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Gōzō Yoshimasu
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Name
Gozo Yoshimasu
Books
The Other Voice
Role
Poet
As though tattooing on my mind exhibition of gozo yoshimasu s works
Gōzō Yoshimasu (吉増 剛造|Yoshimasu Gōzō) (born 1939, Tokyo) is a prolific and highly acclaimed Japanese poet, photographer, artist and filmmaker active since the 1960s. He has received a number of literary and cultural awards, including the Takami Jun Prize (1971), the Rekitei Prize, the Purple Ribbon Medal in 2003 (given by the Government of Japan), the 50th Mainichi Art Award for Poetry (2009), and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays in 2013.
Major influences include Shinobu Orikuchi, Paul Klee, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, William Blake, John Cage, Patrick Chamoiseau. Many of his poems are multilingual, blending elements of French, English, Chinese, Korean, Gaelic, and more, and feature cross-linguistic and typographic wordplay. His poems rely on intimate experiences with geography and history, layering encounters in the present with a keen awareness of the past. His performances which often include film, the display of fetish objects, chanting, ritual procedures, and the collaboration of musicians and other artists, are legendary.
In a 2014 interview by Aki Onda on the MoMA blog "Post," Yoshimasu described the relationship of his poetry to performance by remarking, "My quest is to reclaim the poetry that lies at the root of performing arts."
His visual art has been gaining increased recognition, with the Japan Art Academy awarding him the Imperial Prize and the Japan Art Academy Prize in 2015.
gozocine films by gozo yoshimasu
Poetry anthologies
Departure (出発, Shingeijutsusha, 1964)
Anthology of Golden Age Poetry (黄金詩篇, Shichosha, 1970)
Tower of the Mind (頭脳の塔, Aochisha, 1971)
Kingdom (王國, Kawade Shobo Shinsha, 1973)
Exorcising My Demons (わが悪魔祓い, Seidosha, 1974)
I Am a Flaming Mirage (わたしは燃えたつ蜃気楼, Ozawashoten, 1976)
River Written in Cursive『草書で書かれた、川』(Shichosha, 1977)
Blue Sky『青空』(Kawade Shobo Shinsha, 1979)
Hot Wind a thousand steps『熱風 a thousand steps』(ChuōKōronsha, 1979)
Letter to the Tree Towering next to the Big Hospital 『大病院脇に聳えたつ一本の巨樹への手紙』(ChuōKōronsha, 1983)
Osiris, God of Stone『オシリス、石ノ神』(Shichosha, 1984)
Helix Songs『螺旋歌』(Kawade Shobo Shinsha, 1990)
August Sunset, Unicorn『八月の夕暮、一角獣よ』(Chūsekisha, 1992)
At the Entrance to the House of Fireworks『花火の家の入口で』(Seidosha, 1995)
“The Island of Snow,” or “The Ghost of Emily”『「雪の島」あるいは「エミリーの幽霊」』(Shūeisha, 1998)
Snake of Heaven, Bloom of Violet 『天上ノ蛇、紫のハナ』(Shūeisha, 2005)
Nowhere Tree『何処にもない木』(Shūeisha, 2006)
『表紙 omote‐gami』(Shichosha, 2008)
Naked Memo『裸のメモ』(Shoshi Yamada, 2011)
Exclusive anthologies
A number of major poetry publishers in Japan have published books anthologizing Yoshimasu's works over time. These works include poetry published in journals such as Gendai Shi Techo, as well as works published in individual volumes.
Garden of Gold Gone Blind『盲いた黄金の庭』(Iwanami shoten, 2010) (Photography collection.)
Mokpo Correspondence『木浦通信』(Yatate Shuppan, 2010)
Co-authored works
Bones of the Tree with Kido Shuri『木の骨』 (Yatate Shuppan, 1993)
Sea of Melted Snow: Tampopo and Tampupu 『はるみずのうみ - たんぽぽとたんぷぷ』ISBN 4946350527 (Yatate Shuppan, 1999)
Dolce/Sweetly: A New Encounter with Image and Word『ドルチェ-優しく―映像と言語、新たな出会い』with Aleksandr Nikolayevich Sokurov, Shimao Miho. ISBN 4000241192 (Iwanami Shoten, 2001)
Words that Quake to the Loom 『機―ともに震える言葉』関口涼子 ISBN 4879956805 (Shoshi Yamada, 2006)
Interviews/Dialogues
Yoshimasu's contributions to Japanese culture and artistic life have often included dialogues with cutting-edge creators from Japan and around the world. These include:
Ocean in a Boardgame, Cosmos in a Poem『盤上の海、詩の宇宙』ISBN 4309263194 (Kawade Shobo Shinsha, 1997) Conversations with Yoshiharu Habu
At the Edge of this Era『この時代の縁で』ISBN 4582829236 (Heibonsha, 1998) 市村弘正との対談
On the Shores of "Asia"『「アジア」の渚で』ISBN 4894344521(Fujiwara Shoten, 2005) Dialogue with / co-authored by Korean poet Ko Un
To the World as Archipelago『アーキペラゴ―群島としての世界へ』ISBN 4000220314 (Iwanami Shoten, 2006) Dialogue / epistolary exchange with Ryuta Imafuku, Professor of Anthropology and Communication at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
Translations into French
"Osiris: Dieu de pierre". Tr. Claude Mouchard and Makiko Ueda. Circé, 1989.
Ex-Voto, a thousand steps and more, translated by Ryoko Sekiguchi, Éditions Les petits matins October 2009.
The Other Voice, translated by Ryoko Sekiguchi, preface by Michel Deguy Éditions Caedere 2004.
Antique observatoire, translated by Claude Mouchard and Masatsugu Ono, illustrations by Daniel Pommereulle, Collection R / Avant post, 2001.
Translations into English
Devil’s Wind: A Thousand Steps or More. Ed./trans. Brenda Barrows, Thomas Fitzsimmons. Oakland University Press, 1980.
Osiris: The God of Stone. Tr. Hiroaki Sato. St. Andrew's Press, 1989.
"at the side (côtés) of poetry." Tr. Jeffrey Angles. Guernica, 5 Nov. 2012.
"火・Fire: To Adonis...". Tr. Jordan A. Yamaji Smith. Poetry Review, Vol. 103. No. 2 (Summer 2013), pp. 60–61.
ed. Forrest Gander. Alice, Iris, Red Horse: Selected Poems of Gozo Yoshimasu: a Book in and on Translation. Translated by Hiroaki Sato, Jeffrey Angles, Sawako Nakayasu, Jordan A. Yamaji Smith, Richard Arno, Auston Stewart, Eric Selland, Sayuri Okamoto & Derek Gromadzki. Forthcoming. [1]