishment, such as the collection "His Hometown" (1974) and "Itsumin" (1986), which received the Kawabata Yasunari Literature Prize. His other works include the fantasy "Tales of the Distant Sea" (1989), which features illustrations by Tsukasa Osamu (1936-), the novel "Port of Sorrow" (1994), which was serialized for a long time in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, and the essay collections "A Bunch of Grapes" (1970) and "Van Gogh" (1986). In 2000, he received the Japan Art Academy Prize.

[Takako Yanagisawa]

"The Collected Works of Ogawa Kunio," 6 volumes and 1 supplementary volume (1974-76, Kawade Shobo Shinsha)" ▽ "The Complete Works of Ogawa Kunio," 16 volumes (1992-95, Ozawa Shoten)" ▽ "The Island of Apollo" (Kodansha Bungei Bunko)" ▽ "The Port of Sorrow" (Asahi Bungei Bunko)" ▽ "Ogawa Kunio: Light and Darkness," by Yoshida Seiichi and others (1974, Origin Shobo)" ▽ "The World of Ogawa Kunio," by Kumeda Kazuo (1984, Izumi Shoin)" ▽ "An Enchanted Soul -- Letters to Ogawa Kunio," by Niwa Tadashi (1996, Ozawa Shoten)" ▽ "The Two of Us in Winter -- Correspondence between Tachihara Masaaki and Ogawa Kunio," by Tachihara Masaaki and Ogawa Kunio (1996, Ozawa Shoten)" ▽ "Young Ogawa Kunio - Ten Years of 'Apollo's Island' by Yamamoto Keiichiro (1996, Ozawa Shoten) " "The Introverted Generation Theory by Furuya Kenzo (1998, Keio University Press)" "A Voice Crying in the Wilderness - The Core of Ogawa Kunio's Literature by Katsuro Kanade (2000, Shinbisha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

小説家。静岡県生まれ。20歳でカトリック受洗。1950年（昭和25）東京大学国文科入学。1953年『東海のほとり』を雑誌『近代文学』に発表。同年渡仏してパリ大学などに学び、単車で地中海沿岸を旅する。1956年帰国。翌年飯島耕一らと同人雑誌『青銅時代』を創刊、ヨーロッパ体験に基づいた短編『アポロンの島』などを書き、自費出版する。この私家版『アポロンの島』（1957）が1965年島尾敏雄(としお)によって激賞され、文壇の第一線に登場する契機となった。自然や人間存在の原形を、緊張した硬質な文体によって描き出す筆法は全作品に共通するが、小川国夫自身は、自分の作風にほぼ三筋の流れがあると語っていた。第一は聖書の世界からイメージされた物語の流れであり、『或(あ)る聖書』（1973）や作品集『血と幻』（1979）、ダビデを描いた『王歌』（1988）など。また『イエスの風景』（1982）、『聖書と終末論』（1987）、『私の聖書』（1994）などキリスト教にかかわる随筆も多い。第二は故郷大井川流域を舞台にした「架構のドラマ」の流れであり、生と死と自然の奥にある根源の力を問おうとする『試みの岸』（1972）、青春の一時期を凝視した『青銅時代』（1974）など。第三は多少の潤色を加えた私小説風の流れとして、作品集『彼の故郷』（1974）や、川端康成(かわばたやすなり)文学賞を受けた『逸民(いつみん)』（1986）などがあげられる。ほかに、司修(つかさおさむ)（1936―　）の挿絵を織り込んだファンタジー『遠つ海の物語』（1989）や、『朝日新聞』に長期連載された小説『悲しみの港』（1994）、エッセイ集『一房の葡萄(ぶどう)』（1970）、『ヴァン・ゴッホ』（1986）などがある。2000年、日本芸術院賞を受賞した。

［柳沢孝子］

『『小川国夫作品集』6巻・別巻1（1974～76・河出書房新社）』▽『『小川国夫全集』16巻（1992～95・小沢書店）』▽『『アポロンの島』（講談社文芸文庫）』▽『『悲しみの港』（朝日文芸文庫）』▽『吉田精一他著『小川国夫光と闇』（1974・おりじん書房）』▽『粂田和夫著『小川国夫の世界』（1984・和泉書院）』▽『丹羽正著『魅せられた魂――小川国夫への手紙』（1996・小沢書店）』▽『立原正秋・小川国夫著『冬の二人――立原正秋　小川国夫　往復書簡』（1996・小沢書店）』▽『山本恵一郎著『若き小川国夫――「アポロンの島」の十年』（1996・小沢書店）』▽『古屋健三著『「内向の世代」論』（1998・慶応義塾大学出版会）』▽『勝呂奏著『荒野に叫ぶ声――小川国夫文学の枢奥』（2000・審美社）』

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