Kobo Abe (Kimifusa): the world as a hieroglyph. Abe, Kobo: biography Various facts from life

10.07.2019

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Biography of Kobo Abe Kobo Abe (real name Abe Kimifusa) (March 7, 1924, Tokyo January 22, 1993) an outstanding Japanese writer, playwright and screenwriter, one of the leaders of the Japanese post-war avant-garde in art. The main theme of creativity is the opposition of a person and a hostile society. Films were made by director Hiroshi Tesigahara based on the works "Woman in the Sands", "Alien Face" and "The Burnt Map" in the 1900s. Kobo Abe (real name Abe Kimifusa) (March 7, 1924, Tokyo January 22, 1993) an outstanding Japanese writer, playwright and screenwriter, one of the leaders of the Japanese post-war avant-garde in art. The main theme of creativity is the opposition of a person and a hostile society. Films were made by director Hiroshi Tesigahara based on the works "Woman in the Sands", "Alien Face" and "The Burnt Map" in the 1900s.

Life and work The future writer spent his childhood years in Manchuria, where he graduated from the secondary school in 1940. After returning to Japan, after completing his secondary education, in 1943 he entered the medical faculty of the Tokyo Imperial University. While still a student, in 1947 he married the artist Mati Abe, who in the future will play an important role, in particular, in the design of Abe's books and scenery for his theatrical productions. In 1948, Abe graduated from the university, however, having passed the state qualifying medical examination unsatisfactorily, in fact, he deliberately lost the opportunity to become a practicing doctor. The future writer spent his childhood in Manchuria, where he graduated from high school in 1940. After returning to Japan, after completing his secondary education, in 1943 he entered the medical faculty of the Tokyo Imperial University. While still a student, in 1947 he married the artist Mati Abe, who in the future will play an important role, in particular, in the design of Abe's books and scenery for his theatrical productions. In 1948, Abe graduated from the university, however, having passed the state qualifying medical examination unsatisfactorily, in fact, he deliberately lost the opportunity to become a practicing doctor. In 1947, based on his personal experience of life in Manchuria, Abe wrote a collection of poetry, Anonymous Poems, which he published himself. In his poems, young Abe, along with an expression of the despair of the post-war youth, appealed to readers with an appeal to protest against reality. In the same year, 1947, Abe wrote his first work of a large form, called "Clay Walls". In 1947, based on his personal experience of life in Manchuria, Abe wrote a collection of poetry, Anonymous Poems, which he published himself. In his poems, young Abe, along with an expression of the despair of the post-war youth, appealed to readers with an appeal to protest against reality. In the same year, 1947, Abe wrote his first work of a large form, called "Clay Walls".

In 1950, Abe, together with Hiroshi Tesigahara and Shinichi Segi, created the creative association "Century". In 1951, the story “The Wall. The crime of S. Karma. " The story “The Wall. The Crime of S. Karma "in the first half of 1951 was awarded the Akutagawa Prize, dividing the primacy with Toshimitsu Ishikawa's" Spring Grass "published in the Literary World. In 1973, Abe created and headed his own theater "Studio Abe Kobo", which marked the beginning of a period of his fruitful dramatic creativity. At the time of its opening, the Abe Theater consisted of 12 people. The performances of the experimental group were repeatedly demonstrated abroad, where they were highly appreciated. Despite the fact that Abe's non-trivial innovative approach caused a great resonance in the theatrical world of each of the countries where Abe Kobo Studio toured, while remaining ignored by critics in Japan itself, in the 1980s, Abe Theater gradually ceased to exist.

Late at night on December 25, 1992, after a cerebral hemorrhage, Abe was hospitalized. Despite the fact that after returning from the hospital, the course of treatment was continued already at home, starting on January 20, 1993, the state of health began to deteriorate sharply, as a result of which, early in the morning of January 22, the writer died suddenly of cardiac arrest at the age of 68. Kenzaburo Oe, putting Abe on a par with Kafka and Faulkner and considering him one of the greatest writers in the entire history of literature, said that if Abe had lived longer, he, and not Oe himself, who was awarded her in 1994, would certainly have received the Nobel Prize in literature.

