, better known by his pen name , was a Japanese author and critic who lived during the
Meiji Era
The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, 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 feu ...
. His
Dharma name
A Dharma name is a new name acquired during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation rituals in Mahayana Buddhism and Pabbajjā, monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it is more proper to call it Dhamma or Sangha name). The name is ...
was Shungyōin Ryokuu Suikaku Koji (春暁院緑雨醒客居士), which was chosen by
Kōda Rohan.
Biography
In 1896, with and , Ryokuu started a literary journal, in which by was met with high critical acclaim. After Ichiyō died on November of that year, Ryokuu helped her mother and sister make a living although he was far from being well-off. His literary friends include , and .
Ryokuu was a distinguished aphorist, as well as one of the most outspoken critics. Collections of his aphorisms were published in the late 20th century.
In 1904, the
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
which had plagued Ryokuu for years worsened, and no medical care helped him recuperate. On his deathbed, he referred Ichiyō's diaries, which he had hoped to publish, to Baba Kochō, and dictated him his own obituary. He died in the morning of 13 April of the same year.
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 writers
*
Writers from Japan
External links
作家別作品リスト：斎藤 緑雨Aozora Bunko
Aozora Bunko (, , also known as the "Open Air Library") is a Japanese digital library. This online collection encompasses several thousand works of Japanese-language fiction and non-fiction. These include out-of-copyright books or works that t ...
page for Saitō Ryokuu
1868 births
1904 deaths
Japanese writers
Japanese Buddhists
20th-century Buddhists
People from Suzuka, Mie
{{Japan-writer-stub