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Harukichi Shimoi (下位 春吉,Shimoi Harukichi, October 20, 1883 – December 1, 1954) was a Japanese poet, translator and writer. Shimoi lived inItaly for many years and was an important promoter of cultural exchange betweenJapan and Italy.
Shimoi translated works fromYosano Akiko andMatsuo Bashō into Italian, and conversely translatedDante into Japanese. Shimoi was close friends withGabriele D'Annunzio and translated several of his works. He accompanied the poet on hisFiume endeavour.[1]
He was influential in introducing thehaiku toItalian futurist poets, organizing theTokyo-Rome flight withArturo Ferrarin, his early involvement in theCalpis soft drink,[2] and promotingKarate andJudo to Italians.[3]
Born inFukuoka asHarukichi Inoue (井上 春吉,Inoue Harukichi), he later adopted the surname of his wife when they married in 1907.[4] He finished his studies in Japan, and had the occasion to meetBin Ueda, by whom he was profoundly influenced. Shimoi then moved to Italy to studyDante, becoming aJapanese teacher at theNaples Eastern University.
In 1917, he enlisted in the Italian army duringWorld War I, and committed himself to fighting against theCentral Powers. Harukichi became anArdito, teaching his fellow soldierskarate.[5]
Using his diplomatic passport that allowed him great freedom of movement, Shimoi acted after the war as a liaison for messages betweenGabriele D'Annunzio, then regent ofFiume, andBenito Mussolini, at the time the head of theItalian Fasci di Combattimento and editor ofIl Popolo d'Italia. Shimoi was, among other things, one of the people first entering theFiume Endeavour of the Italian poet. D'Annunzio nicknamed Shimoi "comradeSamurai" and "the Samurai of Fiume". Together they promoted and organized theRome-Tokyo Raid performed by the aviatorArturo Ferrarin.
Returning toNaples in 1920, he founded the Japanese literature magazineSakura, that would be published until March of the following year for a total of five issues. In 1934 he served as an interpreter to the founder ofJudo,Jigoro Kano, while he was staying in Italy. The translated interviews given by Kano were a mainspring for the development of the discipline in Italy.
Getting back to his homeland, Shimoi helped the Italian Embassy in Tokyo to stop the pro-Ethiopian activities of the Japanese rightist clubs during thewar in Ethiopia. Shimoi was one of the best known Japanese supporters ofItalian fascism, seeing some analogies between the fascist principles and the traditional values of Japanese culture, especially theBushido. He argued that fascism was a natural ramification of therisorgimento, and that its role was to be a "spiritual movement" that would make Italians identify as being part of the new nation. While being a supporter of fascism in Italy, Shimoi didn't ever promote it in Japan, considering such a movement a uniquely Italian cultural phenomenon.[6]
After the second World War, Shimoi met and became friends withIndro Montanelli, who arrived in Japan to work on a series of reportages. Shimoi became his guide around the country.
Shimoi translated numerous works from Japanese into Italian and vice versa. He translated works by a number of Japanese authors likeAkiko Yosano andMatsuo Bashō, while his translations into Japanese included D'Annunzio and Dante. In 1920, Shimoi even promoted the construction of a temple dedicated to Dante in Tokyo. Some of his works includeShito Ponpei o otonau tame ni (死都ポンペイを訪ふために, "To visit the ghost town ofPompeii") (1926) andLa guerra italiana vista da un giapponese ("The Italian war as seen by a Japanese") (1919).
'La guerra italiana vista da un giapponese' was translated to English in 2019 as 'The Italian Front as Seen by a Japanese Samurai'.[7][8] It is framed as a series of letters between Harukichi Shimoi and his friends, in particular theBuddhist senator Giuseppe de Lorenzo. It also contains an introductory dedication by Gabriele D'Annunzio.
Quotations related toHarukichi Shimoi at Wikiquote
