Mitsuharu Kaneko

was a Japanese poet and painter. He was a recipient of the Yomiuri Prize.

Biography Mitsuharu Kaneko was born in Tsushima, Aichi and attended the private Catholic school Gyosei Gakuen in Tokyo. He published his first poetry collection Akatsuchi no Ie (Red Clay House) in 1919. He was known as an anti-establishment figure, and during the Second World War, he deliberately made his son ill, so he would not be drafted. As well as publishing several volumes of poetry, he was also known for his autobiographical works. In 1954, he received the 5th Yomiuri Prize.

Selected bibliography

Poetry Kohro (The Censor), private edition, Tokyo, 1916 Sekido no ie (The House of Red Clay), private edition, Tokyo, 1919 Koganemushi (Japanese Beetle), Shinchosha, Tokyo, 1923 Dai-furan shoh (Ode to Great Putrefaction), unpublished, 1923 Mizu no ruroh (Wanderings of Water), Shinchosha, Tokyo, 1926 Fuka shizumu (The Shark Sinks), co-authored with Mori Michiyo, Shinchosha, Tokyo, 1927 Same (Sharks), Jinminsha, Tokyo, 1937 Rakkasan (Parachute), Nihon mirai-ha hakkosho, Tokyo, 1948 Ga (Moth), Hokutoshoin, Tokyo, 1948 Onna-tachi e no eregii (Elegies to Women), Sogensha, Tokyo, 1949 Oni no ko no uta (Songs of a Devil’s Child), Jyuhjiya Shoten, Tokyo, 1949 Ningen no higeki (Human Tragedy), Sogensha, Tokyo, 1952 Hijoh (Merciless), Shinchosha, Tokyo, 1955 Collected Poems (5 volumes), Shoshi Yuriika/Shoushinsha, Tokyo, 1960–1971 He no yoh na uta (Songs Like a Fart), Schichosha, Tokyo, 1962 IL, Keisoshobo, Tokyo, 1965 Wakaba no uta (Songs of Young Leaves), Keisoshobo, Tokyo, 1967 Complete Poems, Chikumashobo, Tokyo, 1967 Aijyo 69 (Love 69), Chikumashobo, Tokyo, 1968 Hana to akibin (Flowers and Empty Bottles), Seigashobo, Tokyo, 1973

Essays Marei Ran’in Kikoh (Malay and Dutch East Indies Travelogue), 1940 Shijin (Poet), Heibonsha, Tokyo, 1957, an autobiography Dokuro-hai (Skull Cup), Chuoh kohron sha, Tokyo, 1971 Nemure pari (Go to Sleep, Paris), Chuo kohron sha, Tokyo, 1973 Nishi higashi (West and East), Chuoh kohron sha, Tokyo, 1974

Works in English Opposition in 99 Poems in Translation, New York, Grove Press, 1994