was the

pen-name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of a popular

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

writer in

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

Japan, known primarily for his

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

novels, which appeared serialized in newspapers and magazines. His real name was .

Early life

Osaragi Jirō was born in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

. His father was a temple carpenter originally from

Kii Province , or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kii''" in . Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Pro ...

, who had rebuilt the main halls and main gates of a number of noted Buddhist temples. His older brother Hōei Nojiri, was a noted scholar of

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

and an

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

. He graduated with honors from Shirogane Jinjo Elementary School, and later wrote in his memoirs that he first became interested in becoming a writer in the sixth grade, where the daughter of Kosugi Tengai was a classmate. He then attended the Furitsu Daiichi Junior High School. While still in high school, he published his first work, ''Ichiko Romance'', which described life in the school dormitory. He also became interested in the theatre. Osaragi attended

Tokyo Imperial University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

’s Department of Political Science, where he developed a strong sense of resistance to

authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political '' status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic vot ...

. After graduation, he obtained a posting as a teacher at the Kamakura Higher Girls' School (present-day Kamakura Jogakuin High School), located in

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

Kanagawa prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

. Because of his language skills, he was recruited by the

Foreign Ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

in 1922, and worked for about a year in the Treaties Bureau. However after the

Great Kantō earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

of 1923, he decided to devote himself full time to writing.

Literary career

In 1924 Osaragi Jirō published his first popular

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

, ''Hayabusa no Genji'' which was serialized in the magazine, ''Pocket''. At this time he was living in Kamakura behind the famous . The ''

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

'' for ''Daibutsu'' can also be read ''Osaragi'' which became the source of his pen-name, ''Osaragi Jirō''. However, his choice of pen name of ''Osaragi'' was not mere whimsy: The Osaragi branch of the

Hōjō clan The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this period ...

descended from

Hōjō Tokifusa was a member of Japan's Hōjō clan of nobles and courtiers; the brother of Hōjō Yoshitoki, shogunal regent, Tokifusa was appointed to the Kyoto-based government post of ''Rokuhara Tandai'' upon its creation in 1221, following the Jōkyū War. ...

, were prominent warriors mentioned in the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

chronicle ''

Taiheiki The (Chronicle of Great Peace) is a Japanese historical epic (see ''gunki monogatari'') written in the late 14th century and covers the period from 1319 to 1367. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Taiheiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', pp. 923� ...

.'' Their estates were located near the Great Buddha. Osaragi's popular fiction novels with historical settings such as '' Kurama Tengu'' (1924–1959), ''Teru Hi Kumoru Hi'' ("Sunny Days Cloudy Days", 1926–1927), and ''Ako Roshi'' ("Loyal Retainers of Ako", 1927–1928), were serialized in newspapers and magazines, and gained him a tremendous following. Many were later made into movies and

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

, with

Kanjūrō Arashi was a Japanese film actor. His nickname was "Arakan." He is famous for playing the role of '' Kurama Tengu'' sereies. He entered the film industry in 1927 and came to fame playing Kurama Tengu, a character in the Bakumatsu era created by Jirō ...

, for instance, making a name for himself playing Kurama Tengu. However, Osaragi also wrote works of contemporary fiction such as ''Shiroi Ane'' ("White Sister") and ''Kiribue'' ("Misty Flute"). ''Kikyō'' ("Homecoming", 1948) described the author's anger at petty attitudes which surfaced after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and was awarded the Japan Art Academy Prize in 1950. Osaragi also won the

Asahi Prize The , established in 1929, is an award presented by the Japanese newspaper ''Asahi Shimbun'' and Asahi Shimbun Foundation to honor individuals and groups that have made outstanding accomplishments in the fields of arts and academics and have greatl ...

in 1952. In 1964, he was awarded the

Order of Culture The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipien ...

by the Japanese government. Osaragi was deeply influenced by

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than Fr ...

and culture, and wrote a number non-fiction pieces displaying his deep understanding of controversial events in Europe: ''Dorefyus jiken'' ("The

Dreyfus Affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...

"), ''Buranje Shogun no Higeki'' ("The Tragedy of General Boulanger"), and ''Pari Moyu'' ("Paris is Burning"; a history of the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

). When he died in 1973 at the age of 75, he was still writing ''Tennō no Seiki'' ("Century of Emperors"), a historical chronicle based on the spiritual history of the Japanese people.

