Japan poet known for Peanuts and Astro Boy, Shuntaro Tanikawa, dies at 92

Shuntaro Tanikawa explored the poetic, not only in the repetitive music of the spoken word but also the magic hidden in little things

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Japanese poet and translator Shuntaro Tanikawa reads a poem during an interview in 2022. Photo: AP

Published: 12:32pm, 19 Nov 2024Updated: 12:40pm, 19 Nov 2024

Shuntaro Tanikawa, who pioneered modern Japanese poetry, poignant but conversational in its divergence from haiku and other traditions, has died. He was 92.

Tanikawa, who translated the Peanuts comic strip and penned the lyrics for the theme song of the animation series Astro Boy, died on November 13, his son Kensaku Tanikawa said on Tuesday. He said his father died at a Tokyo hospital due to old age.

Shuntaro Tanikawa stunned the literary world with his 1952 debut Two Billion Light Years of Solitude, a bold look at the cosmic in daily life, sensual, vivid but simple in its use of everyday language. Written before Gabriel García Márquez’ One Hundred Years of Solitude, it became a bestseller.

Tanikawa’s Kotoba Asobi Uta, or Word Play Songs, is a rhythmical experiment in juxtaposing words that sound similar, such as kappa, a mythical animal and rappa, a horn, that makes for a joyful singsong compilation, filled with alliterations and onomatopoeia.

“For me, the Japanese language is the ground. Like a plant, I place my roots, drink in the nutrients of the Japanese language, sprouting leaves, flowers and bearing fruit,” he said in a 2022 interview at his Tokyo home.

Tanikawa pictured in 2007. He was also known for his translations of the American cartoon strip “Peanuts”. Photo: Kyodo

Tanikawa explored the poetic, not only in the repetitive music of the spoken word but also the magic hidden in little things.