早いもので、もう８月です。
最近 Ernesto Mr. T は夏には España へ行きますが、若き日は 何度か金沢を訪れました。
今日は その金沢の文豪 室生犀星の生まれた日です。
室生 犀星(むろう さいせい、本名: 室生 照道[てるみち])は1889年(明治22年) 8月1日 に石川県金沢市に生まれました。加賀藩の足軽頭だった小畠家の小畠弥左衛門吉種とハルという名の女性の間に私生児として生まれたのです。生後間もなく、生家近くの、真言宗寺院雨宝院住職室生真乗の内縁の妻赤井ハツに引き取られ、その妻の私生児として照道の名で戸籍に登録されました。住職の室生家に養子として入ったのは7歳のときで、この際室生照道を名乗ることになったのです。私生児として生まれ、実の両親の顔を見ることもなく、生まれてすぐに養子に出されたことは犀星の生い立ちと文学に深い影響を与えたようです。「お前はオカンボ(妾を意味する金沢の方言)の子だ」と揶揄された犀星は、生みの母親についての複雑な気持ちを背負っていたようです。『犀星発句集』(1943年)にある
夏の日の匹婦の腹に生まれけり
の句を見ると、50歳を過ぎた後も、犀星が複雑な気持ちを引きずっていたことが痛いほど分ります。
1902年(明治35年)金沢市立長町高等小学校を中退し金沢地方裁判所に給仕として就職し、裁判所の上司に河越風骨、赤倉錦風といった俳人があり手ほどきを受けています。新聞へ投句を始め1904年(明治37年)10月8日付けの『北國新聞』に初掲載されます。この時の号は照文でした。その後詩、短歌などにも手を染め、犀星を名乗ったのは1906年(明治39年)からでした。犀星という筆名は、当時金沢で活動をしていた漢詩人の国府犀東に対抗したもので、犀川の西に生まれ育ったことからと言われています。犀星が育った雨宝院は犀川左岸にあり、犀星はこの川の風情と、上流に見える山々の景色とをことの外愛していました。1913年(大正2年)北原白秋に認められ白秋主宰の詩集『朱欒(ざんぼあ)』に寄稿します。同じく寄稿していた萩原朔太郎と親交を持つようにもなります。1916年(大正5年) 萩原と共に同人誌『感情』を発行し、1919年(大正8年)までに32号まで刊行しました。この年には中央公論に『幼年時代』、『性に目覚める頃』等を掲載し、すでに注文が来る作家になっていました。1929年(昭和4年)初の句集『魚眠洞発句集』を刊行します。1930年代から小説の多作期に入り1934年(昭和9年)『詩よ君とお別れする』を発表し、詩との訣別を宣言しましたが、実際にはその後も多くの詩作を行っています。1935年(昭和10年)、『あにいもうと』で文芸懇話会賞を受賞し、 芥川賞の選考委員にもなり、1942年(昭和17年)まで続けました。1941年(昭和16年)には菊池寛賞も受賞しています。
戦後は小説家としての地位を確立し、多くの作品を生み出しました。娘朝子をモデルとした1958年(昭和33年)の半自叙伝的な長編『杏っ子』(Ernesto Mr. T はこのスペイン語版の映画[成瀬巳喜男監督]を探しています)は読売文学賞、同年の評論『わが愛する詩人の伝記』は毎日出版文化賞を受賞しました。古典を基にした『かげろふの日記遺文』(1959年[昭和34年])では野間文芸賞を受賞しました。この賞金から翌年、室生犀星詩人賞を設定しました。1962年(昭和37年)、 肺癌の為に死去しました。
抒情小曲集の「ふるさとは遠きにありて思ふもの/そして悲しくうたふもの」の詩句が有名です。この句の通り、文壇に名を轟かすようになった後も金沢にはほとんど戻ることがなく、その代わりに犀川の写真を貼っていたそうです。
Murō Saisei (室生 犀星) was a famous poet and novelit in modern Japanese literature from Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture.
