Genji Keita (1912-1985) pioneered the new genre of "salaryman novels" with best-sellers such as "Third-class Executive" and became the first author from Toyama Prefecture to win the Naoki Prize. In recent years, Mariko Yamauchi's commentary on "Aozora Musume" has become popular, and he has been re-evaluated with a series of subsequent reprints of paperback editions.
After graduating from Toyama Commercial School, Genji joined Sumitomo Limited Partnership Company, where he continued to work for approximately 26 years, publishing a series of humorous novels that warmly explored the joys and sorrows of the life of a salaryman. His works, which reflected his own ideal of rewarding good and punishing evil and were in line with the times, resonated with readers, and many films and television dramas were made based on his novels. His engaging writing style, with its lively dialogue, and the fascinating stories have an enduring appeal even today. In his later years, he became interested in "ghost novels," which depict the grudges of salarymen and the darkness in the human heart.
This exhibition will explore the appeal of the world of Genji's works and the history of his career as a writer, focusing on his most famous and popular works, through handwritten manuscripts, original illustrations, photographs, and readings. Additionally, we will introduce his literary activities in his younger days, when he wrote poetry under his real name, Tanaka Tomio, through valuable notebooks and magazines from that time. Please enjoy the literary world of Genji Keita, which portrays both the good and evil of human beings.
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