Hidemi Kon

Hidemi Kon (今 日出海) was a literary critic and essayist active in Japan during the Showa period.

Early life
Born in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Kon Hidemi was the younger brother of writer and politician Kon Tōkō. As a student at Tokyo Imperial University, he became interested in drama, and took part in stage plays as a member of the Kokoroza, a theatrical company created by kabuki and stage actors as an effort to create a more modern version of traditional Japanese theater. After graduation, he obtained part-time jobs at a number of literary magazines, including Bengei Shuto and Bengakukai, providing essays, translations of André Gide, and literary criticism.

In 1941, he was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army; however, the army recognized his talents and assigned him to the press corps in Japanese-occupied Philippines. He returned to Japan once on leave, but was sent back to the Philippines in 1944, as the situation was turning sour for the Japanese forces. He had a narrow escape with death in combat while reporting on the fleeing Japanese army. Taken prisoner at the end of the war, he eventually returned to Japan.

Literary career
In 1949, Kon published Sanchu Horo ("Wandering in the Mountains"), a story based on his wartime experiences in the Philippines, which marked the start of his literary career. He received the Naoki Prize for his short story, Tenno no Boshi ("The Emperor's Hat") in 1950.

While serving as manager of the art department within the Ministry of Education from 1945-1946, he created the Japan Arts Festival, now an annual event for the promotion of cultural activities, especially Japanese literature. In 1968, he became the founding director-general of the government's Agency for Cultural Affairs, and in 1972, became the first president of the Japan Foundation, contributing greatly to international cultural exchanges.

Kon's other biographical works include Miki Kiyoshi ni Okeru Ningen no Kenkyu, a fictional biography of the philosopher Miki Kiyoshi, and Yoshida Shigeru, about the life of the post-war Prime Minister of Japan.

Kon moved to Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture around 1931. After a temporary move to Tokyo after World War II, he returned to Kamakura, where he lived from 1951 until his death in 1984 at the age of 81.

His grave is at the Catholic Cemetery in Kamakura.