was a Japanese novelist and playwright. His real name was written as "山本 勇造" but pronounced the same as his pen name.
Biography
Yamamoto was born to a family of kimono makers in Tochigi City, Tochigi Prefecture. while the contemporary settings of his early plays later gave way to historical ones. and also wrote children's books. During World War II, he openly criticized Japan's wartime military government for its censorship policies On the other hand, Yamamoto was involved in establishing a guide issued by the government which gave instructions on how to write children's stories, and later joined the Patriotic Association for Japanese Literature (1942–1945).
Between 1947 and 1953, Yamamoto served in the National Diet as a member of the House of Councillors. His works have also repeatedly been adapted for film and television.
In 1996, Yamamoto's house in Mitaka, Tokyo, which had been expropriated during the occupation period following World War II, was converted into the Mitaka City Yūzō Yamamoto Memorial Museum. A museum dedicated to his memory was also opened in his hometown Tochigi.
Works (selected)
- 1920: Crown of Life (生命の冠, Inochi no kanmuri) stage play
- 1920: Infanticide (嬰児殺し, Eijigoroshi) stage play
- 1921: Sakazaki, Lord Dewa (坂崎出羽守, Sakazaki Dewa no Kami) stage play
- 1923: Dōshi no hitobito (同志の人々) stage play
- 1926: Nami (波) novel
- 1929: The Sad Tale of a Woman, the Story of Chink Okichi (Nyonin Aishi, Tojin Okichi monogatari) stage play
- 1933: Onna no isshō (女の一生) novel
- 1935: Shinjitsu ichiro (真実一路) novel
- 1937: Robō no ishi (路傍の石) novel
- 1938: Sensō to futari no fujin (戦争と二人の夫人)
Film and television adaptations (selected)
- 1936: Seimei no kanmuri (dir. Tomu Uchida)
- 1937: Shinjitsu ichiro: Chichi no maki/Haha no maki (dir. Tomotaka Tasaka)
- 1938: Robō no ishi (dir. Tomotaka Tasaka)
- 1952: Nami (dir. Noboru Nakamura)
- 1955: Onna no isshō (dir. Noboru Nakamura)
- 1955: Robō no ishi (dir. Kenkichi Hara)
- 1962: Nami (dir. Tadashi Imai)
- 1964: A Pebble by the Wayside a.k.a. Wayside Pebble (Robō no ishi, dir. Miyoji Ieki)
- 1993: Shinjitsu ichiro (dir. Kon Ichikawa)