Kōichi Iijima

Kōichi Iijima (飯島耕一, Iijima Kōichi, February 25, 1930- October 14, 2013) was a Japanese poet, novelist, and translator. He was a member of the Japan Art Academy.

Born in Okayama City, Iijima graduated from the French Literature Department of Tokyo University.^[2] While in university he established together with, among others, Isamu Kurita the magazine Cahier. In 1956, he and Makoto Ōoka were among the founders of the Surrealism Research Society.^[3]

In 1953, he published his first collection of poems, Tanin no sora ("Another person's sky"). In 2008, he was elected a member of the Japan Art Academy. He also worked as a professor at Meiji University and Kokugakuin University. He translated or wrote about Henri Barbusse, Antonin Artaud, Brassai, Joan Miró i Ferrà, Henry Miller, Marcel Aymé, Guillaume Apollinaire, etc.

He is the father of architecture critic Yōichi Iijima.

He died on October 14, 2013, at a Tokyo hospital of malabsorption syndrome.^[4]

Awards

• Takami Jun Award for ゴヤのファースト・ネームは ("Goya no first name wa") (1974)
• Tōson kinen rekitei Award for 飯島耕一詩集 ("Iijima Kōichi shishũ") (1978)
• Gendai shijin Award for 夜を夢想する小太陽の独言 ("Yoru wo musōsuru shotaiyō no dokugen") (1983)
• Bunkamura Prix des Deux Magots for 暗殺百美人 (Ansatsu hyaku bijin"") (1996)
• Yomiuri Prize for アメリカ ("Amerika") (2005)
• Nihon gendai ishika bungakukan Award (2005)

References

1. ↑ "飯島耕一氏が死去　詩人" (in Japanese). Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Retrieved October 23, 2013. 
2. ↑ "訃報:飯島耕一さん８３歳＝詩人、日本芸術院会員" (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun. Retrieved October 23, 2013. 
3. ↑ "詩人の飯島耕一さん死去" (in Japanese). NHK. Retrieved October 23, 2013. 
4. ↑ "詩人の飯島耕一さん死去　「他人の空」「アメリカ」" (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved October 23, 2013.