Miscellaneous Life Facts 1. Abe was the first Japanese writer to compose his works by typing them into a word processor (since 1984). Abe used NEC programs "NWP-10N" and "Bungo". 2. Abe's musical tastes were versatile. He is a big fan of Pink Floyd. In addition, Abe acquired the synthesizer long before it was widely adopted in Japan. The synthesizer was used by Abe in the following way: he recorded programs from interviews transmitted by NHK and independently processed them to create sound effects that served as accompaniment in the theatrical productions of Abe Kobo Studio. 3. Abe is also known for his interest in photography, which went far beyond mere hobby and bordered on mania. Photography, revealing itself through the themes of surveillance and peeping, is ubiquitous in Abe's artwork. Abe's photographs are used in the design of the published "Shinchsha" of the complete collection of Abe's works: they can be seen on the reverse side of each of the volumes of the collection. Garbage dumps were among the favorite subjects of photography. 4. Abe holds a patent for a simple and comfortable snow chain ("Chainiziee"), which can be put on the tires of a car without using a jack. The invention was demonstrated by him at the 10th International Exhibition of Inventors, where Abe was awarded a silver medal.

Briefly about the novels of Kobo Abe The novel "Woman in the Sands" (1960) marks the beginning of Abe's novels. The author's attention is fixed on the process of changing psychology, the consciousness of Nika - a modest teacher, a rather ordinary personality. In the past, having dreamed of at least something to become famous, in the present he suddenly finds himself together with a lonely woman in captivity of a huge sand pit. The hero, helping her from day to day to shovel the sand out of the hole, threatening to fall from the sea shore onto the village and destroy, fill up all the dwellings, constantly feels an internal discord: “If every time you save your neighbors who are dying of hunger, there will be no time left for anything else. ... ". In a state of extreme despair, moral and physical fatigue, he attempts to escape from this strange trap, but "his thought runs back." The hero neglects his freedom, returns to the bottom of a terrible pit. Long, soul-exhausting reflections on the rights of the individual, on the law in the conditions of inhuman existence lead him to abandon his “I”, thereby bringing him closer to the all-human “we”. "In the sand, along with the water, he seemed to have discovered a new person in himself." The novel "Woman in the Sands" (1960) marks the beginning of Abe's novels. The author's attention is fixed on the process of changing psychology, the consciousness of Nika - a modest teacher, a rather ordinary personality. In the past, having dreamed of at least something to become famous, in the present he suddenly finds himself together with a lonely woman in captivity of a huge sand pit. The hero, helping her from day to day to shovel the sand out of the hole, threatening to fall from the sea shore onto the village and destroy, fill up all the dwellings, constantly feels an internal discord: “If every time you save your neighbors who are dying of hunger, there will be no time left for anything else. ... ". In a state of extreme despair, moral and physical fatigue, he attempts to escape from this strange trap, but "his thought runs back." The hero neglects his freedom, returns to the bottom of a terrible pit. Long, soul-exhausting reflections on the rights of the individual, on the law in the conditions of inhuman existence lead him to abandon his “I”, thereby bringing him closer to the all-human “we”. "In the sand, along with the water, he seemed to have discovered a new person in himself."

