Saiichi Maruya
August 27, 1925 – October 13, 2012 was a Japanese author and literary critic.
Saiichi Maruya

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Government of Japan · CC BY 4.0
- Name
- Saiichi Maruya
- Birth Name
- Saiichi Nemura (根村才一)
- Born
- 27 August 1925
- Died
- 13 October 2012
- Occupation
- Writer, translator, critic
- Education
- University of Tokyo
- Awards
- * Akutagawa Prize
- Nationality
- Japan · Empire of Japan
- Honours
- Akutagawa Prize · Tanizaki Prize · Yomiuri Prize · Noma Literary Prize · Kawabata award · Art Encouragement Prizes
- Languages
- Japanese
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August 27, 1925 – October 13, 2012 was a Japanese author and literary critic.
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Saiichi Maruya (1925–2012) was an essayist, literary critic and novelist, among other activities, of Japanese and Japanese nationality. The essayist was born in Tsuruoka and died in Tokyo.
Saiichi Maruya was educated at University of Tokyo. The essayist worked for Kokugakuin University.
Languages used include Japanese. Honours include Akutagawa Prize, Art Encouragement Prizes and Asahi Prize, among others.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q970421 · wikipedia · Saiichi Maruya
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Saiichi Maruya • Native Name — 丸谷才一 • Birth Name — Saiichi Nemura (根村才一) • Born — 27 August 1925 • Died — 13 October 2012 • Occupation — Writer, translator, critic • Language — Japanese • Education — University of Tokyo • Genre — Fiction • Notable Works — * Toshi no nokori • Tatta hitori no hanran • Awards — * Akutagawa Prize • Tanizaki Prize • Kawabata Prize • Noma Literary Prize • Order of Culture
Biography
Biography
Maruya, whose real name was Saiichi Nemura, was born in Tsuruoka city, Yamagata Prefecture on August 27, 1925. His father was a doctor, and apparently wealthy enough to have a big personal library, which whetted Maruya's literary appetite. Maruya was mobilized into the Japanese Army in March 1945 when still a high school student, but did not see battlefield action as Japan surrendered shortly thereafter. Following the war's end, he completed his high school studies in Niigata, then in 1947 entered the University of Tokyo to major in English literature, although he also studied classical Japanese literature. To develop his own writing style he began translating English works. He translated Joyce's Ulysses in collaboration with Takamatsu Yūichi and Nagai Reiji (1964) and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in 1969. James Joyce's works became a major influence on his writing. After completing his degree, he taught English literature at Kokugakuin University and then at the University of Tokyo. During this time, he wrote several novels, including Ehoba no kao o sakete (エホバ の 顔 を さけて, 1958), Kanata e (彼方 へ, 1962), and Sasamakura (笹まくら, Grass for My Pillow, 1966). Maruya was also an influential literary critic, publishing reviews in the magazine Shukan Asahi and in the Mainichi Shimbun. Maruya said that improving the quality of book reviews in Japan was one of the things he was most proud of. His criticism and essays include Go-Toba In (後鳥羽 院, The Retired Emperor Go-Toba, 1973), Nihon bungakushi hayawakari (日本文学史 早わかり, A Quick Guide to the History of Japanese Literature, 1976), Asobi jikan (遊び 時間, Play Time, 1976) and Chūshingura to wa nani ka (忠臣蔵 と は 何 か, What is the Chūshingura?, 1984). Maruya died of heart failure on October 13, 2012. • Illustration — Maruya received the Order of Culture. After that, they posed for the photo. (at the East Garden of the Tokyo Imperial Palace on November 3, 2011)
Selected works in translation
Selected works in translation
* * * *

Saiichi Maruya
『 文藝 』1966年1月号。発行所:河出書房新社。
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1925
Saiichi Maruya born at Tsuruoka.
2012
Saiichi Maruya died at Tokyo.
Places
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Tsuruoka.
Birth place
Tokyo.
Death place
Awards
In 1968 Maruya won the Akutagawa Prize for Toshi no nokori (年 の 残り, The Rest of the Year). In 1972 he published Tatta hitori no hanran (たった ひとり の 反乱, Singular Rebellion), for which he won the Tanizaki Prize. He also received the Kawabata Prize, the Kikuchi Kan Prize for Cultural Merit and the Noma Literary Prize (1985), and the Order of Culture, awarded in 2011 by the Emperor of Japan.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Mostow, Joshua S. The Columbia Companion to Modern East Asian Literature. Columbia UP. 252. 2003. 978-0-231-11314-4.
- 2.Mainichi.jp. Prize-Winning Writer Saiichi Maruya Dies at 87.
- 3.Keene, Donald. Dawn to the West: Japanese Literature of the Modern Era, Volume 1: Poetry, Drama, Criticism. Columbia UP. 578. 1999. 978-0-231-11439-4.
- 4.Novelist–Critic Maruya Dies at 87. Daily Yomiuri. October 16, 2012.
- 5.Chiaki Yoshimura. Witty to the End, Award-Winning Writer Maruya Dies at 87. Asahi Shimbun. October 15, 2012.
- 6.Watanabe, Akira. Entre James Joyce y Murasaki Shikibu: Saiichi Maruya y la Historia Literaria. Contexto-Segunda Etapa. 14. 16. 2010.
- 7.O'Neill, Patrick. Polyglot Joyce: Fictions of Translation. U of Toronto P. 32. 2005. 978-0-8020-3897-5.
- 8.Prize-Winning Writer Saiichi Maruya Dies at 87. Kyodo News. October 13, 2012.
- 9.Junbungaku. Maruya Saiichi Receives Order of Culture. October 25, 2011.
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reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q970421: Saiichi MaruyaWikimedia Foundation
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Saiichi Maruya received Akutagawa Prize, Tanizaki Prize, Yomiuri Prize, Noma Literary Prize, Kawabata award and Art Encouragement Prizes. Recorded as literary critic, novelist, essayist, university teacher and translator.
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