Kunio Kishida

In this Japanese name, the family name is "Kishida".

Kunio Kishida (岸田 國士, Kishida Kunio, 2 November 1890-5 March 1954, b. Yotsuya, Tokyo, Japan) was one of the most prominent Japanese dramatist and writer of the early 20th century and is regarded as one of the founders of modern Japanese drama.

He served in the army but, with aspirations of studying literature, entered the Tokyo Imperial University to study French literature and modern drama. In 1920, he went to Paris and studied the history of French drama. After returning to Japan, he wrote dramas and novels and, in 1937, founded the Literature Theatre Company (Bungaku-za), which produced many famous actors and actresses, including his daughter, Kyōko Kishida.

His name is prefixed to the most famous prize for drama in Japan, the annual Kunio Kishida Award (Kishida Kunio Gikyoku-shô).

Major works

Drama

• Old Toys (1924)
• Autumn in Tirol (1924)
• Paper Balloon (1926)
• The Shower (1926)
• Diary of Falling Leaves (1927)
• Two Daughters of Mr. Sawa (1935)
• A Warm Current (1943)
• Hayamizu Girls School (1948)

Novel

• Rakuyou nikki

Further reading

• Rimer, J. Thomas (1974). Toward a modern Japanese theatre: Kishida Kunio. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691062495. 

References

• Hata, Ikuhiko (2002). Japan Modern Person's History Cyclopedia 日本近現代人物履歴事典. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press 東京大学出版会. ISBN 9784130301206. 

See also

• Mikio Naruse,who directed a film "Sudden Rain 驟雨" based on his plays.