ÔBA MINAKO (1930–2007). Ôba Minako was an author and social critic from Tokyo. Her father served as a rescue worker in Hiroshima after the atomic bombing, and Ôba’s experiences there generated her interest in literature. Ôba graduated from Tsudajuku University and followed her husband’s job to Alaska, where she wrote her first novel, Sanbiki no kani (1968; tr. The Three Crabs, 1978), which depicted American life and was awarded the Akutagawa Ryûnosuke Prize. Along with novels, Ôba also wrote essays, literary criticism, poetry, anthologies, and translated children’s literature from English into Japanese. Ôba served on many committees, including the Akutagawa Prize selection committee and as vice president of the Japan P.E.N. Club. She was awarded eight literary prizes in all, including the Kawabata Yasunari Prize twice (1989, 1996), the Tanizaki Jun’ichirô Prize (1982), the Women’s Literature Prize (1975), the Noma Prize (1986), the Murasaki Shikibu Literary Prize (2003), and the Yomiuri Prize (1991). See also FEMINISM; WOMEN IN LITERATURE.
OCCUPATION PERIOD (1945–1952). After Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur was appointed to oversee the Allied occupation of Japan. Initially, the occupation of Japan’s central archipelago was to be divided among the United States, Great Britain, Russia, and China, but mistrust of the Soviets led to a division of former Japan-held territories instead. The terms of surrender called for Japan to scale down its industrial assets, as well as sell land to farmers and eliminate the landlord hierarchy that had existed for centuries. A new constitution was also drafted by the Occupation forces that gave women the right to vote, guaranteed personal and civil rights, disenfranchised the nobility, established the emperor as the symbol of a constitutional monarchy system, abolished Shintô as the state religion, and included a “peace clause” that disallowed Japan to have any standing military. Educational reforms included the simplification of the kanji writing system and a more colloquial orthography, universal school lunch, and health reforms.
Although the Occupation forces exercised censorship of some literature, the concomitant presence of thousands of foreign military and civilian workers served to bring Western, particularly American, popular culture to Japan following a period of nationalism. Although the occupation officially ended in 1952, there is still a U.S. military presence in Japan that has found its way into works by such contemporary writers as Yamada Eimi and Murakami Ryû. See also HAKUBUNKAN; MANGA; POSTWAR LITERATURE; TOKUTOMI SOHÔ; WOMEN IN LITERATURE; ZAINICHI LITERATURE.
ODA SAKUNOSUKE (1913–1947). Oda Sakunosuke, nicknamed Saku, was an Osaka-born novelist. While at Kyoto University he suffered a lung hemorrhage and had to recuperate in the country for two years. When he returned to school he was unable to concentrate and dropped out and began writing plays and novels, the latter influenced by Stendhal. His first two novels, Ame (Rain, 1938) and Zokushû (Vulgarity, 1939), brought him a nomination for the Akutagawa Ryûnosuke Prize. His Meoto zenzai (1940; tr. Stories of Osaka Life, 1990) followed the life of a married couple whose relationship survives, despite the husband’s neglect, and was the catalyst to his becoming a full-time writer. During the war, some of his very realistic novels were banned. Critics sometimes group him with Dazai Osamu and Sakaguchi Ango as the Buraiha (hoodlums clique). Oda died in 1947 of tuberculosis in Tokyo and is currently memorialized through the Oda Sakunosuke Prize. See also CENSORSHIP.
ODA SAKUNOSUKE PRIZE. Oda Sakunosuke Prize (Oda Sakunosuke shô) is a literary award established in memory of Oda Sakunosuke to promote literature of the Kansai (Kobe–Osaka–Kyoto) region. It was founded in 1983 by the Osaka Association for the Promotion of Literature and is awarded annually to new authors for original fiction. The winning work is published in the literary journal Bungakkai (Literary World). The winner receives a certificate, a commemorative gift, and a cash award of 500,000 yen.
