Noma Hiroshi

Born Feb. 23, 1915, in Kobe. Japanese writer and critic. One of the leading figures in the New Japan Society of Literature.

Noma studied French literature at the University of Kyoto, where he became interested in Marxism. His works were first published in 1945. Noma’s novella Dark Picture (1945) was greatly influenced by M. Proust and J. Joyce. Social themes prevail in Noma’s later novels, which include Zone of Emptiness (1952; Russian translation, 1960) and Playing for Luck (I960). His epic novel The Young People’s Circle (1971) deals with the lives of members of the Japanese intelligentsia.