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Doppo Kunikida | |
|---|---|
 Kunikida in the 1890s | |
| Born | Tetsuo Kunikida (1871-08-30)30 August 1871 |
| Died | 23 June 1908(1908-06-23) (aged 36) Chigasaki, Kanagawa, Japan |
| Occupation |
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| Genre |
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| Literary movement | Naturalism |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5 |
| Relatives | Ayumu Nakajima(great-great-grandson) |
Doppo Kunikida (国木田 独歩,Kunikida Doppo; 30 August 1871 – 23 June 1908) was a Japanese author of novels and romantic poetry during theMeiji period, noted as one of the inventors of Japanesenaturalism.
Doppo Kunikida was born inChōshi, Chiba as Tetsuo Kunikida. While some doubt exists as to his biological father, Doppo was raised by his mother and hersamurai-class husband. The family moved to Tokyo in 1874, but relocated toYamaguchi prefecture and Doppo grew up inIwakuni. The rural area of Chōshū left Doppo with a love of nature and influenced the naturalism which later appeared in his literature. Doppo quit school in order to help support his family in 1888, but left for school in Tokyo in 1889.
He studied at the English department of Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō (nowWaseda University). Interested in westerndemocracy, he developed a defiant attitude to the school's administration and was expelled from the school in 1891. When he was 21 years old, he was baptized byUemura Masahisa and became aChristian. His religion and the poetry ofWilliam Wordsworth influenced his later writing style.
Kunikida founded aliterary magazineSeinen bungaku (青年文學 "Literature for Youth") in 1892 and began his private diaryAzamukazaru no ki (欺かざるの記 "An Honest Record", published after his death) in 1893, the same year he began teaching English, mathematics, and history inSaiki, another rural area of Japan.
In 1894, he joined the news staff of theKokumin Shimbun [jp] newspaper as awar correspondent. His reports from the front during theFirst Sino-Japanese War, which were collected and re-published after his death asAitei Tsushin, (愛弟通信 "Communiques to a Dear Brother") found high favor among the readers.
The following year, Kunikida settled with his parents in Tokyo, where he edited the magazineKokumin no Tomo (國民の友 "The Nation's Friend") and met his future wife, Nobuko Sasaki, on whomTakeo Arishima is thought to have based his famous novelA Certain Woman. Against her parents' wishes (Nobuko's mother encouraged her to commit suicide rather than marry Doppo), the couple was married in November 1895. Kunikida's ensuing financial difficulties caused the pregnant Nobuko to divorce him after only five months. The failed marriage had a traumatic effect on Doppo, and his depression and mental anguish over the separation can be seen inAzamukazaru no Ki, published from 1908 to 1909.
Shortly after his divorce, Kunikida turned to the genre of romantic poetry when co-authored an anthology,Jojoshi (抒情詩 "Lyric Poems"), in 1897 withKatai Tayama and Kunio Matsuoka (a.k.a.Kunio Yanagita). Around this time, Kunikida published several poems that would eventually be collected inDoppo gin as well as the short story,Gen Oji (源叔父 "Uncle Gen"). Through his poetic style, Kunikida introduced a fresh current into romantic lyrical literature.
Kunikida remarried in 1898, to Haruko Enomoto, and published his first short-story collection,Musashino (武蔵野 "The Musashi Plain") in 1901, which portrayed people who fall behind the times.
However, Kunikida's style began to change. AlthoughHaru no Tori (春の鳥 "Spring Birds"), written in 1904, reportedly reached the highest level of romanticism in his era, his later works, such asKyushi (窮死 "A Poor Man's Death") andTake no Kido (竹の木戸 "The Bamboo Gate"), Kunikida indicated that he was turning more towardsnaturalism overromanticism.
Following theRusso-Japanese War in 1905, Kunikida started a publishing business that went bankrupt two years later. The same year he founded a magazine,Fujin Gahō.[1]
Kunikida contractedtuberculosis in 1907 and moved to asanatorium inChigasaki in early 1908. He died from the disease in 1908 at the age of 36. His grave is atAoyama Cemetery inTokyo.
