Michio Takeyama

Michio Takeyama (Japanese竹山 道 雄, born July 17, 1903 in Osaka Prefecture, † 15 June 1984) was a Japanese writer, translator and literary critic.

Life

Was on the basis of the profession of his father, a bank employee, Takeyama moved as a child often the place of residence and lived among others several years a Seoul. He studied German literature at Tokyo Imperial University and was sent by the Japanese Ministry of Education for a three-year study trip to Europe.

After his return to Japan, he worked as a professor of German literature and translator. He has translated poems of Goethe, Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Albert Schweitzer's autobiography and Johanna Spyri's Heidi.

After the Second World War, his most famous work, the novel Biruma no tategoto, serialized in the magazine Akatombo (赤とんぼ) appeared. In 1951, he finished his teaching career and wrote literary and cultural critical writings. In 1957 he participated in the founding of Nihon Bunka forum. In 1959 he founded the literary magazine Jiyu (自由), which he edited together with Hirabayashi Taiko. In addition, reports emerged of his travels through Europe and the Soviet Union. For these reports, he received the 1961 Yomiuri Prize for Literature.

Works (selection)

• Biruma no tategoto (ビルマの竪琴, " The Harp of Burma " ), Roman
• Shōwa no Seishinshi (昭和 の 精神 史, " Psychological History of the Shōwa period " )
• Ningen ni tsuite (人間 について, "superman " )
• Koto Henreki: Nara ( pilgrimage to the ancient capital Nara )
• Nihonjin to Bi ( The Japanese and the Beautiful )
• Yōroppa no Tabi (ヨーロッパ の 旅, "Travels through Europe " )
• Maboroshi to Shinjitsu: Watashi no Sovieto Kembun (まぼろし と 真実-私 の ソヴィエト 見聞, " imagination and truth: My observations in the Soviet Union " )