Ryōtarō Shiba
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, also known as , was a Japanese author. He is best known for his novels about historical events in Japan and on the Northeast Asian sub-continent, as well as his historical and cultural essays pertaining to Japan and its relationship to the rest of the world.


Career

Shiba took his pen name from
Sima Qian Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...
, the great
Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
historian (Shiba is the Japanese rendition of Sima). He studied Mongolian at the Osaka School of Foreign Languages (now the School of Foreign Studies
an

reference text.
at
Osaka University The , abbreviated as UOsaka or , is a List of national universities in Japan, national research university in Osaka, Japan. The university traces its roots back to Edo period, Edo-era institutions Tekijuku (1838) and Kaitokudō, Kaitokudo (1724), ...
) and began his career as a journalist with the ''
Sankei Shimbun The , name short for , is a daily national newspaper in Japan published by the Sankei Shimbun Co., Ltd, ranking amongst the top five most circulated newspapers in Japan. Together with its English-language paper ''Japan Forward'', the ''Sankei ...
'', one of Japan's major newspapers. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Shiba began writing historical novels. The magazine '' Shukan Asahi'' ( :ja:週刊朝日) printed Shiba's articles about his travels within Japan in a series that ran for 1,146 installments. Shiba received the Naoki Prize for the 1959 novel '' Fukurō no Shiro'' ("Castle of Owls"). In 1993 Shiba received the Government's Order of Cultural Merit.Ryotaro Shiba, 72, Historical Novelist
" ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. Friday February 16, 1996. Retrieved on July 11, 2009.
Shiba was a prolific author who frequently wrote about the dramatic change Japan went through during the late Edo and early Meiji periods. His most monumental works include ''Kunitori Monogatari'', ''Ryoma ga Yuku'' (see below), ''Moeyo Ken'', and '' Saka no Ue no Kumo'', all of which have spawned dramatizations, most notably
Taiga drama is the name NHK gives to the annual year-long historical drama television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white ''Hana no Shōgai'', starring kabuki actor Onoe Shoroku II and Awashima Chikage, the network regul ...
s aired in hour-long segments over a full year on
NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...
television. He also wrote numerous essays that were published in collections, one of which—''Kaidō wo Yuku''—is a multi-volume journal-like work covering his travels across Japan and around the world. Shiba is widely appreciated for the originality of his analyses of historical events, and many people in Japan have read at least one of his works. Several of Shiba's works have been translated into English, including '' Drunk as a Lord: Samurai Stories '' (2001), his fictionalized biographies of Kukai (''Kukai the Universal: Scenes from His Life'', 2003) and
Tokugawa Yoshinobu Kazoku, Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned his position as shogun in late 1867, while ai ...
(''The Last Shogun: The Life of Tokugawa Yoshinobu'', 2004), as well as '' The Tatar Whirlwind: A Novel of Seventeenth-Century East Asia'' (2007) and '' Clouds Above the Hill '' (2012, 2013, 2014).


''Ryōma Goes His Way''

One of Shiba's best known works, , is a historical novel about Sakamoto Ryōma, 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 ...
who was instrumental in bringing about Japan's
Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
, after which values and elements from Western culture were introduced into the country, sparking dramatic change. The late
Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
was a very confused time when the country split into two factions. Japan had banned international trade for over two hundred years and isolated itself from the rest of the world. During the Edo period, the
Japanese government The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary state, containing forty- ...
, which was led by the
Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty which produced the Tokugawa shoguns who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868 during the Edo period. It was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of ...
, had agreed to open the country to trade with the United States and several European countries. However, many people were against this and they started a movement called '' Sonnō-Jōi'' (revere the
emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
and expel the
barbarian A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...
s). They believed that they should stand up and fight the foreigners to protect the country from outside domination. The Tokugawa had usurped political power from the
emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
, but he was still considered by many to be the sacred symbol of Japan. To protect the country, the Sonnō-Jōi faction sought to restore the emperor's political authority by overthrowing the
Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...
. Partisans of these two political institutions caused civil war-like confusion, and assassinations were frequent. In ''Ryōma ga Yuku'', Sakamoto Ryōma, the protagonist, starts out as a member of the Sonnō-Jōi faction but gradually realizes that people need to realize how much stronger other countries have grown during Japan's two centuries of national seclusion. Japan was almost powerless in the face of the technology and well-developed industry of the contemporary Western powers. He believed that Japan needed to adopt elements of Western culture to develop into a country that could stand equally among nations. Sakamoto Ryōma was not well known in Japan prior to the publication of ''Ryōma ga Yuku''. ''Ryōma ga Yuku'' is Shiba's best selling work in Japanese, with 21,250,000 copies sold.


''Kaidō wo Yuku''

is a series of travel essays initially published in '' Shūkan Asahi'', a weekly magazine, from 1971 until 1996. Shiba wrote the series with an intercultural perspective, making observations about the history, geography, and people of the places he visited. Though mostly about different areas of Japan, the series includes several volumes on foreign lands as well—China, Korea, the '' Namban'' countries (Spain and Portugal), Ireland, the Netherlands, Mongolia, Taiwan, and New York. The work, now available in multi-volume book form, was also developed into documentary series and broadcast on
NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...
, Japan's
public television Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...
broadcaster. The series ran for 1,146 installments.


''Clouds Above the Hill''

Another well-known work, , is a historical epic centering on the careers of two ambitious brothers who work their way up from a rural backwater to positions of eminence in the new post-1868
Meiji period The was 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 colonizatio ...
. In it, the Akiyama brothers strive to build a Japanese military capable of holding its own in an unstable region and 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 ...
becomes the central stage for their involvement in the frenzied modernisation and ascendancy of Japan in the region and subsequently, the world. It is Shiba's second best selling work in Japanese, with 14,750,000 copies sold.


