was a Japanese

tanka is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. Etymology Originally, in the time of the ''Man'yōshū'' (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to distinguish "short poem ...

poet and scholar of

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 ...

of the

Meiji Era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization b ...

. He was born as Ayukai Morimitsu and was the biological elder brother of the

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

scholar Ayukai Fusanoshin.

Biography

Ochiai was born in what was then Motoyoshi County,

Mutsu Province was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture. Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the comb ...

, as the second son to Ayukai Tarō Tairamorifusa (鮎貝太朗平盛房), a high-ranking

retainer Retainer may refer to: * Retainer (orthodontics), devices for teeth * RFA ''Retainer'' (A329), a ship * Retainers in early China, a social group in early China Employment * Retainer agreement, a contract in which an employer pays in advance for ...

of the

Sendai Domain The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Sendai Domain was based at Aoba Castle in Mutsu Province, in the modern city of Sendai, located in the Tōhoku region of the i ...

. From the ages 11 to 13, he studied, among other things,

kangaku ''Kangaku'' (漢学, かんがく, Kyūjitai: 漢學) was the pre-modern Japanese study of China. ''Kangaku'' was the counterpart of Kokugaku and '' Yōgaku'' or ''Rangaku''. Scholars of ''Kangaku'' are called ''Kangakusha'' (漢学者). Kangaku ...

(Chinese studies), at the Sendai Private School (仙台私塾), and in 1874 was adopted by the

kokugaku ''Kokugaku'' ( ja, 國學, label=Kyūjitai, ja, 国学, label=Shinjitai; literally "national study") was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Tokugawa period. Kokugaku scholars worked to refo ...

scholar Ochiai Naoaki (落合直亮). His adopted father's research took him to

Ise Ise may refer to: Places * Ise, Mie, a city in Japan **Ise Grand Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in Ise, Mie * Ise Ekiti, a city in Nigeria *Ise, Norway, a village in Norway *Ise Province, an ancient province of Japan * River Ise, a tributary of th ...

, where he studied in the Jingū Kyōin (神宮教院; later to become

Kogakkan University is a private university at Ise, Mie, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1882, and it was chartered as a university in 1940. Kogakkan University is one of only two universities in Japan to offer a Shinto studies program, whose gra ...

). In 1881, he moved to

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 ...

, and the following year entered the School of Literature at

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 ...

. In 1884 he dropped out, and began three years of military service. From 1889 onward, he taught at various academic institutions including Dai-ichi Kōtō Chūgakkō (第一高等中学校) and the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' (the predecessor to modern

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 ...

). One of his students at the ''Dai-ichi Kōtō Chūgakkō'' was the tanka poet and

calligrapher Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

Saishū Onoe (20 August, 1876 – 1, January, 1957) was the pen name of , a Japanese tanka poet, educator, and calligrapher. Biography After finishing Tokyo Imperial University in 1901, after teaching at Tetsugaku-kan, Onoe professed at the early days of ...

. In 1889, he joined

Mori Ōgai Lieutenant-General , known by his pen name , was a Japanese Army Surgeon general officer, translator, novelist, poet and father of famed author Mari Mori. He obtained his medical license at a very young age and introduced translated German lan ...

in forming the literary society Shinsei Sha (新声社), and in August of that year they jointly translated and published the poetry anthology ''

Omokage is a song by Japanese singer-songwriters Milet, Aimer, and Lilas Ikuta. It was released on December 17, 2021, as YouTube channel ''The First Take'' second collaboration project after Lisa and Uru's " Saikai". Written and produced by Vaundy, th ...

'' (於母影) which was to have a significant impact on contemporary Japanese poetry. In 1893, he formed another literary society, the .

Legacy

Donald Keene Donald Lawrence Keene (June 18, 1922 – February 24, 2019) was an American-born Japanese scholar, historian, teacher, writer and translator of Japanese literature. Keene was University Professor emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japan ...

called him " e first distinctively new poet of the Meiji period" but commented that while he attempted to update

for the modern era, his attempts were "halfhearted". (Keene 1999, p. 12) The is named after him.

References

* . {{DEFAULTSORT:Naobumi, Ochiai Japanese literature academics People from Kesennuma, Miyagi People of Meiji-period Japan 1861 births 1903 deaths 19th-century Japanese poets University of Tokyo alumni