, known by his
pen name
A pen name or nom-de-plume 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 name may be used to make the author's na ...
, was a Japanese writer and
literary critic
A genre of arts 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 analysis of literature' ...
active in the
Shōwa and early
Heisei period
The was the Japanese era name, period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Akihito from 8 January 1989 until his 2019 Japanese imperial transition, abdication on 30 April 2019. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the ...
s.
Early life
Etō was born in the
Shinjuku
, officially called Shinjuku City, is a special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) as well as the Tokyo Metropol ...
district of
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
; his father was a banker, and his grandfather (originally from
Saga
Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia.
The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...
in
Kyūshū
is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...
) was an
admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
in the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...
. His mother died when he was four years old, and always sickly as a child, he was mostly educated at home. He had an interest in literature from an early age, ranging from the heavy works of
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work range from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle portr ...
and
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influent ...
, to the comics of
Suihō Tagawa
, better known by the pen name Suihō Tagawa (田河 水泡, ''Tagawa Suihō''), was a Japanese manga artist.
Biography
Born in Sumida, Tokyo, Nakatarō Takamizawa grew up an orphan: his mother died upon his birth, his father and his uncle (w ...
. In 1942, he was sent to boarding school in
Kamakura
, officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...
,
Kanagawa prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
. While in Kamakura, his family's house in Tokyo was destroyed during the
American air raids.
In the immediate postwar era, he went to high school in
Fujisawa,
Kanagawa prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
, where he developed a friendship with future Tokyo governor
Shintaro Ishihara
was a Japanese politician and writer, who served as the Governor of Tokyo Metropolis, Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. Being the former leader of the Far-right politics, radical right Sunrise Party, later merged with Toru Hashimoto's Japan ...
, who was one year ahead of him. He later returned to Tokyo, and eventually graduated from
Keio University
, abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally established as a school for Rangaku, Western studies in 1858 in Edo. It was granted university status in 1920, becomi ...
with a degree in
English literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...
. Etō moved from Kamakura to the
Ichigaya
is an area in the eastern portion of Shinjuku, Tokyo, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.
Places in Ichigaya
*Hosei University Ichigaya Campus
*Chuo University Graduate School
*Ministry of Defense (Japan), Ministry of Defense headquarters: Formerly Headqua ...
neighborhood in central Tokyo in 1948, returning to live in Kamakura from 1980 to his death.
Literary career
Although hired as a professor at the
Tokyo Institute of Technology
The Tokyo Institute of Technology () was a public university in Meguro, Tokyo, Japan. It merged with Tokyo Medical and Dental University to form the Institute of Science Tokyo on 1 October 2024.
The Tokyo Institute of Technology was a De ...
, Etō devoted most of his time and efforts into literature, and published his first work, ''Natsume Sōseki ron'' (1955), a critique of the famous Japanese writer
Natsume Sōseki
, born , was a Japanese novelist. He is best known for his novels ''Kokoro'', ''Botchan'', ''I Am a Cat'', ''Kusamakura (novel), Kusamakura'' and his unfinished work ''Light and Darkness (novel), Light and Darkness''. He was also a scholar of Br ...
, which won the
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 c ...
and the
Kikuchi Kan Prize
The honors achievement in all aspects of Japanese literary culture. It was named in honor of Kikuchi Kan. The prize is presented annually by the literary magazine '' Bungei Shunjū'' and the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature.
Histo ...
. He followed this with ''Dorei no shisō wo haisu'' (1958) and ''Sakka ha kōdō suru'' (1959), in which he argued that a writer's style was directly related to his personal behavior and background.
In 1958, Etō joined a group of young, left-wing writers, artists and composers to form the "Young Japan Society" (''Wakai Nihon no Kai'') for the purpose of protesting a draconian Police Duties Bill introduced by conservative prime minister
Nobusuke Kishi
was a Japanese bureaucrat and politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1957 to 1960. He is remembered for his exploitative economic management of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in China in the 1930s, ...
that would have authorized police use of warrantless searches and seizures against left-wing activists. Etō and the Young Japan Society later participated in the massive
Anpo protests against Kishi's effort to revise the
U.S.-Japan Security Treaty from 1959 to 1960.
In 1962, he published ''Kobayashi Hideo ronshū'', in which he dared to write a critique on the famous
literary critic
A genre of arts 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 analysis of literature' ...
Kobayashi Hideo
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 tech ...
. This work was awarded the Shichosha Literary Prize. Shortly afterwards, he departed for the United States for two years, for advanced studies at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
at the invitation of the
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
.
Other works include ''Ichizoku saikai'' (1967–1972) in which he attempted to trace his family roots and at the same time, the roots of the
Japanese people
are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago. Japanese people constitute 97.4% of the population of the country of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 125 million people are of Japanese descent, making them list of contempora ...