His real name was Murō Terumichi. Born on August 1, 1889, he was given birth by his mother Haru, who was never formally married to his father, Kobata Yozaemon-kichidane, a low-ranked military commander from the Kobata family. Right after his birth, he was adopted by Akai Hatsu, a common-law wife of Muro Shinjo, the chief priest at Uho Temple (真言宗寺院雨宝院). He gained his Muro family name at the age of seven when he was formally adopted by his stepfather. He never met his biological parents. The fact that he was born as an illegitimate child has had immense impact on his life and his literature. During his childhood, he was bullied by peers as 'the mistress' child'. At the same time, he craved for a mother he never had. This gave him the burden of having double bind thoughts to his biological mother, such as in the following poem;
Born into the womb of a *hippu on a summer's day.
* a woman in a very low social position who is considered stupid and worthless
This poem was written in 1943 when he was 54 years old - an example of how he was haunted by his childhood for most of his life.
In 1902, he left Kanazawa High Elementary school (equivalent to junior high school today) and started working as a clerk at the Kanazawa Regional Court. His bosses included Haiku-readers such as Kawagoe Bukotsu and Akakura Kimpu who taught him how to read/compose Haikus. After numerous applications to local newspapers, his Haiku was first published on October 8, 1904 in Kitakuni-Shimbun. Eventually, he also started writing poems and Tankas (a Japanese poem of thirty‐one syllables).
He started to use his pen name - Saisei - in 1906. The name was an attempt to compete against Kokubu Saito, an active kanshi(Chinese-poetry) writer in the Kanazawa area at the time. He choose "Saisei" to mean "West of the Sai-River" which was the place he grew up. The Uho Temple was located on the left side of the River Sai. Saisei adored the atmosphere of this river and the mountainous sceneries up the river.
In 1913, he was invited by Kitahara Hakushu to write for Hakushu’s poem collection “Zamboa”. He befriended Hagiwara Sakutaro through this occasion. In 1916, Saisei and Sakutaro started an unofficial magazine called “Kanjo” (emotions) to publish their work. They continued to publish the magazine until their 32nd issue in 1919. During the same year, Saisei had written for Chūōkōron, a renowned literary magazine in Japan. He had published such literature as “Childhood” and “Awakening to Sexuality” and was gaining publicity as a writer. He published his first Haiku Collection “Gyomindouhatsu-kushu” in 1929.
By the 1930s, he entered his era of writing novels and published a book titled “Goodbye Poem, I am breaking up with you” in 1934 as his declaration of farewell to poetry, but he actually had composed quite a lot of poems even after this public announcement. In 1935, he received the Bungei Konwakai (Discussion Group) Award with his novel “Ani Imouto” (Big Brother and Little Sister). He became part of the committee on the Akutagawa Prize (one of the most prestigious literature award in Japan) and continued until 1942. He also received the Kan Kikuchi Award in 1941.
It was after World War II that Saisei established his status as a novelist, producing many excellent novels. "Anzukko"(Apricot-girl) released in 1958 was a partial autobiography based on his daughter Asako. He won the Yomiuri Prize for this piece. Also in 1958, he received the Mainichi Publishing Culture Prize for his review "The biography of my beloved poet". For his classic based novel "Remenants from the Mayfly's diary" (1959), he received the Noma Literary Prize. In the following year, he created the 'Muro Saisei Poet Prize' from the money he received from the prize. He died of cancer in 1962.
The full collection of his literature was published both before (by publisher Hibonkaku, 1936–37, 13 Volumes plus 1 attachment) and after (by publisher Shinchosha, 1964–68, 12 Volumes plus 2 attachments) his death . For his poetry, two publishers (Chikuma Shobo, Fuyukisha) have published full collection of poems. As for his novels, his daughter Asako Muro has edited and published "The Full Kingdom Story of Muro Saisei" (Sakuhinsha).
His most famous poem is the following from his small poetry collection:
Home is where you reminisce when you are far away and sing with sorrow
He has never returned to his hometown Kanazawa after his success in Tokyo but always kept a picture of the River Sai.
Murō Saisei (室生 犀星) was a famous poet and novelit in modern Japanese literature from Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture.
