Famous Japanese Poets

Ryunosuke Akutagawa was a Japanese writer best remembered for writing more than 150 short stories including In a Grove which inspired the 1950 film Rashōmon. Considered the father of the Japanese short story, Ryunosuke Akutagawa's brief career helped inspire his friend Kan Kikuchi to create Akutagawa Prize, a literary award for new writers, which is named in his honor.

Basho was a Japanese poet of the Edo period. Regarded as the greatest master of haiku, Basho's poetry is read all over the world; many of his works have been translated into English. Such is his popularity that in 1979 a crater on planet Mercury was named after him by the International Astronomical Union.

Japanese pop icon Ayumi Hamasaki had started a TV career after moving to Tokyo at 14. She later gained fame with her dance hits and ballads. Also known for her dramatic costumes and videos, The Empress of J-pop has been rendered totally deaf in one ear, owing to a ear infection.

Saigo Takamori was a samurai and he is considered as one of the most influential samurais in Japanese history. He was one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. Saigo Takamori lived during the late Edo and early Meiji periods and led the imperial forces at the Battle of Toba–Fushimi. He was dubbed "the true last Samurai" after his death. 

Masako Natsume was a Japanese actress who achieved worldwide fame after playing Tripitaka in the popular Japanese television series Monkey. Throughout her brief career, Natsume won several awards like the Elan d'or Awards. Masako Natsume remains a household name in Japan; calendars and picture books featuring pictures of Masako Natsume are still popular today.

Daisaku Ikeda is a Japanese Buddhist educator, author, philosopher, and nuclear disarmament advocate. He is best known for serving as the founding president of the world's largest Buddhist lay organization, Soka Gakkai International (SGI). Daisaku Ikeda has won several international awards like the United Nations Peace Medal, Tagore Peace Award, and Rosa Parks Humanitarian Award.

Known as one of Japan’s most impactful bohemian romantic poets, Chūya Nakahara was often compared to French symbolist poets for his fine imagery. Also known as the Japanese Rimbaud, he was influenced by Dadaism, too. He tragically died of meningitis at 30, though his legacy of around 350 poems lives on.

Soseki Natsume was a Japanese novelist best remembered for his novels Botchan, Kusamakura, Kokoro, and I Am a Cat. He is credited with influencing other popular writers like Kume Masao and Akutagawa Ryūnosuke. Natsume's works have caught the attention of global readers in the 21st century; since 2001 his books have been translated into 10 languages, including English and Dutch.

Tenth-century Japanese writer Sei Shōnagon was patronized by Empress Teishi. The daughter of a scholar/poet, she is best remembered for The Pillow Book, which was a vivid classification of the things and people she saw around her, such as Annoying Things. She was particularly popular for her wit.

A court scholar, Sugawara Michizane had held various significant posts, such as the governor of Sanuki and the minister of the right. He redefined Chinese literature, particularly Kanshi poetry, but was later exiled to an island for suspected treason. He is revered as the deity of learning and literature, Tenman-Tenjin.

One of the greatest ukiyo-e woodblock artists of Japan, Yoshitoshi depicted everything from folklore and kabuki subjects to ghost stories through his works. A student of Kuniyoshi, he suffered immense mental trauma during the Meiji Restoration. He later worked as Taiso but spent his final years in an asylum.

Nineteenth-century Japanese haiku poet Kobayashi Issa, or Issa, who had penned more than 20,000 haiku, remains one of the Great Four haiku masters of his country. Known for his simple and lucid language, he mostly wrote about the common man. He is also said to have originated the Japanese I novel.

As the Kyoto shugoshoku, or military governor, Matsudaira Katamori launched a successful campaign against the Hagi extremists. He also made efforts to unite the Imperial Court and the Shogunate and played a major role in Meiji restoration. He surrendered following an attack and became a Shinto priest.

Yosano Akiko was a Japanese author, social reformer, poet, pacifist, and feminist. One of the most controversial and popular woman poets of Japan, Yosano was an important exponent of a genre of classical Japanese poetry called Tanka. She also contributed immensely to several publications like Bluestocking.

Though born into an affluent Japanese family, Yosa Buson renounced his wealth and traveled far and wide to master painting and the art of haiku. His poetic experiments included mingling Chinese and Japanese poetry. He played a major role in popularizing the Nan-ga style of Japanese painting.

Fujiwara no Teika was a Japanese anthologist, literary critic, calligrapher, novelist, scribe, and poet. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Japanese poets of all time, Fujiwara no Teika was very influential during the late-Heian and early-Kamakura periods. Considered the greatest exponent of the waka form, Fujiwara no Teika's ideas dominated classical Japanese poetry for centuries after his death.

Fumiko Hayashi was a Japanese poet and novelist whose works are remembered for their feminist themes. Many of her works, which revolved around troubled relationships and free-spirited women, were adapted into films. Her best-known work Hōrōki was not only adapted into an anime but was also translated into English. Fumiko Hayashi's life inspired a biographical film titled A Wanderer's Notebook.

Ozaki Kōyō was a Japanese poet and author. He is credited with founding a literary magazine called Ken'yūsha which was published widely during Meiji era Japan. Some of his works, such as Tajō Takon and Konjiki Yasha, were serialized for magazines. Ozaki Kōyō is also credited with mentoring students like Izumi Kyōka and Tokuda Shūsei, who became famous authors themselves.

Born into the Ōtomo clan, which served as bureaucrats and personal guards of the imperial leaders, Ōtomo no Yakamochi began his political journey as the governor of Etchū. A skilled poet who excelled in waka poetry, he had also co-compiled one of the best works of classical Japanese poems, Man’yōshū.

Shimazaki Tōson was a Japanese author best remembered for popularizing naturalism in Japanese fiction. He is also credited with co-creating the Meiji Romanticism literary movement in Japan. His book The Broken Commandment was widely regarded as a landmark in Japanese realism. The Broken Commandment is also considered the first Japanese naturalist novel.

Masao Kume was a Japanese novelist, playwright, and haiku poet. Kume is credited with founding the People's Arts Movement by joining hands with Mantarō Kubota and Kaoru Osanai. An important figure in Kamakura literary circles, Masao Kume helped found the Kamakura Carnival as well as the Kamakura P.E.N. Club.

Born into an aristocratic family, Saneatsu Mushanokōji was well-educated but left university without graduating, to begin writing instead. He co-founded the journal Shirakaba. A believer of humanistic optimism, he penned novels such as A Happy Man. A skilled painter, too, he was known for his still lifes. He wrote poems, too.

Kō Machida is a Japanese author, poet, punk rock singer, and actor. He is credited with forming a band called Inu, which released its debut album Meshi Kuuna in 1981. When the band dissolved shortly after the release of the album, Kō Machida went on to form several other bands and came up with numerous albums.

Seventeenth-century Japanese calligrapher and haiku poet Hanabusa Itchō deviated from the Kanō school to focus on humorous topics. Though similar to the ukiyo-e school of wood-block work, his art depicted subjects other than actors and courtesans. He was once exiled for caricaturing the shogun but returned to launch a painting school.

Japanese tanka poet of the Meiji period, Itō Kōjirō, better known by his pseudonym Itō Sachio, was also a literary critic and editor and a close disciple of author Masaoka Shiki. His classic love tale The Wild Daisy was later turned into multiple movies. He also popularized the Japanese tea ceremony

Best known for his war novel Zone of Emptiness, which is now hailed as a classic, Hiroshi Noma was also drawn toward Symbolism in his youth. After graduating in French literature, he was involved in student and labor movements and later also fought in World War II.