The novel "Alien's Face" tells how, as a result of an explosion in a laboratory, monstrous scars were formed on a person's face. The hero-narrator is convinced that his ugliness has blocked his path to people. Now he is doomed to be alone. But the hero decides to overcome the tragedy. There is only one way - to cover your face with a mask. Everything turns out to be more complicated, because the hero does not know the true nature of the mask, he does not know that a person is always in a mask. The novel "Alien's Face" tells how, as a result of an explosion in a laboratory, monstrous scars were formed on a person's face. The hero-narrator is convinced that his ugliness has blocked his path to people. Now he is doomed to be alone. But the hero decides to overcome the tragedy. There is only one way - to cover your face with a mask. Everything turns out to be more complicated, because the hero does not know the true nature of the mask, he does not know that a person is always in a mask. The hero of the novel Abe comes to an important discovery: all people strive to identify the external appearance with the internal content. He is imbued with the conviction that the face and soul are in a very definite relationship. Hence the desire to hide your true face, so as not to allow strangers to penetrate into the soul. That is why, the hero argues, in ancient times, executioners, inquisitors, robbers could not do without a mask. The mask is designed to hide the appearance of a person, to break the connection between the face and the heart, to free him from the spiritual bonds that connect him with people. It is enough to cover up your real face with a mask, and the true essence of a person is revealed, sometimes very unattractive, if not even scary. Consequently, a person's face is something much more important than we are accustomed to believe, since everything in our life, including order, customs, laws, is “a sandy fortress, ready to crumble, held by a thin layer of skin - a real face”. The hero of the novel Abe comes to an important discovery: all people strive to identify the external appearance with the internal content. He is imbued with the conviction that the face and soul are in a very definite relationship. Hence the desire to hide your true face, so as not to allow strangers to penetrate into the soul. That is why, the hero argues, in ancient times, executioners, inquisitors, robbers could not do without a mask. The mask is designed to hide the appearance of a person, to break the connection between the face and the heart, to free him from the spiritual bonds that connect him with people. It is enough to cover up your real face with a mask, and the true essence of a person is revealed, sometimes very unattractive, if not even scary. Consequently, a person's face is something much more important than we are accustomed to believe, since everything in our life, including order, customs, laws, is “a sandy fortress, ready to crumble, held by a thin layer of skin - a real face”.

The popularity of Kobo Abe Of course, being a prose writer, playwright and director at the same time, writing for radio and television is far from easy. Abe believes that it is this versatility that allows him to better understand the synthetic nature of art. Perhaps this is why his novels are somewhat akin to dramatic works, for a writer must, Abe says, first affect feelings, evoke a spiritual response, and only then excite the mind. Of course, being a prose writer, playwright and director at the same time, writing for radio and television is far from easy. Abe believes that it is this versatility that allows him to better understand the synthetic nature of art. Perhaps this is why his novels are somewhat akin to dramatic works, for a writer must, Abe says, first affect feelings, evoke a spiritual response, and only then excite the mind. The popularity of Kobo Abe among readers, including in our country, is explained not only by the great skill of the writer, but also by the fact that in his novels he raises the most acute problems facing humanity. The main idea of his novels is a clash of a person with a hostile society and the futility of any attempts to get away from him, which give rise to a feeling of deep hopelessness. In bourgeois society, a person is a blade of grass, unable to determine his fate, which means that the main problem lies in the need to change the social structure, social conditions of human existence. The popularity of Kobo Abe among readers, including in our country, is explained not only by the great skill of the writer, but also by the fact that in his novels he raises the most acute problems facing humanity. The main idea of his novels is a clash of a person with a hostile society and the futility of any attempts to get away from him, which give rise to a feeling of deep hopelessness. In bourgeois society, a person is a blade of grass, unable to determine his fate, which means that the main problem lies in the need to change the social structure, social conditions of human existence. “To be published in Russia,” says Abe, “is a great honor for any writer. Each of my publications in the Soviet Union is a very joyful event for me. First, because I am a longtime fan of Russian literature. Even in my school years, I was captivated by the work of two giants of Russian literature - Gogol and Dostoevsky. I have read almost everything they have written, and more than once, and I count myself among their students. " “To be published in Russia,” says Abe, “is a great honor for any writer. Each of my publications in the Soviet Union is a very joyful event for me. First, because I am a longtime fan of Russian literature. Even in my school years, I was captivated by the work of two giants of Russian literature - Gogol and Dostoevsky. I have read almost everything they have written, and more than once, and I count myself among their students. "

