Kansuke Naka

Who was Kansuke Naka?

Kansuke Naka was a Japanese novelist and essayist.

He was born in Tokyo. He was a pupil of Natsume Sōseki, who arranged the publication of his first novel, the nostalgic depiction of childhood Gin no saji in Asahi Shimbun. He was praised by Tetsurō Watsuji, a leading critic, and also by Zhou Zuoren for his rare willingness to criticise Japanese nationalists. He also wrote Inu and Rōkan. From 1926-32 he lived in Hiratsuka, but he spent most of his life in Tokyo apart from an evacuation to Shizuoka Prefecture during World War II. He married Kazuko Shimada in 1942.