Kawahigashi Hekigotō

Kawahigashi Hekigotō ( Japanese 河東 碧 梧桐 ; born February 26, 1873 in Chifune , Onsen County (today: Matsuyama ), Ehime Prefecture ; † February 1, 1937 ), actually Kawahigashi Heigorō ( 河東 秉五郎 ), was a Japanese haikuist and essayist .

Life

Kawahigashi Hekigotō was born on February 26, 1873 as the fifth son of a feudal man and teacher of Matsuyama - han named Kawahigashi Kon ( 河東 坤 ). His real name was Heigorō ( 秉五郎 ).

In 1888 he joined the middle school and was in 1889 by the returned to his home Masaoka Shiki in Baseball taught. This meeting led to Hekigotō, and through him Takahama Kyoshi , who attended the same class, being instructed in Haiku poetry by Shiki .

In 1893 he entered the Third Secondary School in Kyoto, but then dropped out of school after moving to the Second Secondary School.

Under the influence of naturalism and through his own disposition, Hekigotō drove the development of the “new haiku” from 1905, which broke away from the traditional pattern of 5, 7, 5 mores . From 1906 to 1911 he went on two “haiku walks” across the country to spread the “new haiku”. In 1911 he also published the magazine Sōun ( 層雲 , dt. "Layered Clouds") together with Ogiwara Seisensui , which was dedicated to the "new haiku".

In 1933, at the celebration of his 60th birthday, he announced that he would retire from the circles of haiku poets.

In January 1937 he fell ill with typhus , to which sepsis was added. On February 1, Kawahigashi Hekigotō died at the age of 63.

He found his last rest together with his parents in the Kyoto temple Hōtōji and in the Bairinji , a temple in the Tōkyōer administrative district Taitō .

Web links

• Digitized works at Aozora Bunko

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus, Kawahigashi is the family name, Hekigotō the first name.