Noted Japanese Poet Shuntaro Tanikawa Dies at 92

Tokyo, Nov. 19 (Jiji Press)--Shuntaro Tanikawa, one of the leading poets of post-World War II Japan, died of old age at a hospital in Tokyo last Wednesday. He was 92.

Born in Tokyo in 1931 as the eldest son of philosopher Tetsuzo Tanikawa, Shuntaro Tanikawa started writing poems as a teenager.

His talent caught the attention of famous Japanese poet Tatsuji Miyoshi, and his first book of poems, "Two Billion Light Years of Solitude," was published in 1952.

The work drew attention for Tanikawa's high sensitivity and deep appreciation of the world, as well as an underlying ethical theme based on his own war experience, and made Tanikawa known as a newcomer in postwar poetry.

Tanikawa continued to attract a wide range of readers with his fresh imagery style. Gradually taking an experimental approach in his poetry books such as "Definitions" and "Coca-Cola Lessons," Tanikawa created a new trend in modern poetry together with fellow Japanese poets such as Makoto Ooka.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]