کیکوچی کان

کیکوچی کان

Kan Kikuchi
Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture

Hiroshi Kikuchi (菊池 寛 Kikuchi Hiroshi?, December 26, 1888 – March 6, 1948), known by his pen name Kan Kikuchi (which uses the same kanji as his real name), was a Japanese author born in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. He established the publishing company Bungeishunjū, the monthly magazine of the same name, the Japan Writer's Association and both the Akutagawa and Naoki Prize for popular literature. During the Meiji period, Kikuchi Kan's main focus was to accurately portray the hardships of the daily lives of the common people. He was one of the leading playwrights during the Meiji period. In 1920, Kikuchi Kan's success was more recognized by the general public after the success of one of his pieces of work, Shinju fujin (真珠夫人 Madame Pearl). He was also the head of Daiei Motion Picture Company (currently Kadokawa Pictures). He is known to have been an avid player of Mahjong.