筆談, Isai's Discourses, 1950–1951), he covered a wide range of topics in art, literature and current events, in an irreverent, and at times, bitter, style. On the other hand, Shokoku Kijinden (諸国 畸人伝, Eccentrics and Gallants from around the country, 1955–1957), is a series of biographical sketches of unusual persons from various points in Japanese history. He turned also to ancient Japanese history, with the serial publication of Shinshaku Kojiki (新釈 古事記, Another Translation of the Kojiki), Hachiman Engi (八幡 縁起, Origins of Gods of Hachiman, 1957) and Shura (修羅, Demons, 1958), in which he explored the origin of Japanese nation and conflict between the Jōmon and Yayoi peoples. In 1964 he went to a journey to the Soviet Union and western Europe together with Abe Kobo. It was his first overseas travel, and resulted in Seiyu Nichiroku (西游 日録, A Record of a Journey West, 1965). In 1967 he joined Kawabata Yasunari, Mishima Yukio and Abe Kōbō in issuing a statement protesting the destruction of Chinese art during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Ishikawa was immensely popular in the post-war era, and won numerous awards. His Edo Bungaku Shoki (江戸 文学 掌記, A Brief Survey of Edo Literature, 1980), won the Yomiuri Literary Award. He died of lung cancer while working on his last novel, Hebi no Uta (蛇 の 歌, A Song of Snakes, 1988), In English Ishikawa, Jun. The Legend of Gold and Other Stories. Trans. William J. Tyler. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1988. Ishikawa, Jun. The Bodhisattva. Columbia University Press (1990). Trans. William J. Tyler. See also Japanese literature List of Japanese writers References External links Jun Ishikawa at J'Lit Books from Japan Synopsis of Travels on Six Paths (Rokudo yugyo) at JLPP (Japanese Literature Publishing Project) Ishikawa, Jun 1899–1987 Ishikawa Jun to Sengo Nihon 1899 births 1987 deaths Japanese essayists 20th-century Japanese novelists Japanese male short story writers People from Tokyo Akutagawa Prize winners Deaths from lung cancer in Japan 20th-century Japanese poets 20th-century Japanese translators 20th-century Japanese short story writers 20th-century essayists 20th-century Japanese male writers