ÔE KENZABURÔ (1935–). Ôe Kenzaburô is the second Japanese to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. His works reflect the angst of his time, addressing the issues of nuclear weapons, social nonconformism, and existentialism. Among his most well-known novels are Kojinteki na taiken (1964; tr. A Personal Matter, 1968), Man’en gannen no futtobôru (1967; tr. The Silent Cry, 1974), and Pinchi rannâ chôsho (1976; tr. The Pinch Runner Memorandum, 1993), all strongly influenced by Western literary theory. These works contain several recurring themes, including the American Occupation of Japan as well as physical disability, reflecting his own experiences with his brain-damaged eldest son, Hikari. He was awarded the Akutagawa Ryûnosuke Prize in 1958, the Tanizaki Jun’ichirô Prize in 1967, and the Nobel Prize in 1994. He was also awarded the Order of Cultural Merit in 1994, but refused it. See also POSTWAR LITERATURE; SUICIDE; UTOPIAN LITERATURE.
OGUMA HIDEO (1901–1940). Oguma Hideo was an author from Hokkaido. He wrote poetry for the proletarian literature movement, was a member of the Proletarian Writers League, and wrote fairy tales, literary criticism, and comic books before dying of tuberculosis at age 39. See also CHILDREN’S LITERATURE; MANGA; MARXISM.
OKAMOTO KANOKO (1889–1939). Okamoto Kanoko was an author and scholar of Buddhism. She took an interest in literature at a young age and, after a visit with Yosano Akiko, began writing tanka poetry for magazines, such as Myôjô (Venus). Okamoto turned to Jôdo Shinshû Buddhism when trouble arose in her personal and family life, and many of her novels reflect Buddhist themes, such as ancestral karma. Okamoto died early of a brain hemorrhage, and many of her works were published posthumously. See also WOMEN IN LITERATURE.
OKAMOTO KIDÔ (1872–1939). Okamoto Kidô was a novelist, journalist, playwright, and theater reformer. After finishing his secondary education, Okamoto worked as a reporter for the next 24 years at various newspapers and information agencies. During that time, he published his first novel, Takamatsu jô (Takamatsu Castle, 1891) and his first play, Shishinden (The Shishinden, 1896). The success of his subsequent plays galvanized the shin kabuki (new kabuki) genre, and their positive reception strengthened his resolve to write his long-running hit Shûzenji monogatari (Tale of Shûzen Temple, 1911). After 1913, he published a host of serialized narratives, including detective novels and thrillers. He studied Western theater on a trip abroad in 1918 and incorporated psychological insight and realism into his shin kabuki works. See also MODERN THEATER.
OKINAWAN LITERATURE. See RYÛKYÛ LITERATURE.
OMOIDE NO KI. Omoide no ki (1901; tr. Footprints in the Snow, 1970), by Meiji writer Tokutomi Roka, is a semiautobiographical story of boyhood experiences during the Meiji era. After the loss of his father and family fortune, the hero Kikuchi Shintarô and his mother move in with Shintarô’s accomplished uncle. Shintarô is there refined through formalized education until he is asked to become his uncle’s heir through adoption and marriage into his uncle’s family. Shintarô runs away, overwhelmed with the situation presented to him. Following a trail of adventures Shintarô transfers from Dôshisha University to Tokyo University, where he eventually becomes a writer. The story finishes with his marriage to his sweetheart, showing romance triumphant amid adversity. See also I-NOVEL.
ONO TÔSABURÔ (1903–1996). Ono Tôsaburô was a poet, novelist, and children’s author from Osaka. He dropped out of Tôyô University in the early 1920s to write poetry and became acquainted with Tsuboi Shigeji and other anarchist poets, helping to found the poetry journals Aka to Kuro (Red and Black) and Dandô (Ballistic). In 1933, he returned to Osaka and later published the anthology Osaka, which focused on the industrial area of the city. After World War II, Ono founded a school of literary studies, of which he served as principal until 1991. He also wrote and published novels and children’s stories along with poetry. His anthology Kyozetsu no ki (Tree of Rejection, 1975) won the Yomiuri Prize. See also CHILDREN’S LITERATURE.
