Tokuda Shūsei

Tokuda Shūsei

Tokuda Shūsei ( Japanese 徳 田 秋声 ; born February 1, 1872 in Kanazawa as Tokuda Sueo ( 徳 田 末 雄 ); † November 18, 1943 in Tokyo ) was a Japanese narrator and novelist .

Life

Tokuda Shūsei came from a family of the former feudal nobility. He began his literary career as a supporter of the author Ozaki Koyo . After his death in 1903, he switched from the romantic style associated with Ozaki to a mixture of naturalism and confession known as Shizen-shugi (自然 主義). An example of this is "Arajotai," which deals with the frustration of a young working class couple whom he had observed.

After that, however, Tokuda wrote mostly autobiographical stories. "Kabi" is a classic example of a "first-person novella" (私 小説, Watakushi shōsetsu). Another example, "Tadare", is about one of Tokuda's favorite subjects: a demimondial lady.

When Tokuda's wife died in 1926, Tokuda began a series of relationships with younger women that inspired a number of stories, including his best-known figure, "Kasō jimbutsu" (1935-1938) and "Shukuzu," 1941.

Unlike most naturalists, Tokuda remained untouched by the intellectual foundations and philosophical implications of literary naturalism. The realistic style and openly autobiographical side of Japanese naturalism suited him perfectly. His work is more shaped by Japanese fatalism than Western determinism.

Works

• 1896 Yabu kōji ( 薮 か う じ ) - (tangerine bushes )
• 1900 Kumo no yukue ( 雲 の ゆ く へ ) - (Cloud Refuge)
• 1908 Arajotai ( 新 世 帯 ) - (The New Home)
• 1910 Ashiato ( 足迹 ) - (footprints)
• 1911 Kabi ( 黴 ) - (gray)
• 1935 Kunshō ( 勲 章 )
  • “The Order”, translated by Monique Humbert, in: Nippon, 1965, pp. 53–76. The story can also be found in: Moon and Water . People & World 1978.
• 1935–38 Kasō jinbutsu ( 仮 装 人物 ) - (people in disguise)
• 1943 Shukuzu ( 縮 図 ) - (The miniature, unfinished)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 徳 田 秋声 . In: デ ジ タ ル 版 日本人 名 大 辞典 + Plus at kotobank.jp. Retrieved May 19, 2013 (Japanese). 

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Tokuda Shūsei . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 1576.

Web links

• Digital copies of his works at Aozora Bunko (Japanese)

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