"Beautiful Japanese: Kafu III - Words that Protect the Freedom of the Heart"

2020/10/21

Nagai Kafu was a pioneer who studied in the West and, recommended by Mori Ogai and Ueda Bin, became a professor in the Department of Literature at Keio University in 1910. He became the first editor-in-chief of "Mita Bungaku" and introduced many writers to the world. Loving flowers, valuing unconventionality, and loving peace, he possessed a spirit that refused to yield to the harsh trends of the times, embodying the spirit of "Mita Bungaku" that continues to this day.

He had a strong core. He never followed the trends of an era that favored war. His well-known love for the pleasure quarters was also a love for a culture of peaceful leisure. Drawing on his knowledge of Western languages, classical Chinese, and Japanese classics, he wrote works using cross-border language. His words are his philosophy. They shine diversely across borders. In that sense, they are "Beautiful Japanese."

I had long wanted to pick the flowers of Kafu's words and create an anthology. This was realized through the efforts of Keio University Press. Additionally, a collaboration with the spirited haiku poet Katsuhiro Takayanagi was made possible. Each volume sheds light on Kafu's literature from both prose and haiku perspectives. This is a new approach. Kafu loved haiku since his teens and composed them throughout his life. Haiku is the matrix of Kafu's literature. Mr. Takayanagi surveys the flow of Edo and modern haiku, appreciating Kafu's haiku within that context. His delicate yet broad perspective brings Kafu's haiku back to life with freshness.

A three-volume series. Volume 1, titled "Words to Cherish the Seasons," collects seasonal aphorisms. For example, Kafu loved trees. He sang of the season of young leaves as a "Symphony of Green." In autumn, he praised the purple clusters swaying in the wind on grape trellises, saying, "Each individual grape resembles a bead of cut glass." Volume 2, titled "Words to Kiss Life," draws from works where charming heroines play vibrant roles.

The final third volume contains words of Kafu's dignified spirit. He disliked quarrels and arguments. He loved talking about pleasant and beautiful things. However, when freedom as a human right was infringed upon, he polished his words and fought. The greatest modern diary, "Danchotei Nichijo," proves this. We mainly selected critiques, essays, and diaries from during the Pacific War. The cry from 1941, "As long as human life exists, freedom shall not perish," is deeply moving. In his 1946 haiku, "The nation declines in war, yet the peonies bloom," the spirit of freedom burns crimson. This concluding volume pays homage to Kafu's indomitable spirit.

"Beautiful Japanese: Kafu III - Words that Protect the Freedom of the Heart"

Nobuko Mochida (Co-editor/author)

Keio University Press

224 pages, 2,700 yen (excluding tax)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.