was a Japanese writer of
free verse
Free verse is an open form of poetry, which in its modern form arose through the French ''vers libre'' form. It does not use consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any musical pattern. It thus tends to follow the rhythm of natural speech.
Definit ...
, active in the
Taishō and early
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 ...
s of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. He liberated Japanese free verse from the grip of traditional rules, and he is considered the "father of modern colloquial poetry in Japan". He published many volumes of essays,
literary
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...
and
cultural criticism
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tylor ...
, and aphorisms over his long career. His unique style of verse expressed his doubts about existence, and his fears, ennui, and anger through the use of dark images and unambiguous wording.
Early life
Hagiwara Sakutarō was born in
Maebashi
is the capital city of Gunma Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 335,352 in 151,171 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It wa ...
,
Gunma Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima ...
as the son of a prosperous local physician. He was interested in poetry, especially in the ''
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 ...
'' format, from an early age, and started to write poetry much against his parents' wishes, drawing on the works of
Akiko Yosano
Yosano Akiko (Shinjitai: , seiji: ; 7 December 1878 – 29 May 1942) was the pen-name of a Japanese author, poet, pioneering feminist, pacifist, and social reformer, active in the late Meiji era as well as the Taishō and early Shōwa eras of ...
for inspiration. From his early teens, he started to contribute poems to literary magazines and had his ''tanka'' verse published in the literary journals ''Bunkō'', ''Shinsei'' and ''
Myōjō
was a monthly literary magazine published in Japan between April 1900 and November 1908. The name ''Myōjō'' can be translated as either Bright Star or Morning Star.
History and profile
The magazine was established in 1900. It was the organ of ...
''.
His mother bought him his first
mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
in the summer of 1903. After spending a futile five semesters as a freshman at two national universities, he dropped out of school, living for a period in
Okayama
is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is .
The city is ...
and
Kumamoto
is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2.
had a population of 1,461,000, ...
. In 1911, when his father was still trying to get him to enter college again, he began studying the mandolin in
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 ...
, with the thought of becoming a professional musician. He later established a
mandolin orchestra
A mandolin orchestra is an orchestra consisting primarily of instruments from the mandolin family of instruments, such as the mandolin, mandola, mandocello and mandobass or mandolone. Some mandolin orchestras use guitars and double-basses instead ...
in his hometown Maebashi. His bohemian lifestyle was criticized by his childhood colleagues, and some of his early poems include spiteful remarks about his native Maebashi.
Literary career
In 1913, Hagiwara published five of his verses in ''Zamboa'' ("Shaddock"), a magazine edited by
Kitahara Hakushū Kitahara (written: ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Hakushū Kitahara or Kitahara Ryūkichi (1885–1942), Japanese tanka poet
* Kana Kitahara (born 1988), Japanese footballer
* Kenji Kitahara (born 1976), former ...
, who became his mentor and friend. He also contributed verse to
Maeda Yugure's ''Shiika'' ("Poetry") and ''Chijō Junrei'' ("Earth Pilgrimage"), another journal created by Hakushū. The following year, he joined
Murō Saisei and the Christian minister
Yamamura Bochō in creating the ''Ningyo Shisha'' ("Merman Poetry Group"), dedicated to the study of music, poetry, and religion. The three writers called their
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 ...
, ''Takujō Funsui'' ("Tabletop Fountain"), and published the first edition in 1915.
In 1915, Hagiwara attempted suicide because of his continued ill-health and alcoholism. However, in 1916, Hagiwara co-founded with Murō Saisei the literary magazine ''Kanjō'' ("Sentiment"). The magazine was centered on the "new style" of modern Japanese poetry that Hagiwara was developing, in contrast to the highly intellectual and more traditionally structured poems in other contemporary literary magazines. In 1917, Hagiwara brought out his first free-verse collection, ''Tsuki ni Hoeru'' ("Howling at the Moon"), which had an introduction by Kitahara Hakushū. The work created a sensation in literary circles. Hagiwara rejected the symbolism and use of unusual words, with consequent vagueness of Hakushū and other contemporary poets in favor of precise wording which appealed rhythmically or musically to the ears. The work met with much critical acclaim, especially for its bleak style, conveying an attitude of pessimism and despair based on modern Western psychological concept of
existential angst
Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
influenced by the philosophy of
Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, Prose poetry, prose poet, cultural critic, Philology, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philo ...
