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Kazuo Dan | |
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| Native name | 檀 一雄 |
| Born | (1912-02-13)13 February 1912 Tsuru, Yamanashi, Japan |
| Died | 2 January 1976(1976-01-02) (aged 63) Fukuoka (city) Japan |
| Occupation | novelist, journalist, poet |
| Language | Japanese |
| Literary movement | Buraiha |
Kazuo Dan (檀 一雄,Dan Kazuo, February 3, 1912 – January 2, 1976) was aJapanese novelist and poet.
Dan was born in what is now part ofTsuru,Yamanashi Prefecture, to a family originally fromKyūshū. His father's work required frequent changes of residence, so Dan grew up with his grandparents inYanagawa from age 6 onwards. His parents were divorced when Dan was nine, and he subsequently moved to live with his father inAshikaga,Tochigi Prefecture, where he led a solitary life, walking over hills and fields. In 1928, at age 16, he entered Fukuoka City High School, where he began his literary life by publishing poems, novels and plays in the school magazine. In 1932, he entered theTokyo Imperial University from which he received a degree in economics.
After graduation, Dan dedicated himself entirely to writing, and in 1944 won theNoma Prize while serving as a newspaper war correspondent. Returning to Japan at the end ofWorld War II, he married his wife Yosoko in Yanagawa. They moved to Tokyo, where he resumed his literary activities and won the prestigious 1950Naoki Prize. During his career, he wrote novels and poetry, and traveled extensively in Japan, Europe, the United States, China, Russia, Australia and New Zealand. He lived inSanta Cruz on the seacoast west ofTorres Vedras,Portugal, from 1971 to 1972 in a house on a street that now bears his name, Rua Professor Kazuo Dan, Nº 6. After his return to Japan, he retired to the island ofNokonoshima,Fukuoka Prefecture. He died from cancer in theKyushu University Hospital. His grave is at the Buddhist temple ofFukugon-ji in Yanagawa, Fukuoka.
Dan received the 1975Yomiuri Prize forKataku no hito. There is a monument to Dan's memory in Santa Cruz, and another on Nokonoshima Island. In addition, his poetry is engraved on stone alongside the canals ofYanagawa.
His daughter is the actressFumi Dan.[1]
