was a Japanese novelist,
literary critic
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...
and translator active in the
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 ...
.
Early life
Hirotsu was born in the
Ushigome
is the name of a neighborhood in Shinjuku, Tokyo, and a former ward (牛込区 ''Ushigome-ku'') in the now-defunct Tokyo City. In 1947, when the 35 wards of Tokyo were reorganized into 23, it was merged with Yotsuya ward of Tokyo City and Yodoba ...
neighborhood
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
as the second son of the noted novelist
Hirotsu Ryurō, whose pupils included
Kafū Nagai
was a Japanese writer, editor and translator. His works like '' Geisha in Rivalry'' and ''A Strange Tale from East of the River'' are noted for their depictions of life of the demimonde in early 20th-century Tokyo.
Biography
Nagai was born Sōki ...
.
['' The A to Z of Modern Japanese Literature and Theater'', page 34-35] He had problems completing
Azabu Middle School due to poor health and his complete incompetence in mathematics. At the time he was also working part-time delivering newspapers, and his inability to add often meant that his parents had to make up for the short-fall in his accounts.
Literary career
However, Hirotsu did show a talent for literature from an early age. His literary debut came with a short story submitted to a contest in a newspaper when he was 17 years old. The story won a prize of 10
Yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...
, which was a reasonable sum of money in 1908. While attending
Waseda University
, abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902.
The university has numerou ...
Hirotsu started submitting articles to various
literary journal
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters ...
s. One of his classmates at Waseda was
Hinatsu Kōnosuke. In 1912, Hirotsu joined
Zenzō Kasai
was a Japanese novelist active in the Taishō period.
Early life
Zenzō Kasai was born in what is now part of Hirosaki, Aomori, as the eldest son of a rice merchant. His parents died when he was two years old, and he was shuffled to relatives a ...
in establishing a
literary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letter ...
, ''Kiseki'' (“Miracle”), to which he contributed short stories and translated works of foreign authors.
[ The magazine ceased publication the following year after seven editions.
In 1913, Hirotsu published a translation of ]Guy de Maupassant
Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...
's ''Une Vie'', which marked the beginning of a career of literary criticism
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...
and translation of various European writers. The same year, he graduated from Waseda University, and his family was evicted from their rented house due to inability to pay the rent. The following year, he was hospitalized for tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
. His stepmother was also diagnosed with the disease, and his father and stepmother relocated to Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...
, living Hirotsu at a boarding house in Tokyo, where he shared a room with Zenzō Kasai for a time, while attempting to find work as a translator and submitting stories to newspapers and magazines. Hirotsu relocated from Tokyo to coastal Kamakura, Kanagawa
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 ...
from 1916.
His literary career began with a short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
published in 1917: ''Shinkeibyo Jidai'' (“The Neurotic Age”), in which he attacked the nihilism
Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...
and moral decadence of contemporary intellectuals. A supporter of leftist politics, he was initially attracted to the Proletarian Literature Movement
Proletarian literature refers here to the literature created by left-wing writers mainly for the class-conscious proletariat. Though the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' states that because it "is essentially an intended device of revolution", it is ...
in the 1930s.[ During the 1930s he published ''Futari no Fukomono'' (“Two Unfortunate People”) and ''Shiji o Daite'' (“Embracing a Dead Child”), both objective stories, and ''Yamori'' (“Gecko”) and ''Nami no Ue'' (“On the Waves”), which belonged to the ]I novel
The I-novel (, , ) is a literary genre in Japanese literature used to describe a type of confessional literature where the events in the story correspond to events in the author's life. This genre was founded based on the Japanese reception of na ...
genre.
In 1941, Hirotsu moved to Setagaya
is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. The ward calls itself Setagaya City in English. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the fringed orch ...
in Tokyo. His politics supported the Japanese government in 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 he was sent on a government-sponsored visit to Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
, where he met author Kim Saryan
Kim Sa-ryang (; 3 March 1914 – 1950) was a Korean writer. He wrote in a variety of genres including novels, plays, reports, and reviews, in two languages, Korean and Japanese. His career as a writer first began in Japan after publishing a short ...
, and to Manchukuo
Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...
, where he toured several Japanese settlements. In 1942, he joined the government-sponsored Japanese Cultural Protection Association, but came into conflict with Kunio Kishida
Kunio Kishida (岸田 國士, Kishida Kunio, 2 November 1890 – 5 March 1954) was a Japanese playwright, dramatist, novelist, lecturer, acting coach, theatre critic, translator, and proponent of Shingeki ("New Theatre"/”New Drama"). Kishida sp ...
