The Similitude of Blossoms: A Critical Biography of Izumi Koyka (1873-1939), Japanese Novelist and Playwright PDF
Preview The Similitude of Blossoms: A Critical Biography of Izumi Koyka (1873-1939), Japanese Novelist and Playwright
The Similitude of Blossoms Harvard East Asian Monographs, 172 The Similitude of Blossoms A Critical Biography of Izumi Kyoka (r873-I939), ] apanese Novelist and Playwright Charles Shiro Inouye ~ Published by the Harvard University Asia Center and distributed by Harvard University Press Cambridge (Massachusetts) and London, 1998 © 1998 by the President and Fellows ofHarvard College Printed in the United States of America The Harvard University Asia Center publishes a monograph series and, in coordination with the Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, the Korea Institute, the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, and other faculties and institutes, administers research projects designed to further scholarly understanding of China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, and other Asian countries. The Center also sponsors projects addressing multidisciplinary and regional issues in Asia. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Inouye, Charles Shiro. The similitude of blossoms: a critical biography ofizumi Kyoka (1873-1939), Japanese novelist and playwright I Charles Shiro Inouye. p. em.--(Harvard East Asian monographs: 172) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN o-674-80816-9 ( alk. paper) 1. Izumi, Kyoka, 1873-1939· 2. Authors, Japanese--2oth century -Biography. I. Title. II. Series. PL 809.2927396 985.6'342--dc21 98-35543 CIP Index by the author @ Printed on acid-free paper Last figure below indicates year of this printing o8 07 o6 05 04 03 02 01 oo 99 98 TO HOWARD HIBBETT AND MURAMATSU SADATAKA The twofold world of our ancestors has vanished like a mist. In this time at the end of all time, we show respect for the dead by recording tales of banished dreamers and by searching out the unfinished dreams of those who have gone on. Orikuchi Shinobu, 'To the Land of the Dead Mother, to the Eternal Land-Vicissitudes of Trespass" (Haha ga kuni e, tokoyo e-ikyo-ishiki no kifuku) I came to believe in a Great Memory passing on from generation to generation. But that was not enough, for these images showed intention and choice. William Butler Yeats, "Anima Mundi" Acknowledgments I began thinking about Izumi Kyoka as an undergraduate at Stanford, en rolled in Makoto Veda's course on modern Japanese literature. I read a short story that Edward Seidensticker had translated for Donald Keene's anthol ogy, Modern Japanese Literature. At that time, "A Tale of Three Who Were Blind" was the only piece ofKyoka's work widely available in English; had it not been for Professor Seidensticker's fine rendering of that story, and for Professor Veda's inspirational guidance, I might not have been prepared for what was to come. I wrote a senior thesis on Nagai Kafii and then went as a Monbusho scholar to study in Japan with Noguchi Takehiko at Kobe University, who immediately rejected my initial research proposal. He was of the opinion that there were plenty of other writers to think about other than the one I had in mind at the time. He happened to be writing about Kyoka and was planning to teach a seminar on the author's short fiction. It was in that course that I discovered for myself the genuineness that I had sensed in Sei densticker's translation. Here was an artist who knew what he was doing, someone wildly innovative yet true to his tradition and sincere about the possibilities of art. Acknowledgments X Like Professor Ueda, Professor Noguchi proved to be a wonderful men tor. He was both an engaging teacher and a productive scholar who played as hard as he worked. Our backgrounds could not have been more different, but our aesthetic and intellectual interests meshed well. I should also men tion my other teachers at Kobe: Professors Soma and Ikegami. All three men were patient and encouraging. I thank them for teaching me the general contours of Japanese literature, and for allowing me to become one of the crowd. I also thank my colleagues at Kobe Daigaku, especially T akakuwa Noriko, who has since become an important Kyoka scholar. I wrote a master's thesis on Kyoka's plays and returned to the United States. Having earlier been a visiting scholar in America, Noguchi recom mended that I continue my graduate studies with Howard Hibbett. Like my other mentors, Professor Hibbett had one foot in the Edo period and one in a more recent era. This breadth proved to be a crucial advantage as I began to look for the sources of Kyoka's roots in a "visual tradition," and as I now continue my search for early configurations ofJ apanese modernity. Howard proved to be an insightful critic and unfailing supporter, and it is to him that I dedicate this book. To my other teachers at Harvard-Gen Itasaka, Don ald Shively, Haruko Iwasaki, and Edwin Cranston-! also owe my heartfelt thanks. Itasaka-sensei was always engaging. Professor Shively taught me the importance of accuracy in scholarship. Haruko shared my interest in Kyoka and has been a generous friend. Professor Cranston, who suffered through my hastily written dissertation, has continued over the years to be a common literary spirit. My thanks also to George Potter, Ho Ch'ien, Timothy Con ner, Aoki T oshiyuki, and the others of the Harvard-Y enching Library staff who have provided me with access to that wonderful resource. Grants from the Social Science Research Council and the Fulbright Hayes made it possible for me and my family to spend some time in Tokyo to work on the dissertation that became the embryo for this book. I was fortunate enough to study with Muramatsu Sadataka, who was introduced to me through the graces of the late T amae Kensuke. Professor Muramatsu is the "godfather" of Kyoka studies in Japan, having begun his lifelong study of the author and his work while Kyoka was still alive. He generously took me under his wing and introduced both me and Cody Poulton, who was there to work on the plays, to the members of the Kyoka Kenkyu Kai. This group took Cody and I seriously, even to the point of listening to us stumble through papers at their semi-annual meetings. For their support, I owe
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