YAMAMOTO SHUGORO

(1903–1967)

   Yamamoto Shugoro was the pen name of Shimizu Satomu, a novelist from Yamanashi Prefecture. His pen name is borrowed in homage to the owner of the bookstore where he worked after dropping out of secondary school. The owner, Yamamoto Shugoro, let Shimizu go to school part-time. The author Yamamoto came onto the literary scene in the mid-1920s with the short story “Sumadera fukin” (Sumadera and Its Environs, 1925), which was serialized in the literary journal Bungei shunju (Literary Chronicle). His early work was aimed toward children, but he also wrote popular adult novels, and even ventured into the genres of historical fiction and detective novels. His wartime novel Nihon fudoki (Lives of Great Japanese Women, 1942) was very popular and was awarded the Naoki Prize, but Yamamoto refused to accept it on the premise that his works, which he considered popular stories, should not be confused with true literature. Yamamoto continued writing until the end of his life, publishing the novel Aobeka monogatari (This Madding Crowd, 1960). Many of his works have been made into films.

   See also WAR LITERATURE.