Abe's works always bear the stamp of the author's personal vision, a sense of the complexity of life. Everything created by the writer is marked by the insight of artistic talent, expresses the individuality of his consciousness, the satirical originality of his style. No leveling of the language: it remains clear, lively, rooted in living speech. The writer has his own distinctive handwriting. And their beliefs and attachments. It seems that his main pain was the pain for the man of that Japan, of which he is a contemporary. Perhaps there are not too many such writers in Japanese literature who so painfully experience a sense of guilt before society, the guilt of a person who himself lives in this social environment and who is obsessed with the tragedy of what is happening. Abe's works always bear the stamp of the author's personal vision, a sense of the complexity of life. Everything created by the writer is marked by the insight of artistic talent, expresses the individuality of his consciousness, the satirical originality of his style. No leveling of the language: it remains clear, lively, rooted in living speech. The writer has his own distinctive handwriting. And their beliefs and attachments. It seems that his main pain was the pain for the man of that Japan, of which he is a contemporary. Perhaps there are not too many such writers in Japanese literature who so painfully experience a sense of guilt before society, the guilt of a person who himself lives in this social environment and who is obsessed with the tragedy of what is happening.

Childhood future writer Kobo Abe spent in Manchuria, where in 1940 he graduated from the secondary school. After returning to Japan, after completing his secondary education at Seijou School, in 1943 he entered the Medical Faculty of Tokyo Imperial University. While still a student, in 1947 he married the artist Mati Abe, who in the future will play an important role, in particular, in the design of Abe's books and scenery for his theatrical productions. In 1948, Abe graduated from the university, however, having passed the state qualifying medical examination unsatisfactorily, in fact, he deliberately lost the opportunity to become a practicing doctor.

In 1947, based on his personal experience of life in Manchuria, Abe wrote a collection of poetry "Anonymous Poems", which he published himself, having printed the entire circulation of the 62-page book on a mimeograph. In poems where the strong influence on the author of poetry Rilke and the philosophy of Heidegger was evident, young Abe, along with an expression of the despair of the post-war youth, appealed to readers with an appeal to protest against reality.

In the same year, 1947, Abe wrote his first work of a large form, called "Clay Walls". The first person in the literary world to get acquainted with this work and gave it a high assessment was the critic and Germanist philologist Rokuro Abe, who taught Abe the German language when he was still at the Sejo high school during the war years. The narrative in "Walls of Clay" is built in the form of three volumes of notes by a young Japanese man who, having decisively severed all ties with his hometown, leaves to wander, but as a result is captured by one of the Manchurian gangs. Deeply impressed by this work, Rokuro Abe sent the text to Yutaka Haniya, who recently created the then little-known magazine "Contemporary Literature". The first volume of notes from the "Clay Walls" in February of the following year was published in the magazine "Individuality". Having thus gained some fame, Abe received an invitation to join the "Night" group, which was led by Yutaka Haniya, Kiyoteru Hanada and Taro Okamoto. In October 1948, the Clay Walls, renamed "Signpost at the End of the Road," with the support of Haniya and Hanada, were published as a separate book by the Shinzenbisha Publishing House. Later, in his review of The Wall, Haniya, who highly appreciated Abe's work, wrote that Abe, who in some sense can be considered a follower of Haniya, surpassed him, his predecessor.

In 1950, Abe, together with Hiroshi Tesigahara and Shinichi Segi, created the creative association "Century".

In 1951, the story was published in the February issue of the magazine "Contemporary Literature" "Wall. The crime of S. Karma "... This extraordinary piece was partly inspired by "Alice in Wonderland" Lewis Carroll, thematically based on Abe's memories of life in the Manchurian steppe, and also demonstrated the influence on the author of his friend, literary critic and writer Kiyoteru Hanada. The story “The Wall. The Crime of S. Karma "in the first half of 1951 was awarded the Akutagawa Prize, dividing the primacy with Toshimitsu Ishikawa's" Spring Grass "published in the Literary World. Abe's story was heavily criticized by Koji Uno during the judging panel discussion, but Abe's enthusiastic support from other jury members, Yasunari Kawabata and Kosaku Takiya, played a decisive role in choosing the winner. In May of the same year “The Wall. The crime of S. Karma ", renamed into" The crime of S. Karma "and supplemented with stories "Badger from the Tower of Babel" and "Red cocoon" came out as a separate edition under the heading "Wall" with a foreword written by Jun Ishikawa.

