TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Shuntaro Tanikawa, a leading poet in postwar Japan also known for his translations of the U.S. cartoon series "Peanuts" and the British "Mother Goose" nursery rhymes, has died, sources close to the matter said Tuesday. He was 92.

The Tokyo native gained prominence after the 1952 release of his first book of poetry, "Niju Oku Konen no Kodoku" (Two Billion Light Years of Solitude), with critics praising his vibrant use of the Japanese language. He died last Wednesday of natural causes.

His poems appear in school textbooks in Japan and have been translated into many languages, including English and Chinese.

The son of philosopher Tetsuzo Tanikawa, the prolific poet also wrote children's books, essays and scripts for TV dramas. He wrote the theme song lyrics for the TV anime "Astro Boy."

In the late 1960s, Tanikawa published a Japanese version of the "Peanuts" series by Charles Schulz with its popular characters Snoopy and Charlie Brown.

Tanikawa also translated Jean Webster's "Daddy-Long-Legs" and Leo Lionni's picture book "Swimmy."