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OldTaoist This page intentionally left blank OldTaoist TheLife,Art,andPoetryofKodo¯jin(1865–1944) StephenAddiss TranslationsofandCommentaryon ChinesePoemsby Jonathan Chaves WithanEssayby J. Thomas Rimer ColumbiaUniversityPress NewYork columbia university press PublishersSince1893 NewYork Chichester,WestSussex Copyright(cid:1)2000ColumbiaUniversityPress Allrightsreserved ColumbiaUniversityPresswishestoexpressits appreciationtoTheUniversityofRichmond, RobertFeinberg,TheGeorgeWashington UniversityColumbianSchoolofArtsand Sciences,andKurtA.Gitterforassistanceinthe publicationofthisvolume. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-Publication Data Addiss,Stephen,1935– OldTaoist:thelife,art,andpoetryof Kodo¯jin(1865–1944)/StephenAddiss: translationsofandcommentaryonChinese poemsbyJonathanChaves;withanessayby J.ThomasRimer. p. cm. Includesindex. isbn0–231–11656-x(cloth) isbn0–231–11657-8(paper) 1. Fukuda,Haritsu,1865–1944. 2. Authors,Japanese—20thcentury— Biography. I. Chaves,Jonathan. II. Rimer,J.Thomas. III. Title. pl806.k75z53 1999 895.6(cid:2)144—dc21 99–31836 (cid:3)(cid:1) CaseboundeditionsofColumbiaUniversity Pressbooksareprintedonpermanentand durableacid-freepaper. PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Dedicatedto AudreyYoshikoSeo and ElizabethAnnaChaves This page intentionally left blank Contents PrefaceandAcknowledgments ix 1 Kodo¯jin’sLifeandArt 1 2 Kodo¯jin’sJapanesePoetry 57 3 Kodo¯jinandtheT’aoCh’ien TraditioninKanshiPoetry 73 by jonathan chaves 4 Kodo¯jin’sChinesePoetry 89 translated by jonathan chaves 5 ANoteonKodo¯jinandtheArtand LiteratureofHisPeriod 155 by j. thomas rimer Epilogue 161 Notes 165 Index 171 This page intentionally left blank PrefaceandAcknowledgments Who was Kodo¯jin, whose name means ‘‘the old Taoist,’’ and how could such a poet-scholar-artist have survived in the modern world? Could he reconcilemillennium-oldvalueswiththechangestakingplaceinthemod- ernage?Whatsuccesscouldaliteratusexpect,andindeed,howmuchsuc- cesswouldhedesire,inindustrialJapan?Dohislife,poetry,andartrepre- sent the resiliency of an old tradition faced withnew conditionsandnew challenges,orwashemerelyplantingflowersonadead-endroad? Untilafewyearsago,Ibelievedthattheliteratiwayoflifehadvanished afterthemodernizationandWesternizationofJapanthatbeganinthelate nineteenthcentury.TomiokaTessai,usuallyconsideredthelastmajorlite- rati artist, died in 1924, and whatever traces of bunjinga (scholar-poet painting) remained were integrated into the broad category of nihonga (Japanese-stylepainting).Thepersonaofapoet-sagewhodevoteshimself tostudyoftheancients,livesquietlyandmodestly,andcreatesartprimar- ilyforhimselfandhisfriendswouldseemtohavehadnoplaceinasociety thatvaluedeconomicgrowthandnationalachievementaboveall. It was therefore a considerable surprise to discover Fukuda Kodo¯jin, who lived almost through World War II andmaintainedaliteratilifestyle to the end of his days. He was a master not only of painting but also of calligraphy,kanshi(Chinese-languagepoetry),andhaiku.Intheturbulent twentiethcentury,hislifeisbestdescribedinoneofhisownquatrains: Alastfirefly—itseemstohaveapurpose aslateatnightitglimmersbehindmystudycurtain. Bamboodew—theheartofautumndrips, amomentwhenthebreeze-touchedlampisalmostextinguished. ix
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