His real name was Murō Terumichi. Born on August 1, 1889, he was given birth by his mother Haru, who was never formally married to his father, Kobata Yozaemon-kichidane, a low-ranked military commander from the Kobata family. Right after his birth, he was adopted by Akai Hatsu, a common-law wife of Muro Shinjo, the chief priest at Uho Temple (真言宗寺院雨宝院). He gained his Muro family name at the age of seven when he was formally adopted by his stepfather. He never met his biological parents. The fact that he was born as an illegitimate child has had immense impact on his life and his literature. During his childhood, he was bullied by peers as 'the mistress' child'. At the same time, he craved for a mother he never had. This gave him the burden of having double bind thoughts to his biological mother, such as in the following poem;
Born into the womb of a *hippu on a summer's day.
* a woman in a very low social position who is considered stupid and worthless
This poem was written in 1943 when he was 54 years old - an example of how he was haunted by his childhood for most of his life.
In 1902, he left Kanazawa High Elementary school (equivalent to junior high school today) and started working as a clerk at the Kanazawa Regional Court. His bosses included Haiku-readers such as Kawagoe Bukotsu and Akakura Kimpu who taught him how to read/compose Haikus. After numerous applications to local newspapers, his Haiku was first published on October 8, 1904 in Kitakuni-Shimbun. Eventually, he also started writing poems and Tankas (a Japanese poem of thirty‐one syllables).
He started to use his pen name - Saisei - in 1906. The name was an attempt to compete against Kokubu Saito, an active kanshi(Chinese-poetry) writer in the Kanazawa area at the time. He choose "Saisei" to mean "West of the Sai-River" which was the place he grew up. The Uho Temple was located on the left side of the River Sai. Saisei adored the atmosphere of this river and the mountainous sceneries up the river.
In 1913, he was invited by Kitahara Hakushu to write for Hakushu’s poem collection “Zamboa”. He befriended Hagiwara Sakutaro through this occasion. In 1916, Saisei and Sakutaro started an unofficial magazine called “Kanjo” (emotions) to publish their work. They continued to publish the magazine until their 32nd issue in 1919. During the same year, Saisei had written for Chūōkōron, a renowned literary magazine in Japan. He had published such literature as “Childhood” and “Awakening to Sexuality” and was gaining publicity as a writer. He published his first Haiku Collection “Gyomindouhatsu-kushu” in 1929.
By the 1930s, he entered his era of writing novels and published a book titled “Goodbye Poem, I am breaking up with you” in 1934 as his declaration of farewell to poetry, but he actually had composed quite a lot of poems even after this public announcement. In 1935, he received the Bungei Konwakai (Discussion Group) Award with his novel “Ani Imouto” (Big Brother and Little Sister). He became part of the committee on the Akutagawa Prize (one of the most prestigious literature award in Japan) and continued until 1942. He also received the Kan Kikuchi Award in 1941.
It was after World War II that Saisei established his status as a novelist, producing many excellent novels. "Anzukko"(Apricot-girl) released in 1958 was a partial autobiography based on his daughter Asako. He won the Yomiuri Prize for this piece. Also in 1958, he received the Mainichi Publishing Culture Prize for his review "The biography of my beloved poet". For his classic based novel "Remenants from the Mayfly's diary" (1959), he received the Noma Literary Prize. In the following year, he created the 'Muro Saisei Poet Prize' from the money he received from the prize. He died of cancer in 1962.
The full collection of his literature was published both before (by publisher Hibonkaku, 1936–37, 13 Volumes plus 1 attachment) and after (by publisher Shinchosha, 1964–68, 12 Volumes plus 2 attachments) his death . For his poetry, two publishers (Chikuma Shobo, Fuyukisha) have published full collection of poems. As for his novels, his daughter Asako Muro has edited and published "The Full Kingdom Story of Muro Saisei" (Sakuhinsha).
His most famous poem is the following from his small poetry collection:
Home is where you reminisce when you are far away and sing with sorrow
He has never returned to his hometown Kanazawa after his success in Tokyo but always kept a picture of the River Sai.
☝室生犀星の小説を元にした成瀬巳喜男監督作の『杏っ子』、ErnestoMr. T はこのスペイン語版を探しています。(☜ 既に見付かりました)
