Hirotsu Ryuro
Encyclopedia
was the pen-name of a novelist in Meiji period
Japan
. He is credited with the creation of the genre in Japanese literature of . His real name was Hirotsu Naoto.
(present-day Nagasaki prefecture
), to a samurai
-class family originally from Kurume domain. His father had been trained as a doctor, and was in Nagasaki studying western medicine
at the time of the Meiji Restoration
. Under the new Meiji government, he became a diplomat, and was involved in the Seikanron
issue between Japan and Korea
.
Ryurō was sent to Tokyo
in 1874 to study the German language
, and subsequently enrolled in the medical preparatory school of Tokyo Imperial University, but left without graduating in 1877. The following year, at the invitation of his father's friend Godai Tomoatsu
, he moved to Osaka
, and obtained a position as a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce
from 1881-1885. Around this time, he read the Chinese literature
classic Outlaws of the Marsh
and the Japanese fantasy novel Nansō Satomi Hakkenden
by Kyokutei Bakin
. These works, and the death of his father, was a turning point in his life, and he decided to abandon his secure career in the government for life as a writer.
, and joined his literary group Ken'yusha. In 1895, he published two novels which enabled him to achieve literary recognition: Hemeden and Kurotogake. These were the first of a new genre
in Japanese literature
, the "tragic novel", which he created. Heavily influenced by earlier Edo period
gesaku
writing, his stories are filled with improbable or incredible events, melodrama
, romanticism
and rather wooden characterization. His plots are typified by an inexorable progression of the protagonist through a series of pathetic and wretched experiences towards destruction dictated by an inflexible fate. His most famous work, Imado Shinju (Suicide at Imado) was published in 1896.
Ryurō retired from writing in 1908, and died of a heart attack
in 1928. His grave is at the Yanaka Cemetery
in Tokyo. The writer Hirotsu Kazuo
is his son.
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He is credited with the creation of the genre in Japanese literature of . His real name was Hirotsu Naoto.
Early life
Ryurō was born in Nagasaki, Buzen provinceBuzen Province
was an old province of Japan in northern Kyūshū in the area of Fukuoka Prefecture and Ōita Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Bungo Province. Buzen bordered on Bungo and Chikuzen Provinces....
(present-day Nagasaki prefecture
Nagasaki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. The capital is the city of Nagasaki.- History :Nagasaki Prefecture was created by merging of the western half of the former province of Hizen with the island provinces of Tsushima and Iki...
), to a samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
-class family originally from Kurume domain. His father had been trained as a doctor, and was in Nagasaki studying western medicine
Rangaku
Rangaku is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Western technology and medicine in the period when the country was closed to foreigners, 1641–1853, because of the Tokugawa shogunate’s policy of national...
at the time of the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
. Under the new Meiji government, he became a diplomat, and was involved in the Seikanron
Seikanron
The Seikanron debate was a major political conflagration which occurred in Japan in 1873....
issue between Japan and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
.
Ryurō was sent to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
in 1874 to study the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, and subsequently enrolled in the medical preparatory school of Tokyo Imperial University, but left without graduating in 1877. The following year, at the invitation of his father's friend Godai Tomoatsu
Godai Tomoatsu
was one of the Satsuma students of 1865, smuggled out of Bakumatsu period Japan to study in Great Britain. He returned to become Japan's leading entrepreneur of the early Meiji period.-Early life:...
, he moved to Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, and obtained a position as a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries may refer to:*Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries *Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries...
from 1881-1885. Around this time, he read the Chinese literature
Chinese literature
Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...
classic Outlaws of the Marsh
Water Margin
Water Margin , also known as Outlaws of the Marsh, All Men Are Brothers, Men of the Marshes, or The Marshes of Mount Liang, is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.Attributed to Shi Nai'an and written in vernacular Chinese, the story, set in the Song Dynasty,...
and the Japanese fantasy novel Nansō Satomi Hakkenden
Nanso Satomi Hakkenden
is a Japanese 106 volume epic novel by Kyokutei Bakin. Written over a period of nearly thirty years and published from 1814 to 1842, Bakin had gone blind before finishing the tale, and the final parts were dictated to his daughter-in-law Michi to be transcribed...
by Kyokutei Bakin
Kyokutei Bakin
was a late Japanese Edo period gesaku author best known for works such as Nansō Satomi Hakkenden and Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki.-Life:He was born as , he wrote under the pen name which is a pun as the kanji may also be read as Kuruwa de Makoto meaning a man who is truly devoted to the courtesans of...
. These works, and the death of his father, was a turning point in his life, and he decided to abandon his secure career in the government for life as a writer.
Literary career
In 1899, Ryurō met Ozaki KōyōOzaki Koyo
was a Japanese author. His real name was Ozaki Tokutarō .-Biography:Ozaki was the only son of Kokusai , a well-known netsuke carver in the Meiji period. He was educated at Tokyo Prefecture Middle School, and later Tokyo Imperial University...
, and joined his literary group Ken'yusha. In 1895, he published two novels which enabled him to achieve literary recognition: Hemeden and Kurotogake. These were the first of a new genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
in Japanese literature
Japanese literature
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...
, the "tragic novel", which he created. Heavily influenced by earlier Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
gesaku
Gesaku
is an alternative style, genre or school of Japanese literature. In the simplest contemporary sense, any literary work of a playful, mocking, joking, silly or frivolous nature may be called Gesaku. Unlike predecessors in the literary field, Gesaku writers did not strive for beauty and perfect...
writing, his stories are filled with improbable or incredible events, melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
, romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
and rather wooden characterization. His plots are typified by an inexorable progression of the protagonist through a series of pathetic and wretched experiences towards destruction dictated by an inflexible fate. His most famous work, Imado Shinju (Suicide at Imado) was published in 1896.
Ryurō retired from writing in 1908, and died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in 1928. His grave is at the Yanaka Cemetery
Yanaka Cemetery
is a large cemetery located north of Ueno in Yanaka 7-chome, Taito, Tokyo, Japan. The Yanaka sector of Taito is one of the few Tokyo neighborhoods in which the old Shitamachi atmosphere can still be felt...
in Tokyo. The writer Hirotsu Kazuo
Hirotsu Kazuo
was a novelist and literary critic active in the Shōwa period Japan.-Early life:Hirotsu was born in Tokyo as the second son of the novelist Hirotsu Ryurō. He had problems completing middle school due to his complete incompetence in mathematics...
is his son.
External links
- E-texts of works at Aozora BunkoAozora BunkoAozora Bunko is a Japanese digital library. This online collection encompasses several thousands of works of Japanese-language fiction and non-fiction. These include out-of-copyright books or works that the authors wish to make freely available....
(Japanese site) - Findagrave site