. There is a preface to ''Tsuki ni Hoeru'' ("Howling at the Moon") written by Hagiwara added in the
New York Review Books
New York Review Books (NYRB) is the publishing division of ''The New York Review of Books''. Its imprints are New York Review Books Classics, New York Review Books Collections, The New York Review Children's Collection, New York Review Comics, N ...
' 2014 ''Cat Town'' (a collection of a number of his works).
Hagiwara's second anthology, ''Aoneko'' ("Blue Cat") was published in 1923 to even greater acclaim and ''Tsuki ni Hoeru''. The poems in this anthology incorporated concepts from
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
with 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 ...
of
Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...
. Hagiwara subsequently published a number of other volumes of cultural and literary criticism. He was also a scholar of classical verse and published ''Shi no Genri'' ("Principles of Poetry", 1928). His critical study ''Ren'ai meika shu'' ("A Collection of Best-Loved Love Poems", 1931), shows that he had a deep appreciation for classical Japanese poetry, and ''Kyōshu no shijin Yosa Buson'' ("Yosa Buson—Poet of Nostalgia", 1936) reveals his respect for the ''
haiku
is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a ''kigo'', or se ...
'' poet
Buson
was a Japanese poet and Painting, painter of the Edo period. Along with Matsuo Bashō and Kobayashi Issa, Buson is considered among the greatest poets of the Edo Period. He is also known for completing haiga as a style of art, working with ha ...
, who advocated a return to the 17th century rules of
Bashō.
''Hyōtō'' ("The Iceland") published in 1934 was Hagiwara's last major anthology of poetry. He abandoned the use of both free verse and colloquial Japanese, and returned to a more traditional structure with a realistic content. The poems are occasionally autobiographical, and exhibit a sense of despair and loneliness. The work received only mixed reviews. For most of his life, Hagiwara relied on his wealthy family for financial support. However, he taught at
Meiji University
, abbreviated as Meiji (明治) or Meidai (明大'')'', is a private research university located in Chiyoda City, the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1881 as Meiji Law School (明治法律学校, ''Meiji Hōritsu Gakkō'') by three Meiji-er ...
from 1934 until his death in 1942.
Death
After more than six months of struggle with what appeared to be
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
but which doctors diagnosed as acute
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
, he died in May 1942—not quite six months short of his 56th birthday.
His grave is at the temple of Jujun-ji, in his native Maebashi.
Personal life
Hagiwara married Ueda Ineko in 1919; they had two daughters,
Yōko (1920–2005), also a writer, and Akirako (b. 1922).
Ineko deserted her family for a younger man in June 1929 and ran off to
Hokkaidō
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
and Sakutarō formally divorced her in October.
He married again in 1938 to Otani Mitsuko, but after only eighteen months Sakutarō's mother—who had never registered the marriage in the family register (''koseki'')—drove her away.
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
References and reading
* Hagiwara, Sakutaro. ''Rats' Nests: The Poetry of Hagiwara Sakutaro''. (Trans. Robert Epp). UNESCO (1999).
* Hagiwara, Sakutaro. ''Howling at the Moon and Blue'' (Trans. Hiroaki Sato). Green Integer (2001).
* Hagiwara, Sakutaro. ''Principles of Poetry: Shi No Genri''. Cornell University (1998).
* Kurth, Frederick. ''Howling with Sakutaro: Cries of a Cosmic Waif''. Zamazama Press (2004).
* Dorsey, James. "From an Ideological Literature to a Literary Ideology: 'Conversion in Wartime Japan'," in ''Converting Cultures: Religion, Ideology and Transformations of Modernity'', ed. by Dennis Washburn and A. Kevin Reinhart (Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2007), pp. 465~483.
External links
*
*
A bibliography in foreign languagesat
Aozora Bunko
Aozora Bunko (, literally the "Blue Sky Library", also known as the "Open Air Library") is a Japanese digital library. This online collection encompasses several thousands of works of Japanese-language fiction and non-fiction. These include out-o ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagiwara, Sakutaro
1886 births
1942 deaths
20th-century Japanese male writers
20th-century Japanese poets
Aphorists
Deaths from pneumonia in Japan
Japanese literary critics
Japanese male poets
People from Maebashi
Weird fiction writers