Kafu in Virgo
Writer Profile
Nobuko Mochida
Other : Researcher of Modern LiteratureKeio University alumni
Nobuko Mochida
Other : Researcher of Modern LiteratureKeio University alumni
2023/12/08
Great artists often possess both feminine and masculine elements. This was true of Leonardo da Vinci, Oscar Wilde, Mori Ogai, Tekkan Yosano, and our own Kafu Nagai as well.
Kafu in particular had the deep sensibility of a young girl. His literature is steeped in girlhood. Kafu is positioned in literary history as a decadent writer. However, when I read his work, the "prostitutes" he depicts do not have much sex appeal. Komayo in 'Geisha in Rivalry' and Kimie in 'During the Rains' are all women with the air of selfish, eternal young girls who become obsessed with true love regardless of profit or loss.
In fact, the group of novels written by Kafu in his 20s, when he was aiming for his debut, depicts only young girls. The representative work is Kafu's debut book 'Flowers of Hell' (1902), which was also recommended by Ogai. The year before, Akiko Yosano published her poetry collection 'Tangled Hair,' appealing the single-minded love of a "young girl" to the old society. Many young people empathized with the girl warrior in love. This is a fateful composition when considering the launch of Kafu's literature.
Though overlooked in conventional literary history, Kafu was one year younger than Akiko Yosano, making them contemporaries. He was strongly stimulated by Akiko's girl revolution. Perceiving a young girl's straightforward love as human truth, he called for the renewal of society through the cries of girls resisting marriages decided by their families or parents. He wrote about girls from his early years until his final days. This book re-examines Kafu not as a decadent, but as a member of the "Girl Party" alongside Akiko and Ogai.
The book consists of two parts. Part 1 follows how Kafu used peace-loving maidens as a shield to criticize a society plunging into world war. Part 2 follows Mori Ogai and Bin Ueda, and Akiko Yosano, who received passionate support from both, as the "Girl Party" crying out for anti-war and peace through the same wishes of maidens.
This volume is also infused with the rich atmosphere of the Meiji and Taisho eras. The German-style flower garden that Ogai planted and nurtured himself. The various sweet kisses in the Western novels he translated. The dozens of love letters Bin Ueda wrote to his only daughter. Akiko going to the Paris Opera wearing a pearl necklace...
Kafu loved the stars. Even during the Pacific War, he prayed for peace to the stars in the distant sky. I have likened him to the shining constellation of Virgo. So, what was his actual birth sign? The answer lies within this book.
*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.