Shuntaro Tanikawa reads out “Umaretayo Boku” (I’ve been born a boy), his poem written in the words of a newborn boy, in November 2023. (Video taken by Wataru Sekita)

Photo/Illutration Poet Shuntaro Tanikawa in November 2023 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Shuntaro Tanikawa, one of the most celebrated Japanese modern poets who pushed the boundaries of the genre, died on Nov. 13. He was 92.

His bold use of plain language gave his works multigenerational appeal, including “Ikiru” (“To Live”) and “Nijuoku Konen no Kodoku” (“Two Billion Light-Years of Solitude”).

While his poems have been translated into many foreign languages, Tanikawa himself was a prolific translator.

Among other translations, the children’s picture book “Swimmy” by Leo Lionni and Charles Schulz’s comic strip “Peanuts,” featuring Snoopy and his friends, remain popular.

Tanikawa was a versatile literary figure and wrote the theme song of “Tetsuwan Atomu” (“Astro Boy”), the anime that started airing on TV in 1963.

He also co-wrote the screenplay for “Tokyo Olympiad,” a documentary film about the first Summer Games the Japanese capital hosted in 1964.

Tanikawa also produced many poems and illustrated books for children.

He was born in Tokyo in 1931 as the eldest son of philosopher Tetsuzo Tanikawa and began composing verse at the age of 16.

“Two Billion Light-Years of Solitude,” his first collection of poems published in 1952, gained attention for his innovative expressions that captured individuals’ inner lives against the backdrop of a vast universe.

In 1953, Tanikawa joined the poetry coterie journal Kai (Oars) and worked with poets Noriko Ibaragi and Makoto Ooka.

He broadened the universe of poetry through “Teigi” (“Definitions”), published in 1975, “Sekenshirazu” (“The Naif”), released in 1993, and other collections.

Children were enthralled by works such as “Kotoba Asobi Uta” (“Word Play Songs”), published in 1973, and “Hadaka” (“Naked”), released in 1988. Both are written in easy-to-read hiragana syllabary.

Many of his poems, including “To Live” and “Asa no Relay” (“Morning Relay”), have been featured in national language school textbooks.

Tanikawa received numerous awards, including the Hagiwara Sakutaro Prize for “The Naif” and the Noma Children’s Literature Award for “Naked.”

Other accolades are the Japan Translation Cultural Award for his translation of “Mother Goose” in 1975, and Peking University’s prestigious Zhongkun International Poetry Award in 2011. 

Tanikawa is a recipient of the Asahi Prize in 1996. His original poems have run in The Asahi Shimbun under the title “Dokokara Ka Kotoba Ga” (Words out of somewhere) since 2016.

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