ÔOKA SHÔHEI (1909–1988). Ôoka Shôhei was born in Tokyo, studied French at Kyoto University, and was a literary student of Kobayashi Hideo. He translated Stendhal into Japanese and, as World War II progressed, was drafted into the army, where he was posted to the Philippines and was captured and became a prisoner of war. After the war, he began writing, and much of his work reflects his experiences during the war, including his autobiographical short story Furyoki (1948; tr. Taken Captive: A Japanese POW’s Story, 1967). His best-known novel, Nobi (1951; tr. Fires on the Plain, 1957), was awarded the Yomiuri Prize and was made into an award-winning film. See also MILITARISM; POSTWAR LITERATURE.
ORDER OF CULTURAL MERIT. The Order of Cultural Merit (Bunka kunshô) is a national honor conferred upon a recipient by the emperor. On November 3 of each year (Culture Day), the prime minister awards certificates to recipients at a ceremony in the Imperial Palace. The Order of Cultural Merit is awarded to select Persons of Cultural Merit (another related national award). The Order is given to artists, including writers and poets, who have demonstrated highly valuable achievements, and encourages creative activities. Notable author recipients include Kawabata Yasunari, Tanizaki Jun’ichirô, Shiga Naoya, and Yoshikawa Eiji.
OSANAI KAORU (1881–1928). Osanai Kaoru was a playwright, director, and literary critic known for his innovations in modern theater. He edited a literary magazine in high school and at Tokyo University was an English student of Natsume Sôseki, met Mori Ôgai, worked in stage production, and wrote poetry and fiction. After graduation, along with Tanizaki Jun’ichirô, he helped launch the literary journal Shinshichô (New Trends of Thought). His autobiographical novel Ôkawabata (By the Banks of the Great River, 1909) was serialized in the Yomiuri newspaper. Teaming up with kabuki actor Ichikawa Sadanji, who had recently returned from living in Europe, he formed a new theater named the Jiyû gekijô (Free Theater), modeled on the naturalist theaters of Paris (Théâtre Libre) and Berlin (Freie Bühne). The first play performed there was Henrik Ibsen’s John Gabriel Borkman, a work that was instrumental in Japanese theater reform. Osanai later traveled to Europe to observe Western theater firsthand, and in 1924 was instrumental in establishing the Tsukiji shôgekijô (Tsukiji Little Theater) following the Kantô Earthquake. A modern theater with state-of-the-art lighting and technical capabilities, the Tsukiji Little Theater, which Osanai limited to performances of Western dramas in translation, polarized Japanese shingeki playwrights and the rifts continued well after his untimely death. See also I-NOVELS.
OUTCAST LITERATURE. See BURAKUMIN LITERATURE.
OZAKI KAZUO (1899–1983). Ozaki Kazuo was an author from Kanagawa Prefecture who graduated from Waseda University. He studied under Shiga Naoya and published his first work, Nigatsu no mitsubachi (February Bees, 1925) in the literary journal Shuchô (Modern Trends). He published the autobiographical novel Nonki megane (1933; tr. Rosy Glasses, 1988) and won the Akutagawa Ryûnosuke Prize for it in 1937. Ozaki was an I-Novelist, and several of his novels were made into films. He won the Order of Cultural Merit in 1978.
OZAKI KÔYÔ (1868–1903). Ozaki Kôyô was the son of a famous netsuke carver. In 1885, while studying at Tokyo Imperial University, he formed the Ken’yûsha literary society with friends, and many of his early works were published in its journal and in the Yomiuri, Japan’s largest newspaper. Among his most renowned works are Konjiki yasha (1897–1903; tr. The Gold Demon, 1905) and Tajô takon (Passions and Regrets, 1896). Ozaki served as a mentor to Izumi Kyôka, who continued to write in Ozaki’s style after his mentor’s death. See also KAWAKAMI BIZAN; KÔDA ROHAN; PSEUDOCLASSICISM; THEATER REFORM; WOMEN IN LITERATURE.