Private life

Osaragi lived in

from 1921 to his death in 1973. Osaragi was a central figure in Kamakura's literary life, and he also campaigned avidly for the protection of Kamakura's scenic beauty. When housing developers threatened the mountainside behind Kamakura's famous Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, he banded together with a number of famous writers and artists (including

Hideo Kobayashi was a Japanese author, who established literary criticism as an independent art form in Japan. Early life Kobayashi was born in the Kanda district of Tokyo, where his father was a noted engineer who introduced European diamond polishing techno ...

Nagai Tatsuo was a writer of short stories, novels, and essays, active in the Shōwa period Japan, known for his portrayals of city life. Nagai was also known as a haiku poet under the pen-name of "Tomonkyo". Early life Nagai was born in the Sarugakuchō ne ...

Yasunari Kawabata was a Japanese novelist and short story writer whose spare, lyrical, subtly shaded prose works won him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968, the first Japanese author to receive the award. His works have enjoyed broad international appeal an ...

Riichi Yokomitsu was an experimental, modernist Japanese writer. Yokomitsu began publishing in dōjinshi such as ''Machi'' ("Street") and ''Tō'' ("Tower") after entering Waseda University in 1916. In 1923, he published ''Nichirin'' ("The Sun"), '' ...

, Itō Shinsui,

Kiyokata Kaburagi was the art-name of a Nihonga artist and the leading master of the ''bijin-ga'' genre in the Taishō and Shōwa eras. His legal name was Kaburaki Ken'ichi. The artist himself used the reading "Kaburaki", but many Western (and some Japanese) sour ...

), residing in Kamakura to oppose the development. This led to the foundation of the

Japan National Trust The Japan National Trust (日本ナショナルトラスト) is an organization which works to preserve and protect the heritage of Japan. History In 1964, a newspaper article entitled "Destruction of the Nature" written by novelist Osaragi Jiro ...

, modeled after the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

in Great Britain, and which has been successful in preserving the historical ambience of Kamakura and parts of other cities around Japan. Osaragi Jirō was a noted cat lover. Friends and neighbors claimed that he fed at least 500 semi-feral cats at his house in Kamakura. Osaragi also served for two months in the cabinet of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko as a councillor. Osaragi died of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

in 1973 at the age of 75. His grave is at the temple of

Jufuku-ji , usually known as Jufuku-ji, is a temple of the Kenchō-ji branch of the Rinzai sect and the oldest Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Ranked third among Kamakura's prestigious Five Mountains, it is number 24 among the pilgrimag ...

in Kamakura. Despite Osaragi's long association with Kamakura, due to a dispute over

inheritance tax An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died. International tax law distinguishes between an es ...

es, his manuscripts and artifacts were donated to the city of Yokohama by his heirs, where they now form the collection of the Osaragi Jirō Commemorative Museum. His former house in Kamakura remains in private hands, and is open (occasionally) to the public. After his death, the ''

Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...

'' established a

literary prize A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded Literature, literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ...

, the Osaragi Jiro Prize, which is awarded for the best book published in Japan in the field of social sciences.

Selected filmography

* '' Kurama Tengu'' (鞍馬天狗) (1928) - novel for the film * '' Akō Rōshi'' (赤穂浪士 Akō Rōshi) (1961) - novel for the film * ''

Hangyakuji Hangyakuji ( ja, 反逆児, ''The Conspirator'') is a 1961 Japanese historical-fiction film directed by Daisuke Ito. It features Kinnosuke Yorozuya, Kaneko Iwasaki, and Tsukie Matsuura. Plot Saburo Nobuyasu, a young king, has trouble finding ...

'' (反逆児) (1961) - novel for the film * '' Kojiki Taishō'' (1952) and (1964) - novel for the film

Reading

* Miyaji, Sachiro. ''Osaragi Jiro shisho: Sei to shi o mitsumete''. Nihon Bungeisha (1996). (Japanese) * Osaragi, Jiro. (tr.

Ivan Morris Ivan Ira Esme Morris (29 November 1925 – 19 July 1976) was an English writer, translator and editor in the field of Japanese studies. Biography Ivan Morris was born in London, of mixed American and Swedish parentage to Edita Morris () and I ...

). ''The Journey''. Tuttle Publishing (2000). * Osaragi, Jiro. (tr. Brewster Horwitz). ''Homecoming''. Tuttle Publishing (1955). ASIN: B000GUA9S2

References

External links

Osaragi Jirō Memorial Museum

Osaragi Jirō's former home in Kamakura (Japanese site)

Prominent People of Minato City
*
J'Lit , Authors : Jiro Osaragi , Books from Japan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osaragi, Jiro 1897 births 1973 deaths Writers from Yokohama 20th-century Japanese novelists University of Tokyo alumni Recipients of the Order of Culture Deaths from cancer in Japan Deaths from liver cancer 20th-century Japanese screenwriters