1. Hidemi Kon was a literary critic and essayist active in Japan during the Showa period.
17 Facts About Hidemi Kon
1. 2.
Hidemi Kon's father was a captain of a steamer operated by Nippon Yusen, and the family relocated to Kobe from 1911.
3.
Hidemi Kon's classmates included Hideo Kobayashi and Tatsuji Miyoshi, During this period, he became interested in drama, visiting the Tsukiji New Theater, and took part in stage plays as a member of the Kokoroza, a theatrical company created by kabuki and stage actors as an effort to create a more modern version of traditional Japanese theater.
4.
Hidemi Kon was hired as a lecturer by Meiji University in 1932.
5.
Hidemi Kon visited Paris for half of 1937, and returned to his former position at Meiji University in 1939.
6.
In November 1941, Hidemi Kon was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army; however, the army recognized his talents and assigned him to the press corps in Japanese-occupied Philippines.
7.
Hidemi Kon returned to Japan once on leave, but was sent back to the Philippines in December 1944.
8.
Hidemi Kon hid in the mountains of Luzon for five months with several narrow escapes from death in combat while reporting on the fleeing Imperial Japanese Army.
9.
Hidemi Kon escaped the Philippines on a jury-rigged Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Aircraft to Taiwan, and was flying in a DC-3 from Taipei to Fukuoka when word came of the surrender of Japan.
10.
In 1946, Hidemi Kon returned to Manila again, this time as a witness for the war crimes trial of Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma.
11.
In 1949, Hidemi Kon published Sanchu Horo, a story based on his wartime experiences in the Philippines, which marked the start of his literary career.
12.
Hidemi Kon received the Naoki Prize for his short story, Tenno no Boshi in 1950.
13.
Hidemi Kon lost his sight in one eye due to retinal detachment in 1966.
14.
In June 1968, Prime Minister Eisaku Sato asked Hidemi Kon to accept the newly created position of Director of the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
15.
Hidemi Kon was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasures in 1974.
16.
Hidemi Kon was made honorary director of the National Theatre of Japan in 1980.
17.
Hidemi Kon's grave is at the Catholic Cemetery in Kamakura.