In the 1950s, holding the positions of the literary avant-garde, Abe, together with Hiroshi Noma, joined the "Folk Literature" association, as a result of which, after the merger of "Folk Literature" with "New Japanese Literature", into the "New Japanese Literature Society" Communist Party of Japan. However, in 1961, after the 8th congress of the CPJ and the new course of the party determined at it, skeptical about it, Abe publicly criticized him, which was followed by his expulsion from the CPJ.

In 1973, Abe created and headed his own theater "Studio Abe Kobo", which marked the beginning of a period of his fruitful dramatic creativity. At the time of its opening, the Abe Theater consisted of 12 people. Thanks to the support of Seiji Tsutsumi, Abe's troupe was able to settle in Shibuya at the now called PARCO Seibu Theater. In addition, the performances of the experimental team were repeatedly demonstrated abroad, where they were highly appreciated. So in 1979 in the USA the play "The Elephant Died" was successfully performed. Despite the fact that Abe's non-trivial innovative approach caused a great resonance in the theatrical world of each of the countries where Abe Kobo Studio toured, while remaining ignored by critics in Japan itself, in the 1980s, Abe Theater gradually ceased to exist.

Around 1981, Abe's attention was drawn to the work of the German thinker Elias Canetti, coinciding with the award of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Around the same time, on the recommendation of his friend the Japaneseist Donald Keane, Abe became acquainted with the works of the Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez. The works of Canetti and Marquez shocked Abe so much that in his own writings and television appearances that followed, Abe enthusiastically began to popularize their work, contributing to a significant increase in the readership of these authors in Japan.

In 1992, Kobo Abe was elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He became the first Japanese writer and the third citizen of the Land of the Rising Sun - along with the composer Toru Takemitsu and the architect Kenzo Tange - to be awarded the title of honorary member of the prestigious overseas academy.

Kenzaburo Oe, putting Abe on a par with Kafka and Faulkner and considering him one of the greatest writers in the entire history of literature, said that if Abe had lived longer, he, and not Oe himself, who was awarded her in 1994, would certainly have received the Nobel Prize in literature.

Interesting Facts:

Abe was the first Japanese writer to compose his works by typing them into a word processor (since 1984). Abe used NEC programs "NWP-10N" and "Bungo".

Abe's musical tastes were versatile. As a big fan of Pink Floyd, he appreciated the music of Bela Bartok the most in academic music. In addition, Abe acquired a synthesizer long before it became widespread in Japan (at that time, apart from Abe, a synthesizer could only be found in the NHK Electronic Music Studio and composer Isao Tomita, and if we exclude those who used the synthesizer for professional purposes, then Abe was the only owner of this instrument in the country). The synthesizer was used by Abe in the following way: he recorded programs from interviews transmitted by NHK and independently processed them to create sound effects that served as accompaniment in the theatrical productions of Abe Kobo Studio.

Abe is also known for his interest in photography, which went far beyond mere hobby and bordered on mania. Photography, revealing itself through the themes of surveillance and peeping, is ubiquitous in Abe's artwork. Abe's photographs are used in the design of the published "Shinchsha" of the complete collection of Abe's works: they can be seen on the reverse side of each of the volumes of the collection. Abe the photographer preferred Contax cameras, and garbage dumps were among his favorite subjects of photography.

Abe holds a patent for a simple and comfortable snow chain ("Chainiziee") that can be slipped onto a car's tires without using a jack. The invention was demonstrated by him at the 10th International Exhibition of Inventors, where Abe was awarded a silver medal.

Fiction in the works of Kobo Abe.

In the July issue of Sekai magazine for 1958, the science fiction novel by Kobo Abe began to be published "The fourth ice age". Many HF historians regard this publication as the beginning of a new era in Japanese science fiction. And for the Japanese science fiction writers themselves, this event is significant. The appeal of a venerable writer and brilliant stylist to this genre took science fiction to new frontiers. In its form, "The Fourth Ice Age" is a classic HF novel: on the eve of a grandiose flood, scientists are trying to develop a new breed of amphibian people. In fact, this is a deeply philosophical parable about the tragedy of a talented man, suffocating in the narrow framework of his own philistine worldview.

