Yuzo Yamamoto

Who was Yuzo Yamamoto?

Yuzo Yamamoto was a Japanese novelist and playwright. His real name was written 山本 勇造 but pronounced the same as his pen-name. He was born to a family of kimono makers in Tochigi-city, Tochigi Prefecture.

After graduating Tokyo Imperial University, in 1920 he made his literary debut with the play The Crown of Life. Later, with the writers Kikuchi Kan and Akutagawa Ryūnosuke he helped to co-found the Japanese Writer’s Association and openly criticized Japan's wartime military government for its censorship policies.

After World War II he joined the debate on Japanese language reform, and from 1947 to 1953 he served in the National Diet as a member of the House of Councillors. He is well known for his opposition to the use of enigmatic expressions in written Japanese and his advocacy for the limited use of furigana. In 1965 he was awarded the prestigious Order of Culture.

After his death, Yamamoto’s large European-style house in Mitaka, Tokyo, was converted into the Yamamoto Yūzō Memorial Museum. There is also a museum dedicated to him in his hometown of Tochigi-city.