(December 8, 1868 – September 18, 1927) was a Japanese writer and philosopher. He wrote novels under the pseudonym of , and his best-known work was his 1899 novel ''The Cuckoo''.

Biography

Tokutomi was born on December 8, 1868, in Minamata, Japan, to a

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

family. He was the younger brother of journalist and historian

Tokutomi Sohō , born , was a Japanese journalist, publisher and historian. He advocated commoner Europeanism and Europeanization, established ''Min'yū-sha'', and launched the magazines '' Kokumin no Tomo'' and the newspaper '. He was the older brother of note ...

. He converted to Christianity in 1885, and moved to

Imabari, Ehime is a city in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. It is the second largest city in the prefecture. , the city had an estimated population of 152,111 in 75,947 households and a population density of 360 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Th ...

, where he lived with

Shiro Sokabe Shiro Sokabe (June 26, 1865 – July 3, 1949) was a Christian missionary from Japan who ministered in Honomu, Hawaii. He was known as the "Samurai Missionary" Early life Sokabe was born in Fukuoka, Japan on June 26, 1865. He was the oldest so ...

and was a student of Tokio Yokoi. This is also where he received the nickname "Roka". He later attended

Doshisha University , also referred to as , is a private university in Kyoto, Japan. Established in 1875, it is one of Japan's oldest private institutions of higher learning, and has approximately 30,000 students enrolled on four campuses in Kyoto. It is one of Japa ...

. He wrote for newspapers owned by his brother, Sohō, until his novel ''The Cuckoo'', was published and became successful enough that Tokutomi could make a living as a writer on his own. It was translated 15 times between 1904 and 1918, and is one of the first Japanese works to be widely translated and distributed internationally. After meeting

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

, Tokutomi became inspired to move to the countryside. Their correspondence is on display in the small museum located in the Roka Kōshun-en Park, along with belongings. From February 27, 1907, until his death, he lived in a house in Musashino (

Setagaya, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the Habenaria radi ...

, Japan). After his wife's death, the property was donated to the city of Tokyo to be used as a park. It was named Roka Kōshun-en in his honor. Tokutomi died on September 18, 1927, in Ikaho, Gunma, one day after reconciling with Sohō.

Selected bibliography

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References

External links

*
Nami-Ko, English translation by Sakae Shioya & E.F. Edgett (1904)(pdf)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tokutomi, Kenjiro 1868 births 1927 deaths 19th-century Japanese novelists 20th-century Japanese novelists Tolstoyans People from Imabari, Ehime People from Minamata, Kumamoto Writers from Kumamoto Prefecture Japanese Christian Zionists Doshisha University alumni 19th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers Activists from Kumamoto Prefecture