NAKANO SHIGEHARU

(1902–1979)

   Nakano Shigeharu was a novelist, literary critic, and poet from Fukui. While in high school, he met Kubokawa Tsurujiro (1903–74) and began writing tanka poetry and novels. In college, he studied Marxism, joined Kubokawa and Hori Tatsuo to found the literary journal Roba (Donkey), and became involved in the proletarian literature movement. In 1931, he joined the Communist Party and was later arrested. After World War II, he rejoined the Communist Party and served as a member of the Diet from 1947 to 1950. He is known for his novels, such as Kootsu heitei (A, B, C, D, 1969), and an anthology of poetry. In 1978, Nakano was awarded the Mainichi Prize for his lifetime literary accomplishments. He died of gallbladder cancer the following year.