Kubota Joji was a Japanese children's literature writer born in Shimada, Goya, Okayama, Japan. He was also a member of the Japan Art Academy.

His father, Heitaro, managed the Shimada Textile Mill, which produced items such as lamp wicks. However, his father passed away when Joji was eight years old in 1898. Despite his older brother taking over the family business while attending university, internal conflicts within the company persisted. Eventually, Joji also became involved in the management, a narrative that would later be reflected in his novels.

In 1908, he enrolled in the preparatory course for the Faculty of Literature at Waseda University. In March 1909, he temporarily left the university to work at his brother's ranch but returned to school in August of the same year. In September of the following year, he enrolled in the English Literature Department at Waseda University. However, due to forgetting to submit a deferment request for the military conscription examination, he withdrew from university in November and joined the 17th Division of the Okayama Army in September. In January 1912, he returned to Waseda University's English Literature Department. Still, in September, he was hospitalized in Chigasaki due to pulmonary apical catarrh, and he was discharged in August of the following year and returned to university. He graduated from the English Literature Department of Waseda University in 1915, and the following year, he married, with his first son born shortly after.

From October 1917 to March of the following year, Tsubota worked at the Waseda University Library. In April 1919, he returned to his hometown of Okayama and began working at the Shimada Textile Mill. The following year, he was transferred to the Osaka branch. He resigned from the Shimada Textile Mill in April 1923 and moved to Tokyo.

In 1925, Tsubota founded the Waseda University Children's Story Club. In 1926, he published the short story "Seita no Uma" and the following year, he released his first collection of short stories titled "Seita no Uma". However, amidst the rise of proletarian literature, he struggled financially and lived in poverty.

After the war, he served as the third president of the Japan Children's Literature Association, among other roles.

In later years, Tsubota also founded the children's story magazine "Biwa no Mi Gakkou", following the footsteps of the Waseda University Children's Story Club. He also mentored younger writers.

(Source: Japanese = Wikipedia || Translation = kisskh) Edit Biography