Kon Hidemi was a Japanese novelist, literary critic, and stage director, born in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. He was the first Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs and held various prominent cultural roles throughout his career.

In 1911, Kon moved to Kobe due to his father's work as a captain for Nippon Yusen. He attended elementary school in Kobe and later transferred to Tokyo's Gyosei Middle School after an illness interrupted his studies at Kobe First Middle School. In 1922, he passed the entrance exam to Urawa High School and, in 1925, entered the French Literature Department at Tokyo Imperial University, where he studied under Tatsuno Ryu and Suzuki Shintaro.

Kon's interest in theater was sparked by a performance at the Tsukiji Small Theater in 1924, and he joined the directing team of the theater company "Shinza" in 1925. A skilled cellist, he was also involved in the "Surya" music movement led by his friend Moroi Saburo. After graduating in 1928, Kon struggled to find employment, briefly re-enrolled in the Law Department at Tokyo Imperial University, but withdrew after realizing he was too old for the diplomat exam. He spent over a year studying Western art history under Yashiro Yukio at the Kuroda Seiki Art Research Institute. Around this time, he married Keiko, although his relationship with actress Fujima Harue attracted public attention.

In 1929, Kon joined the theater group "Komoriza" after a split in "Shinza" and became a contributor to the literary magazine "Bungei Toshi." By 1930, he was contributing to "Sakuhin" and later "Bungakkai," where he published literary criticism, essays, and translations, distancing himself from leftist movements and aligning with traditional artistic values.

Kon began teaching at Meiji University in 1932 and became a professor in 1939. He also directed the 1935 film *The Dancing Princess of the Peninsula* at the Shinko Kinema Tokyo studio. During World War II, Kon was conscripted twice, first in 1941 as a reporter for the Imperial Army, spending time in Manila, and later in 1944, when he fled to northern Luzon and eventually escaped to Taiwan.

After the war, in November 1945, Kon was appointed head of the Cultural Affairs Division at the Ministry of Education. He testified as a witness in the war crimes trial of General Honma Masaharu in 1946. After stepping down from his role in 1947 due to illness, Kon continued writing, though in 1966 he lost vision in one eye due to a detached retina.

In 1968, Prime Minister Sato Eisaku appointed Kon as the first Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, a position he held for four years. From 1972 to 1980, he served as the first president of the Japan Foundation, and in 1980, he became president of the National Theatre of Japan. Throughout his career, Kon held nearly 80 leadership roles, including chair of the Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization and president of the Japan Academy Prize Association.

Kon’s older brother, Kon Toko, was also a novelist and a Tendai sect Buddhist monk.

He passed away on July 30, 1984, at the age of 80, in Kamakura, Kanagawa, due to a stroke.

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