, who was attempting to incorporate the Association into the Taisei Yokusankai
The , or Imperial Aid Association, was the Empire of Japan's ruling organization during much of World War II. It was created by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe on 12 October 1940, to promote the goals of his ("New Order") movement. It evolved i ...
political party. He also travelled to Nara
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...
to view various temples and antiquities in 1942. In 1944, due to the danger of air raids in Tokyo during 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 ...
, he relocated to the resort town of Atami
is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 36,865 in 21,593 households and a population density of 600 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Atami is located in the far ea ...
.
In 1946, Hirotsu was diagnosed with bladder cancer
Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the tissues of the urinary bladder. Symptoms include blood in the urine, pain with urination, and low back pain. It is caused when epithelial cells that line the bladder become mali ...
at the Atami National Hospital. While recuperating in Atami, he occasionally met with fellow Atami resident Shiga Naoya
was a Japanese writer active during the Taishō and Shōwa periods of Japan, whose work was distinguished by its lucid, straightforward style and strong autobiographical overtones.
Early life
Shiga was born in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, ...
in 1948. Hirotsu became a member of the Japan Art Academy
is the highest-ranking official artistic organization in Japan. It is established as an extraordinary organ of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁, Bunkacho) in the thirty-first article of the law establishing the Ministry of Ed ...
in 1949 together with Kōji Uno. In 1950, his house in Atami burned down, and he was forced to relocate to a different location, but still within Atami. On occasion, he also maintained apartments in Tokyo.
In the post-war period, Hirotsu wrote a number of biographical and autobiographical works, ''Ano Jidai'' (“Those Times”), and ''Nengetsu no Ashiato'' (“The Footsteps of Time”, 1961–1963), which won the 1963 Noma Literary Prize
The Noma Literary Prize (''Noma Bungei Shō'') was established in 1941 by the Noma Service Association (''Noma Hōkō Kai'') in accordance with the last wishes of Seiji Noma (1878–1938), founder and first president of the Kodansha publishing co ...
;[ however, he devoted 10 years from 1953-1963 writing an obsessively detailed defense of the alleged saboteurs in the controversial Matsukawa incident. This work was published under ''Izumi e no michi'' (“The Road to Spring”, 1953–1954) and ''Matsukawa Saiban'' (“The Matsukawa Trial”, 1954–1958). Hirotsu led a citizen's support group for the defendants, who, after twelve years in the courts, were eventually found innocent.
Hirotsu died of a ]heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
at the Atami National Hospital in Atami in 1968 at the age of 76. His grave is at the Yanaka Cemetery
is a large cemetery located north of Ueno in Yanaka 7-chome, Taito, Tokyo, Japan. The Yanaka sector of Taito is one of the few Tokyo neighborhoods in which the old Shitamachi atmosphere can still be felt. The cemetery is famous for its beautif ...
, Tokyo.
His daughter Momoko Hirotsu (1918-1988) was also a novelist.
Translations
* Hirotsu, Kazuo. ''Der Geist der Prosa - Literarischer Widerstand im Japan der Kriegszeit''. Translated into German by Asa-Bettina Wuthenow. Munich: Iudicium (2014). 254 pages.
Notes
See also
*Japanese literature
Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japanes ...
*List of Japanese authors
This is an alphabetical list of writers who are Japanese, or are famous for having written in the Japanese language.
Writers are listed by the native order of Japanese names, family name followed by given name to ensure consistency although some ...
References
* Keene, Donald. ''Appreciations of Japanese Culture''. Kodansha (2003). ]
*
* Hashimoto, Michio. ''Hirotsu Kazuo saiko''. Nishida SHoten (1991). (Japanese)
* Wuthenow, Asa-Bettina (2014): Widerstand im „Geist der Prosa“ - Der Schriftsteller Hirotsu Kazuo zur Zeit des Fünfzehnjährigen Krieges (1931-1945). Heidelberg, 547 S., unter: http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/17574/
External links
*
Japanese Literature and Theater
at JLPP (Japanese Literature Publishing Project)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirotsu, Kazuo
1891 births
1968 deaths
Writers from Tokyo
Japanese writers
Japanese literary critics
Waseda University alumni
20th-century Japanese translators