Nagai Tatsuo
| Tatsuo Nagai | |
|---|---|
Tatsuo Nagai in 1955
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| Born |
20 May 1904 Tokyo, Japan |
| Died | 12 October 1990 (aged 86) Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan |
| Resting place | Saikai-ji, Mita, Tokyo Japan |
| Occupation | Writer, poet, journalist |
| Genre | short stories, novels, essays haiku |
| Notable awards |
Noma Prize (1965) Yomiuri Prize (1969, 1973) Kikuchi Kan Prize (1972) Kawabata Yasunari Prize (1975) |
Tatsuo Nagai (永井 龍男 Nagai Tatsuo?, 20 May 1904 – 12 October 1990) was a writer of short stories, novels, and essays, active in the Shōwa period Japan, known for his portrayals of city life. Nagai was also known as a haiku poet under the pen-name of "Tomonkyo".
Nagai was born in the Sarugakuchō neighborhood of Tokyo in impoverished circumstances. He was forced to quit school after graduation from elementary school due to his father's illness and premature death. However, he had already begun to exhibit signs of literary talent, and his first novel Kappan-ya no Hanashi ("Tale of a Printer's Shop") was published when he was 16. This novel won a prize in a competition and was highly praised by the well-known author and editor, Kikuchi Kan.
Due to this encouragement, Nagai devoted his energies to writing, submitting a stage play to the Imperial Garden Theater in 1923, and publishing Kuroi Gohan ("Black Rice") in Bungeishunjū, a monthly literary journal founded by Kikuchi Kan. In 1924, together with the famous literary critic Kobayashi Hideo and some others, he launched his own monthly literary magazine called Yamamayu.
In 1927, while continuing to write, Nagai was hired as an editor for Bungeishunjū. During this time, he helped to lay the foundations for the Akutagawa and Naoki Prizes, created in 1935, and later became a member of the screening committee.
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