Battles of Khalkhin Gol

Shiba began working on a novel based on the
Battles of Khalkhin Gol The Battles of Khalkhin Gol (; ) were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union, Mongolian People's Republic, Mongolia, Empire of Japan, Japan and Manchukuo in 1939. The conflict wa ...
and conducted research. However, as he delved deeper into his research, his motivation to write dwindled. In the end, he gave up writing.


Death

Shiba suffered internal bleeding and lapsed into a coma on February 10, 1996. He died two days later.


Works


Novels

* '' Fukurō no Shiro'' (1959) * ''Zeeroku Bushido'' (, 1960) * '' Kaze no Bushi'' (1961) * ''Senun no yume'' (, 1961) * ''Fujin no mon'' (, 1962) * ''Ryoma ga Yuku'' (, 1963–66) * '' Moeyo Ken'' (1964) * ''Shirikurae Magoichi'' (, 1964) * ''Komyo ga tsuji'' (, 1965) * ''Shiro wo toru hanashi'' (, 1965) * ''Kunitori monogatari'' (, 1965) * ''Yotte soro'' (, 1965), published in English as '' Drunk as a Lord'' * ''Hokuto no hito'' (, 1966) * ''Niwaka Naniwa yukyoden'' (, 1966) * ''Sekigahara'' (, 1966) * ''Jūichibanme no shishi'' (, 1967) * ''Saigo no Shōgun'' (, 1967), translated into English as '' The Last Shogun: The Life of Tokugawa Yoshinobu '', () about
Tokugawa Yoshinobu Kazoku, Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned his position as shogun in late 1867, while ai ...
. * ''Junshi'' (, 1967) * ''Natsukusa no fu'' (, 1968) * ''Shinshi taikoki'' (, 1968) * ''Yoshitsune'' (, 1968) * ''Touge'' (, 1968) * ''Musashi'' (, 1968) * '' Saka no ue no kumo'' (1969), translated into English as '' Clouds Above the Hill '' (), a work of historical fiction about 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 ...
. * ''Yōkai'' (, 1969) * ''Daitōzenshi'' (, 1969) * ''Saigetsu'' (, 1969) * ''Yoni sumu hibi'' (, 1971) * ''Jousai'' (, 1971–72) * ''Kashin'' (, 1972) * ''Haō no ie'' (, 1973) * ''Harimanada monogatari'' (, 1975) * ''Tobu ga gotoku'' (, 1975–76) * ''Kūkai no fukei'' (, 1975), translated into English as '' Kukai the Universal: Scenes from his Life '' () about the great Japanese monk Kukai who founded the
Shingon is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric uddhismof Tō- ...
school and is said to have invented the Japanese
kana are syllabary, syllabaries used to write Japanese phonology, Japanese phonological units, Mora (linguistics), morae. In current usage, ''kana'' most commonly refers to ''hiragana'' and ''katakana''. It can also refer to their ancestor , wh ...
writing system. * ''Kochō no yume'' (, 1979) * ''Kouu to Ryūhō'' (, 1980) * ''Hitobito no ashioto'' (, 1981) * ''Nanohana no oki'' (, 1982) * ''Hakone no saka'' (, 1984) * ''Dattan shippuroku'' (, 1987), translated into English as '' The Tatar Whirlwind: A Novel of Seventeenth-Century East Asia '' (), about the decline of the Ming dynasty, the rise of the Manchus and the interplay of these two periods in China's history with Tokugawa Japan.


Manga

* '' Moeyo Ken'' (2021–present) (written by Emeru Komatsu and illustrated by Yoshiki Kanata; serialized on '' Comic Bunch Kai'') * '' Ryōma ga Yuku'' (2022–present) (illustrated by Yū Suzunoki; serialized on '' Shūkan Bunshun'')


Honours

* Naoki Prize (1960) * Kikuchi Kan Prize (1966) * Yomiuri Prize (1981) *
Asahi Prize The , established in 1929, is an award presented by the Japanese newspaper ''Asahi Shimbun'' and Asahi Shimbun Foundation to honor individuals and groups that have made outstanding accomplishments in the fields of arts and academics and have greatl ...
(1982) * Person of Cultural Merit (1991) *
Order of Culture The is a Japanese Order (decoration), order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japanese Art, Japan's art, Japanese Literature, literature, science, technolog ...
(1993) *
Junior Third Rank The court ranks of Japan, also known in Japanese language, Japanese as ''ikai'' (位階), are indications of an individual's court rank in Japan based on the system of the Nation, state. ''Ikai'' as a system was the indication of the rank of burea ...
(1996, Posthumous)


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 ...
*
Taiga drama is the name NHK gives to the annual year-long historical drama television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white ''Hana no Shōgai'', starring kabuki actor Onoe Shoroku II and Awashima Chikage, the network regul ...
*
Ōkunitama Shrine is a shrine located in Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan. Six shrines in Musashi province were consolidated and their gods enshrined there. Ōkunitama is now known as one of the five major shrines in Tokyo, the others being the Tokyo Great Shrine, Yasuku ...


References


External links


Shiba Ryōtarō Memorial Museum
*

at JLPP (Japanese Literature Publishing Project) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shiba Ryotaro 1923 births 1996 deaths Japanese writers Japanese historical novelists Writers from Osaka Osaka University alumni Naoki Prize winners Yomiuri Prize winners Recipients of the Order of Culture 20th-century Japanese novelists