Susumu Nakanishi (中西進, Nakanishi Susumu, born 21 August 1929 in Tokyo[1][2][3]) is a scholar of Japanese literature, particularly of the Man'yōshū. He earned his Doctor of Literature degree from the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) in 1962.
Susumu Nakanishi | |
|---|---|
 2009 | |
| Born | August 21, 1929 |
| Alma mater | University of Tokyo |
| Occupation | Researcher of Japanese literature |
He is widely believed to have conceived the name of the current era of the official calendar of Japan, Reiwa (令和, 2019-). However, it is a custom not to reveal the conceiver of the name of an era, and he has said, 'Era names are not for secular individuals like Susumu Nakanishi to decide, but are determined by divine inspiration. There is no such person as the inventor of the name "Reiwa"'.[4]
Overview
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Nakanishi studied at the Department of Japanese Literature at the University of Tokyo (UTokyo), where he was supervised by the Japanese literary scholar Senichi Hisamatsu (久松潜一).[5] He graduated from the university in 1953 with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature. He continued his studies at UTokyo. His master's thesis was titled 'A Study on the Prosaic Nature in Early Japanese Literature (上代文藝における散文性の研究)'. Nakanishi continued to study under Hisamatsu during his postgraduate studies. In 1954, he lectured part-time at Yukigaya High School.
Nakanishi earned a Master of Arts in Literature from UTokyo in 1955. He wrote his doctoral thesis titled 'A Comparative Literary Study of the Man'yōshū (萬葉集の比較文学的研究)',[6] and he earned a Doctor of Literature degree from UTokyo in 1962. Subsequently, he began comparative studies between ancient Japanese literature and Chinese literature.
He is the honorary president of the Nara Prefecture Complex of Manyo Culture,[7] president of the Koshinokuni Museum of Literature,[8][9] and has been a guest lecturer at Princeton University.[3] In 1970 he was awarded the Japan Academy Prize for his research in comparative literature and the Man'yōshū,[3][10] and in 2013 he received the Order of Culture.[7][9] He has been called "probably the greatest living scholar of the Man'yōshū in Japan".[11]
Honours
editReferences
edit- ^ Yoshikawa, Shūhei (March 2005). "Nakanishi-sensei ni kiku: Man'yō, soshite Nihon Dentō Bunka" (PDF). Newsletter of the Research Centre for Japanese Traditional Music (Nihon Dentō Ongaku Kenkyū Sentā) (6). Research Centre for Japanese Traditional Music, Kyoto City University of Arts: 5. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ Hashimoto, Tatsuo (31 July 2008). "Man'yōshū maki-ichi, maki-ni no seiritsu nitsuite" (PDF). Nara Joshi Daigaku 21-Seiki COE Program Hōkoku-shū. 20 (1). Wakate Kenkyū Shien Program, Nara Women's University: 15. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ a b c Faculty of Letters (18 September 2004). "Jinbun Gakkai Kōenkai". Kokushikan University. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "新元号「天が決める」＝考案者？の中西進氏：時事ドットコム". 2019-04-02. Archived from the original on 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
- ^ a b "中西 進【京都市立芸術大学名誉教授】 文化部門 « 一般社団法人 全国日本学士会" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-04-21.
- ^ 中西, 進. 萬葉集の比較文学的研究 (PhD Thesis thesis). 東京大学.
- ^ a b "Shuku! Nakanishi Susumu Meiyo Kanchō ga Bunka-kunshō o Jushō". Complex of Manyo Culture official website. Nara Prefecture Complex of Manyo Culture. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ Nakanishi, Susumu. "Kanchō Aisatsu". Koshinokuni Museum of Literature official website. Koshinokuni Museum of Literature. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ a b c Ōmori, Haruyuki (26 October 2013). "Bunka-kunshō: Kōshinokuni Bungaku Kanchō Nakanishi Susumu-san: "Jūrai-ijō ni shōjin shitai"". Mainichi Shimbun. Tokyo: Mainichi Shimbun-sha. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "List of recipients of the prize from 1961 to 1970". Website of the Japan Academy. The Japan Academy. 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ Levy, Hideo (February 11, 2010). The World in Japanese (Speech). Stanford University. Retrieved 18 February 2014.