1. Mutsuo Takahashi is one of the most prominent and prolific poets, essayists, and writers of contemporary Japan, with more than three dozen collections of poetry, several works of prose, dozens of books of essays, and several major literary prizes to his name.
Mutsuo Takahashi is well known for his open writing about male homoeroticism.
Especially important to him during this time was an uncle that served a pivotal figure in Mutsuo Takahashi's development, serving as a masculine role model.
The uncle, whom Mutsuo Takahashi later described in many early poems, was sent to the Burma Campaign, where he died of illness.
About the same time, Mutsuo Takahashi sent the collection to the novelist Yukio Mishima who contacted him and offered to use his name to help promote Mutsuo Takahashi's work.
Around 1975, Mutsuo Takahashi's writing began to explore a wider range of themes, such as the destiny of mankind, Mutsuo Takahashi's travels to many nations around the world, and relationships in the modern world.
For instance, in 2010, Mutsuo Takahashi has produced a slim book of poems to accompany a 2010 exhibition of the work of the American artist Joseph Cornell.
Mutsuo Takahashi has been the recipient of a number of important literary prizes in Japan, such as the Rekitei Prize, the Yomiuri Literary Prize, the Takami Jun Prize, the Modern Poetry Hanatsubaki Prize, and the Shika Bungakukan Prize, and in 2000, he earned the prestigious Kunsho award for his contributions to modern Japanese literature.
Mutsuo Takahashi's poems have been translated into languages as diverse as Chinese, Norwegian, Spanish, and Afrikaans.
Mutsuo Takahashi frequently gives readings and lectures around the world.