Death of the Tea Master

Yasushi Inoue

Yasushi Inoue (井上靖, 1907–1991) was a Japanese novelist, poet, and essayist, best known for his historical works, a master of autobiographical prose and works about modernity, partly satirical. He brought back the traditions of the classic Monogatari novel and the nikki diaries to post-war literature, which was dominated by ego fiction and works focused on emotions and experiences.His novels The Samurai Banner of Furin Kazan, Sanada War Chronicles, Yodo dono no nikki (Noma Prize, 1961) and others deal with famous characters of ancient Japan, Tun-huang, Lou-Lan and Yang Guifei are about ancient China, The Blue Wolf (Bungei Shunju Reader’s Award 1960) and Wind and Waves (Yomiuri Prize 1964) depict Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan. The fictionalized biography Confucius won the Noma Prize in 1982.Numerous films and TV series have been made based on the works of Yasushi Inoue.Since 1964, he has been a member of the Japanese Academy of Arts, and he received the title of Honoured Cultural Worker in 1976. More details