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was a Japanese dramatist, translator, and literary critic. From 1969 until 1983, he was a professor at
Kyoto Sangyo University is a private university in Kyoto, Japan. History The university was established in 1965. The founder was Toshima Araki (, 1897–1978), and Hideo Iwakuro (岩畔 豪雄 Iwakuro Hideo, 10 October 1897 – 22 November 1970), the Japanese spy ...
. He 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 1981. His criticism of the pacifist Japanese establishment of the early post-
Second World War 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 ...
era earned him early notoriety, though he is most well-known for his translations of
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's oeuvre into Japanese, starting with ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' in 1955. He was a frequent contributor to conservative magazines, such as ''
Bungeishunjū is a Japanese publishing company known for its leading monthly magazine '' Bungeishunjū''. The company was founded by Kan Kikuchi in 1923. It grants the annual Akutagawa Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan, as well as ...
'', ''
Shokun was a monthly magazine of conservative opinion published by Bungeishunju Ltd. It normally went on sale on the first day of each month though at the end of the year it was released on the 25th or 26th and in the past it had been released on the se ...
'', and Jiyū. Called a "
rhetorician Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
", and a "conjuror of controversy", he frequently used
cognitive reframing Cognitive reframing is a psychological technique that consists of identifying and then changing the way situations, experiences, events, ideas, and/or emotions are viewed. Cognitive reframing is the process by which such situations or thoughts are ...
in his discourse.


