Kō Machida

nihongo|Kō Machida|町田 康|Machida Kō|born Machida Yasushi on January 15, 1962 in Sakai, Osaka is a Japanese author, punk rock singer, poet and actor.

Career

Inspired by the Sex Pistols, then-high school student Machida formed a punk rock band called Inu (meaning a dog in Japanese) in 1978. His stage name was Machida Machizō (町田町蔵). Inu released their first album "Meshi Kuuna!" (literary "Don't eat food!") in 1981. The band split shortly after the album release. He went on to form a number of bands and released several albums. His albums earned reasonable critical acclaims but the commercial success was limited.

His first literary work published was "Kūge" in 1992 that included a selection of his poems. His first novel was "Gussun Daikoku" in 1996 that earned him the Bunkamura Deux Magots Literary Award. His unique style of story-telling marked by non-sense, irrelevance and slapsticks is influenced by Kamigata (Kansai) Rakugo and Jidaigeki (samurai dramas). Some critics link him to self-destructive I Novel writers before the World War II such as Kamura Isota and Chikamatsu Shūkō. Oda Sakunosuke is also cited as his influencer.

He won the 123rd Akutagawa Prize with "Kiregire" ("Shreds") in 2000 and the Tanizaki Prize with "Kokuhaku" ("Confession") in 2005.

Discography

Albums
* "Meshi Kuuna!" by Inu (1981)
* "Ushiwakamaru Nametottara Dotsuitaru Zo" by Inu (Published in 1984, recorded in 1979)
* "Doterai Yatsura" by Machida Machizo from Shifuku Dan (1986)
* "Hona, Donaisee Iune" by Machida Machizo (1987)
* "Harafuri" by Machida Machizo + Kitazawa Gumi (1992)
* "Chūshajō no Yohane" by Machida Machizo + Kitazawa Gumi (1994)
* "Dōnikanaru" by Machida Ko + The Glory (1995)
* "Nōnai Shuffle Kakumei" by Machida Ko (1997)
* "Miracle Young" by Miracle Young (2003)
* "Machida Kō Group Live 2004 Oct 6th" by Machida Ko Group (2004)

Singles
* "Kokoro no Unitto" by Machi Tai (2002)

Filmography (Selected)

He played major roles in the following films.
* "The Burst City" directed by Sogo Ishii (1982)
* "Endless Waltz" directed by Koji Wakamatsu (1995)
* "H Story" directed by Nobuhiro Suwa (2004)

Selected literary works

* Kūge (供花) - His debut poem selection 1992
* Gussun Daikoku (ぐっすん大黒) - Bunkamura Deux Magots Literary Award 1996
* Ore, Nanshin Shite (俺、南進して) 1999 co-authored with Nobuyoshi Araki
* Shreds ("Kiregire", きれぎれ) - Akutagawa Prize 2000
* Gonge no Odoriko (権現の踊り子) - Kawabata Yasunari Literary Award 2003
* Confession ("Kokuhaku", 告白) - Tanizaki Prize 2005

References

*imdb name|id=0991884|name=Kou Machida

External links

* [http://www.machidakou.com/ Official Machida Kou WebSite] (Japanese language)