Kan Kikuchi

Hiroshi Kikuchi (菊池 寛, Kikuchi Hiroshi, December 26, 1888 – March 6, 1948), known by his pen name Kan Kikuchi (which uses the same kanji as his real name), was a Japanese author born in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. He established the publishing company Bungeishunjū, the monthly magazine of the same name, the Japan Writer's Association and both the Akutagawa and Naoki Prize for popular literature. During the Meiji period, Kikuchi Kan's main focus was to accurately portray the hardships of the daily lives of the common people. He was one of the leading playwrights during the Meiji period. In 1920, Kikuchi Kan's success was more recognized by the general public after the success of one of his pieces of work, Shinju fujin (真珠夫人 Madame Pearl). He was also the head of Daiei Motion Picture Company (currently Kadokawa Pictures). He is known to have been an avid player of Mahjong.

Early career

In 1904-1905 after the Russo-Japanese War, literature in Japan grew more modern. French Realism was one of the first influences that immersed into Japan's literature. Building from the famous and classic works from the West, which include diaries and autobiographies, Japanese writers formulated a style of fictional writing that is eventually called shinkyo-shosetsu. Other major influences from Western countries in Europe in addition to works from India and China contributed to the creation of modern literature in Japan. In comparison to literature in European countries, new Japanese literature did not achieve as much popularity; few works of Japanese playwrights were translated into European languages. Kikuchi Kan saw the language barrier and inaccuracy of translation as part of the central cause for this.