TACHIHARA MICHIZO

(1914–1939)

   Tachihara Michizo was a poet and architect from Tokyo. He had a natural affinity toward drawing at a young age and was one of the top architecture students at Tokyo University. He visited acclaimed poet Kitahara Hakushu at age 13 and by 16 had published 11 tanka poems. Prior to enrolling in college, he changed his emphasis from tanka to free verse and read the works of European poets Rainer Maria Rilke, Paul Valery, and Charles Baudelaire. He also published two anthologies. He graduated from college in 1937 and took employment at Ishimoto Architects. However, through his poetry he communicated his dislike of his job and of urban life. In 1938, Tachihara started showing symptoms of tuberculosis that went undiagnosed until three months before his death. He was awarded the Nakahara Chuya Prize in 1939 just prior to his death. The anthologies Yasashiki uta I (Kind Verses I) and Yasashiki uta II (Kind Verses II) were compiled and published posthumously by various authors.