.
Etō was a very prolific author, and his books and essays ranged from
literary criticism
A genre of arts 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 analysis of literature's ...
and to postwar
political commentary
Political criticism, also referred to as political commentary or political discussion, is a type of criticism that is specific of or relevant to politics, including policies, politicians, political parties, and types of government.
See also
*Cr ...
; through taking controversial viewpoints, he also established himself as one of foremost public intellectuals in the print and television. He was initially a prominent member of the movement against the
, establishing the "Young Japan Society" with like-minded writers and intellectuals, although he later reversed his position after a revised version of the treaty was ratified, accusing his former colleagues of "intellectual bankruptcy" and of confusing politics with morality.
Etō especially drew controversy during the mid-1960s when he produced a series of essays after his return from Princeton, which indicated a shift to the
far right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...
end of the political spectrum. He was highly critical of the policies of the
American occupation, which he felt had destroyed or subverted Japanese traditions. He was especially critical of the post-war
Constitution of Japan
The Constitution of Japan is the supreme law of Japan. Written primarily by American civilian officials during the occupation of Japan after World War II, it was adopted on 3 November 1946 and came into effect on 3 May 1947, succeeding the Meij ...
, which he asserted was a foreign import imposed upon Japan which needed revision, if not replacement.
In 1970, Etō completed ''Umi ga Yomigaeru'', a work on the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
, which (in August 1977) was made into the first three-hour historical drama to be aired on Japanese television.
In 1975, he submitted a doctoral dissertation entitled ''Sōseki to Āsā-Ō densetsu'' ("Sōseki and the Arthurian Legend") to Keiō University, and received his doctoral degree. The dissertation was a literary criticism of ''
Kairo-kō: A Dirge'' and he argued that Soseki's own love affair was reflected in the plot.
He was awarded the Japan Art Academy Award in the same year and in 1991, 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 ...
. From 1994, he was an honorary chairman of the Japan Writer's Association and was on the judging committees for many of Japan's literary awards.
On 21 July 1999, Etō committed
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death.
Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
at his home in Kamakura by cutting his left wrist. He had been depressed by the death of his wife due to cancer the previous year, and by a
stroke
Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
which he had suffered, which made writing difficult. His funeral was held per
Shinto
, also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...
rites, and his grave is at the
Aoyama Cemetery
is a cemetery in Aoyama, Tokyo, Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The cemetery is known for its cherry blossoms and is popular during the season of .
History
The cemetery was origin ...
in Tokyo.
Selected bibliography
* Eto, Jun. '. Kawade Shobo Shinsha. .
* Eto, Jun. ''A Nation Reborn: A short history of postwar Japan''. International Society for Educational Information (1974). ASIN: B0006D99OO
* Eto, Jun. ''Closed Linguistic Space: Censorship by the Occupation Forces and Postwar Japan''. Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture (2020). .
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-Japa ...
*
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 ...
Notes
References
* Fukuda, Kazuya. ''Eto Jun to iu hito''. Shinchosha (2000).
* Berkofsky, Alex. A Pacifist Constitution for an Armed Empire. Past and Present of Japanese Security and Defense Policies. FrancoAngeli (2001)
*Brune, Lester. The Korean war: handbook of the literature and research. Greenwood Publishing Group (1996).
* Kwak, Jun-Hyeok. Inherited Responsibility and Historical Reconciliation in East Asia. Routledge. (2013)
*Rimer, J. Thomas. The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature: From 1945 to the Present. Columbia University Press (2007)
* Tansman, Alan and Dennis Washburn. (1997). ''Studies in Modern Japanese Literature: Essays and Translations in Honor of
Edwin McClellan
Edwin McClellan (24 October 1925 – 27 April 2009) was a British Japanologist, teacher, writer, translator and interpreter of Japanese literature and culture.
Biography
McClellan was born in Kobe, Japan in 1925 to a Japanese mother, Teruko Yo ...
.'' Ann Arbor: Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan. (cloth)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eto, Jun
1932 births
1999 suicides
1999 deaths
Audiobook narrators
Japanese literary critics
Japanese monarchists
Japanese political commentators
Japanese political writers
Japanese Shintoists
20th-century Shintoists
People from Shinjuku
Princeton University faculty
Rockefeller Fellows
Keio University alumni
Academic staff of Keio University
Suicides by sharp instrument in Japan
Academic staff of Taisho University
Academic staff of Tokyo Institute of Technology
Writers from Tokyo
20th-century Japanese novelists
20th-century Japanese essayists
Presidents of the Japan Writers’ Association
Burials at Aoyama Cemetery