Yoshikawa Eiji

Yoshikawa Eiji

Eiji Yoshikawa ( Japanese 吉川英治 , actually Yoshikawa Hidetsugu ( 吉川英次 ); * 11. August 1892 in Kanagawa Prefecture , † 7. September 1962 in Tokyo ) was a Japanese writer , who in the West, especially through his work Musashi was known . The novel was made into a film in 1954 (German title: Samurai )

Live and act

Yoshikawa Eiji was born into a former samurai family. His father was a drinker. Unnecessary expenses ruined the family financially. At the age of 11, Yoshikawa left school and got by with various jobs, including further training at night school. He studied the Senryū poem form and began to write verses in this style himself.

His first published story "Hiroshima monogatari" (広 島 物語), which appeared in 1913, dealt with the miraculous goddess Benzaiten . From 1921 he worked for the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper , but in the aftermath of the Kanto earthquake in 1923 he lost his job there. With no work, he began to write exclusively.

In 1925 Yoshikawa was able to put his story "Kennan Jonan" (剣 難 女 難) in a magazine as a sequel. The story, which is about the love and revenge of a samurai in the Edo period , was extremely well received by the readers, various adventure novels followed in the same way: "Naruto hichō" (鳴 門 秘 帖; 1926 to 1927), "Edo Sangoku -shi "(江 戸 三国 志; 1927 to 1929) and" Moeru Fuji "(燃 え る 富士; 1932 to 1933). At that time, Yoshikawa also wrote the autobiographical work "Kankan mushi wa utau" (か ん か ん 虫 は 唄 ふ; 1930 to 1931).

Looking for variety after so many adventure stories, he wrote the multi-volume “ Musashi ” from 1935 to 1939 , that is, about the swordsman and philosopher Miyamoto Musashi . The novel "Shinsho Taiko-ki" (新書 太 閤 記; 1941 to 1945), called Taiko in translation , Yoshikawa describes the era of the Japanese unification, which ends with the battle of Sekigahara shown at the beginning of "Musashi" .

In one of his great works, the "Shin Heike monogatari" (新 平 家 物語; 1950 to 1957), the power struggles in the late 12th century are seen through the eyes of an employee in the imperial palace.

In particular, the later works of Yoshikawa are characterized by a fundamental conservatism. He believed that popular literature should aim at moral consolidation, that the realities of the present should be seen through the eyes of the past. With that he gained a large readership.

Yoshikawa's tomb

Yoshikawa is one of the most widely read writers in Japan . He received the Kikuchi Kan Prize for the novel Shin Heike Monogatari . In 1955 he was awarded the Asahi Prize . In 1960 he was the first author of popular works to receive the Japanese Order of Culture , and in 1961 he was awarded the Mainichi Art Prize. In 1967 the Kōdansha publishing house donated the Yoshikawa Eiji Literature Prize ( 吉川英 治 文学 賞 , Yoshikawa Eiji Bungakushō ) and in 1980 the Yoshikawa Eiji Young Talent Prize for Literature ( 吉川英 治 文学 新人 賞 , Yoshikawa Eiji Bungaku Shinjinshō ) in his honor.

Works (selection)

• Naruto Hichō ( 鳴 門 秘 帖 ), 1926
• Miyamoto Musashi ( 宮本 武 蔵 ), German Musashi , 1936–1939
• Shinsho Taikōki ( 新書 太 閤 記 ), German Taiko , 1939–1941
• Shin Heike Monogatari ( 新 平 家 物語 ), 1951
• Shihon Taiheiki ( 私 本 太平 記 ), 1958–1961
• Shinshū Tenmakyō ( 神州 天馬 侠 ), 1925–1928

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Yoshikawa Eiji . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 1758.

Remarks

1. ↑ Illustrated by Ishii Tsurozō .
2. ^ At the Tama cemetery .

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . So Yoshikawa is the family name, Eiji the first name.