Kobo Abe expanded the psychological (and literary) framework of Japanese HF. The writer also later turned to science fiction more than once. The "Fourth Ice Age", the only "purely HF" work by Kobo Abe, was followed by such masterpieces as "Alien face"(1964), "Kafkaesian" "Box Man"(1973), "post-nuclear" "Ark" Sakura "(1984) and a number of stories.

Most of Kobo Abe's works can undoubtedly be attributed to the fantasy genre. Therefore, the appearance of his bibliography on our site is natural and understandable.

1924 - 1993

Japanese novelist, playwright, poet, screenwriter, director.

03/07/1924. The future writer was born in Tokyo in the family of a doctor. He spent his childhood and youth in Mukden (Manchuria), where his father worked at the medical faculty of Mukden University.

1943. In the midst of the war, at the insistence of his father, Kobo Abe goes to Tokyo and enters the medical faculty of the local university.

1944 Kobo Abe leaves university and returns to Mukden. Then he is caught by the news of Japan's defeat in the war. The father, the breadwinner of the family, dies.

1946. Back in Tokyo. Kobo Abe is recovering at the university.

1947. Kobo Abe begins his creative career as a poet.

1948. Kobo Abe graduated from the University of Tokyo Medical School, but does not work as a doctor.

1950 The critically acclaimed story of Kobo Abe, The Red Cocoon, is published.

1951. Kobo Abe receives Japan's highest literary award named after Akutagawa for the story “The Wall. The crime of Mr. S. Karuma. " Passion for politics begins. Kobo Abe became a member of the Japanese Communist Party, from which he would later leave in protest against the introduction of Soviet troops into Hungary. The writer belongs to the literary group "sengo-ha" ("post-war group").

1963. Kobo Abe's first novel, The Woman in the Sands, is published.

1972-1973. One of the most famous works of Kobo Abe "The Box Man" is published.

1984. Dystopian novel "Entering the Ark" is published. 01/22/1993. Kobo Abe dies at the age of sixty-eight.

To understand Kobo Abe, it is not enough just to get acquainted with the writer's books, with films based on his works (for example, director Tesigahara "Woman in the Sands", 1964, "Alien Face", 1966) - you need to turn to the land and nature , to that culture and landscape in which the world created by him grew and took visible outlines, to comprehend the meaning and daily life of its existence. Kobo Abe belongs to his own country - old and new Japan, the country of the most ancient traditions, at the same time actively borrowing from Western culture. His work is born at the junction, in the interweaving of various trends of the modern and the past, east and west, in the juxtaposition of questions and answers, capable of giving rise to new and new questions.

The Japanese model of the world is called graphic - hieroglyphic, reflecting "hieroglyphic thinking", "Hieroglyphic universe" (VM Alekseev). It is these concepts that best characterize and symbolize the artistic world of Kobo Abe: this world is also a hieroglyph - mysterious and promising, inexhaustible and intricate, intricate, but still complete in its own way. “The city is a closed infinity. A labyrinth in which you will never get lost. This map is just for you, all areas on it have the same numbers. Therefore, even if you go astray, you will not be able to get lost ”(epigraph to the novel“ The Burned Map ”.).

The hieroglyphic model of the world is based on the conjugation, complementarity and interpenetration of imagery and symbolism. Unlike Western philosophy, where the concept of opposites, their struggle and unity is the basis of the world outlook, in Eastern philosophy the basis is the idea of mutual transition, “flowing” from one to another, “yang” into “yin”.

Likewise, Kobo Abe's fictional world is not opposed to the real one, but complements it, existing somewhere nearby, in a parallel dimension. Science fiction here does not contradict what was really happening in this world, but complements it according to the principle of recognition of probability. The plot in Kobo Abe's prose is determined by a detective plot: the disappearance of a person. Nicky Dumpey ("The Woman in the Sands"), Nemuro ("The Burned Map"), the heroes of "Alien Face" and "Box Man", a young soldier (story "The Ghost of a Soldier") disappear. They are looking for these heroes - and, above all, they are looking for themselves and they themselves (in a number of the writer's novels). This search for "others" or "ourselves" ends in a definite ending. What is this ending? Gain or loss? Finding yourself or losing humanity?