Life

Tsuneari Fukuda was born to Kōshirō and Masa Fukuda on 25 August 1912 in the Hongō ward (now part of the
Bunkyō is a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan. Situated in the middle of the ward area, Bunkyō is a residential and educational center. Beginning in the Meiji period, literati like Natsume Sōseki, as well as scholars and politicians have lived th ...
special ward) of
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 ...
. His name "Tsuneari" was chosen by novelist
Ishibashi Shian may refer to: *Ishibashi (surname) * Ishibashi, Tochigi, a town located in Shimotsuga District, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan *Ishibashi handai-mae Station, formerly Ishibashi Station, a train station located in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, Japan * Ishiba ...
, and originates from the works of the Chinese philosopher
Mencius Mencius ( ); born Mèng Kē (); or Mèngzǐ (; 372–289 BC) was a Chinese Confucianism, Confucian Chinese philosophy, philosopher who has often been described as the "second Sage", that is, second to Confucius himself. He is part of Confuc ...
. He 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 ...
, where he studied English literature, graduating in 1936. His graduate thesis was entitled "Ethical issues in the works of
D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...
". After graduating, Fukuda worked as a secondary school teacher and a publisher. He began his long career as a literary critic with a contribution to the ''Kōdō bungaku'' literary magazine in 1937, the article entitled "
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"), '' ...
and ''The Author's Secret''". Before and just after the Second World War, he wrote critiques of the works of
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa , art name , was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "father of the Japanese short story", and Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him. He committed suicide at the age of ...
, Isota Kamura, and other modern Japanese writers. In 1947, Fukuda's article ''Ippiki to kyūjūhiki to'' (一匹と九十九匹), published in the ''Shisaku'' magazine, stirred up controversy about the dividing line between literature and politics, and later came to be seen as one of his representative works. From 1949, he participated in the Japanese–British cultural exchange group "Albion Club" (あるびよん・くらぶ). From 1950 onward, Fukuda's interest shifted away from general literary criticism and critiques of individual writers. Representative works from this period include ''Geijutsu to wa nanika'' (藝術とは何か; lit. 'What is Art?'), published in 1950, and ''Ningen, kono gekiteki naru mono'' (人間・この劇的なるもの; lit. 'Man, this dramatic being') published in 1956. What made Fukuda famous, however, was his status as a lone conservative voice amidst a flourishing of progressive thought in post-Second World War Japan. In his 1954 article ''Heiwaron no susumekata ni tsuite no gimon'' (平和論の進め方についての疑問; lit. 'Doubts about the advancement of the pacifist theory'), he criticised the
pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
that had become dominant in Japan. Furthermore, he was a strong critic of the post-war reforms to the Japanese language, and in 1955–56, he participated in a public debate with advocates of those reforms, led by
Kyōsuke Kindaichi was a Japanese linguist, chiefly known for his dictations of yukar, or sagas of the Ainu people, as well as his study of the Matagi dialect. He is the author of the dictionary '' Meikai Kokugo Jiten''. Biography Kindaichi was born in Morioka, ...
, in which he pointed out what he saw as the illogical nature of the ''
Tōyō kanji Toyo may refer to: Places *Tōyō, Kōchi, a town in Japan *Tōyo, Ehime, a former city in Japan *Toyo Province, a Japanese province divided in 683 * Tōyō, Kumamoto, a village located in Yatsuhiro District, Kumamoto, Japan * Tōyō, Tokyo, ...
'' list and
modern kana usage is the present official ''kanazukai'' (system of spelling the Japanese syllabary). Also known as , it is derived from historical usage. History As long ago as the Meiji Restoration, there had been dissatisfaction regarding the growing discr ...
. On this subject, he released the book ''Watashi no kokugokyōshitsu'' (私の國語教室; lit. 'My Japanese language classroom') in 1960, where he advocated for the reversal of the post-war Japanese script reforms, which he argued were irrational and destructive, the preservation of
historical kana usage The , or , refers to the in general use until orthographic reforms after World War II; the current orthography was adopted by Cabinet order in 1946. By that point the historical orthography was no longer in accord with Japanese pronunciation ...
and the abolition of restrictions on the usage of
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 ...
. Fukuda himself never adopted the style mandated by the reforms, writing in historical kana and traditional kanji, though some publishing houses converted his writing into modern usage after his death. His representative works as a literary translator include Shakespeare's ''
Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
'', ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'', ''
Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
'' and ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
'',
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
's ''
The Old Man and the Sea ''The Old Man and the Sea'' is a novella written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cayo Blanco (Cuba), and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction written by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. ...
'', and
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
's '' Salome'' and ''
The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical fiction, philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''Th ...
''. In the 1950s, Fukuda also wrote and produced plays, including ''Kitty Typhoon'' and also ''The Man Who Stroked a Dragon''. He was linked to Shingeki, and in 1955 he did a production of ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' with Hiroshi Akutagawa, son of
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa , art name , was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "father of the Japanese short story", and Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him. He committed suicide at the age of ...
, playing the lead role. He also wrote a 1957 essay ''Directing Shakespeare'', which dealt with his views on the subject of directing Shakespearean plays. Later he did a Japanese version, based on his translation, of ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
''. In addition, he helped found the
Kumo Theatre Company The was a Japanese theatre company that staged Western-style plays. In 1963, its members split from the Bungakuza company to form their own troupe in response to what they viewed as their former troupe's overly leftist politics. In 1976, the ...
(present-day
Theatre Company Subaru The is a theatre company based in Tokyo, Japan, founded by Tsuneari Fukuda in 1976. Overview The origin of the troupe can be traced back to 1963, when playwright Fukuda first established the Kumo Theatre Company together with Hiroshi Akutagawa ...
) and received the
Yomiuri Prize The is a literary award in Japan. The prize was founded in 1949 by the Yomiuri Shinbun Company to help form a "strong cultural nation". The winner is awarded two million Japanese yen and an inkstone. Award categories For the first two years, a ...
multiple times. He died at the age of 82 from complications related to pneumonia at Tōkai University Ōiso Hospital on 20 November 1994.


See also

*
Fukuzawa Yukichi was a Japanese educator, philosopher, writer, entrepreneur and samurai who founded Keio University, the newspaper '' Jiji-Shinpō'', and the Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases. Fukuzawa was an early advocate for reform in Japan. His ...
*
Nakae Chōmin was the pen-name of a journalist, political theorist and statesman in Meiji-period Japan. His real name was . His major contribution was the popularization of the egalitarian doctrines of the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Japan ...
*
Natsume Sōseki , born , was a Japanese novelist. He is best known around the world for his novels ''Kokoro'', '' Botchan'', ''I Am a Cat'', '' Kusamakura'' and his unfinished work '' Light and Darkness''. He was also a scholar of British literature and writer ...
* Susumu Nishibe *
Yamamoto Tsunetomo , Buddhist monastic name Yamamoto Jōchō (June 11, 1659 – November 30, 1719), was a samurai of the Saga Domain in Hizen Province under his lord Nabeshima Mitsushige. He became a Zen Buddhist priest and relayed his experiences, memories, ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fukuda, Tsuneari English–Japanese translators Japanese dramatists and playwrights Japanese theatre directors Translators of William Shakespeare Japanese literary critics Yomiuri Prize winners 1912 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Japanese translators 20th-century poets