In any case, it is exactly what happens to a person, his moral world, his state of mind, his physical being in the reality transcoding human destinies, and becomes the writer's creative laboratory, a unique hieroglyph of Kobo Abe's artistic world.

Kobo Abe's works:

"Wall. The crime of Mr. S. Karuma. " The story. 1951.

"Hunt for slaves." Play. 1955.

"Ghosts Among Us". Play. 1958.

“The Legend of the Giants. 1960

"Fortress". Play. 1962.

"The Woman in the Sands". Novel. 1963. "Someone's Face". Novel. 1964

The Burned Map. Novel. 1967.

"The man turned into a club." Play. 1969.

"Box Man". Novel. 1973. Secret Date. Novel. 1977.

"Those who entered the ark." Novel. 1984.

Based on the article by G.E. Adamovich (abbreviated)

in the book "Great writers of the twentieth century"

Abe Kobo, present name - Abe Kimifusa; March 7, 1924, Kita, Tokyo, Empire of Japan - January 22, 1993, Tokyo, Japan) - an outstanding Japanese writer, playwright and screenwriter, one of the leaders of the Japanese post-war avant-garde in art. The main theme of creativity is a person's search for his own identity in the modern world. Based on the novels "The Woman in the Sands", "Alien Face" and "The Burnt Map" in the 1960s, films were made by director Hiroshi Tesigahara.

The future writer spent his childhood in Manchuria, where he graduated from high school in 1940. After returning to Japan, after completing his secondary education at Seijou School, in 1943 he entered the Medical Faculty of Tokyo Imperial University. While still a student, in 1947 he married the artist Mati Abe, who in the future will play an important role, in particular, in the design of Abe's books and scenery for his theatrical productions. In 1948, Abe graduated from the university, however, having passed the state qualifying medical examination unsatisfactorily, in fact, he deliberately lost the opportunity to become a practicing doctor.

I don't know how many pillars the world is supported by, but at least three of them are probably darkness, ignorance and stupidity.

In 1947, based on his personal experience of life in Manchuria, Abe wrote a collection of poetry "Anonymous Poems", which he published himself, having printed the entire circulation of the 62-page book on a mimeograph. In poems, where the strong influence on the author of poetry Rilke and the philosophy of Heidegger was evident, young Abe, along with an expression of the despair of the post-war youth, appealed to readers with an appeal to protest against reality.

In the same year, 1947, Abe wrote his first work of a large form, called "Clay Walls". The first person in the literary world who got acquainted with this work and gave it a high assessment was the critic and Germanist philologist Rokuro Abe, who taught Abe the German language when he was still at the Sejo high school during the war years. The narrative in "Walls of Clay" is built in the form of three volumes of notes by a young Japanese man who, having decisively severed all ties with his hometown, leaves to wander, but as a result is captured by one of the Manchurian gangs. Deeply impressed by this work, Rokuro Abe sent the text to Yutaka Haniya, who recently created the then little-known magazine Contemporary Literature. The first volume of notes from the "Clay Walls" in February of the following year was published in the magazine "Individuality". Having thus gained some fame, Abe received an invitation to join the "Night" group, which was led by Yutaka Haniya, Kiyoteru Hanada and Taro Okamoto. In October 1948, the Clay Walls, renamed "Signpost at the End of the Road," with the support of Haniya and Hanada, were published as a separate book by the Shinzenbisha Publishing House. Later, in his review of The Wall, Haniya, who highly appreciated Abe's work, wrote that Abe, who in some sense can be considered a follower of Haniya, surpassed him, his predecessor.

In 1950, Abe, together with Hiroshi Tesigahara and Shinichi Segi, created the creative association "Century".

In 1951, the story “The Wall. The crime of S. Karma. " This extraordinary piece was inspired in part by Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, was thematically based on Abe's memories of life in the Manchurian steppe, and also demonstrated the influence on the author of his friend, literary critic and writer Kiyoteru Hanada. The story “The Wall. The Crime of S. Karma "in the first half of 1951 was awarded the Akutagawa Prize, dividing the primacy with Toshimitsu Ishikawa's" Spring Grass "published in the Literary World. Abe's story was heavily criticized by Koji Uno during the judging panel discussion, but Abe's enthusiastic support from other jury members, Yasunari Kawabata and Kosaku Takiya, played a decisive role in choosing the winner. In May of the same year “The Wall. The Crime of S. Karma, renamed The Crime of S. Karma and supplemented by the stories The Badger from the Tower of Babel and The Red Cocoon, was published as a separate publication under the title The Wall with a preface written by Jun Ishikawa.

In the 1950s, holding the positions of the literary avant-garde, Abe, together with Hiroshi Noma, joined the "Folk Literature" association, as a result of which, after the merger of "Folk Literature" with "New Japanese Literature", he joined the "Society for New Japanese Literature" the party of Japan. However, in 1961, after the 8th congress of the CPJ and the new course of the party determined at it, skeptically accepting it, Abe publicly criticized him, which was followed by his expulsion from the CPJ.

The country: Japan
Was born: 1924-03-07
Died: 1993-01-22

Real name:

Abe Kimifusa

The future writer Kobo Abe spent his childhood in Manchuria, where he graduated from high school in 1940. After returning to Japan, after completing his secondary education at Seijou School, in 1943 he entered the Medical Faculty of Tokyo Imperial University. While still a student, in 1947 he married the artist Mati Abe, who in the future will play an important role, in particular, in the design of Abe's books and scenery for his theatrical productions. In 1948, Abe graduated from the university, however, having passed the state qualifying medical examination unsatisfactorily, in fact, he deliberately lost the opportunity to become a practicing doctor.

In 1950, Abe, together with Hiroshi Tesigahara and Shinichi Segi, created the creative association "Century".

In 1951, the story “The Wall. The crime of S. Karma. " This extraordinary piece was inspired in part by Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, was thematically based on Abe's memories of life in the Manchurian steppe, and also demonstrated the influence on the author of his friend, literary critic and writer Kiyoteru Hanada. The story “The Wall. The Crime of S. Karma "in the first half of 1951 was awarded the Akutagawa Prize, dividing the primacy with Toshimitsu Ishikawa's" Spring Grass "published in the Literary World. Abe's story was heavily criticized by Koji Uno during the judging panel discussion, but Abe's enthusiastic support from other jury members, Yasunari Kawabata and Kosaku Takiya, played a decisive role in choosing the winner. In May of the same year “The Wall. The Crime of S. Karma ", renamed" The Crime of S. Karma "and supplemented by the stories" The Badger from the Tower of Babel "and" The Red Cocoon "was published as a separate publication under the title" The Wall "with a foreword written by Jun Ishikawa.

Interesting Facts:

Abe was the first Japanese writer to compose his works by typing them into a word processor (since 1984). Abe used NEC programs "NWP-10N" and "Bungo".

Fiction in the works of Kobo Abe.

In the July issue of Sekai magazine for 1958, Kobo Abe's science fiction novel The Fourth Ice Age began to be published. Many HF historians regard this publication as the beginning of a new era in Japanese science fiction. And for the Japanese science fiction writers themselves, this event is significant. The appeal of a venerable writer and brilliant stylist to this genre took science fiction to new frontiers. In its form, "The Fourth Ice Age" is a classic HF novel: on the eve of a grandiose flood, scientists are trying to develop a new breed of amphibian people. In fact, this is a deeply philosophical parable about the tragedy of a talented man, suffocating in the narrow framework of his own philistine worldview.

Kobo Abe expanded the psychological (and literary) framework of Japanese HF. The writer also later turned to science fiction more than once. The "Fourth Ice Age", the only "purely HF" work by Kobo Abe, was followed by such masterpieces as "Alien Face" (1964), "Kafkaesque" "Box Man" (1973), "post-nuclear" "Ark" Sakura "(1984) and a number of stories.

Kobo Abe (Kimifusa): the world as a hieroglyph. Abe, Kobo: biography Various facts from life

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