The 713th Mita Public Speaking Event: "The Young Men of Satsuma in the Bakumatsu Period and I: In Pursuit of the Satsuma Students" by Nozomu Hayashi (Author and Scholar of Japanese Literature)

2024/11/12 (Updated)

2024/10/29

*Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the event.

*For more details about the Mita Public Speaking Event and past lectures, please see here .

[Lecture Outline]

I once wrote a novel titled "Satsuma Students, Go West." This is a full-length historical novel based on historical materials, depicting the achievements of 15 students and 4 diplomats secretly dispatched to Great Britain by the Satsuma domain in the first year of the Keio era. To write this work, I spent six years conducting on-site research and extensively searching for historical materials in both Japan and the UK. Although it is a novel, the work is almost entirely faithful to historical facts. I would like to talk about the days of this research and the true story of the young men of Satsuma.

[About the Lecturer]

Born in Tokyo in 1949. Author and scholar of Japanese literature. He graduated from the Faculty of Letters at Keio University and later withdrew from the Doctoral Programs in Japanese literature at the same university's graduate school after completing the required coursework. He has held positions such as associate professor at Toyoko Gakuen Women's Junior College, Guest Professor at the University of Cambridge, and associate professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. He received the Japan Essayist's Club Award for "Igirisu wa Oishii" (Britain is Delicious) (Heibonsha/Bunshun Bunko), the Award for the Promotion of International Exchange for "A Comprehensive Catalogue of Pre-Meiji Japanese Books in Cambridge University Library" (co-authored with P. Kornicki, Cambridge University Press), and the Kodansha Essay Award for "Hayashi Nozomu no Igirisu Kansatsu Jiten" (Nozomu Hayashi's Dictionary for Observing Britain) (Heibonsha). He was awarded the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award Special Prize for "A Respectful New Translation of The Tale of Genji" (ten volumes, Shodensha), which was later published as "(Revised and Newly Edited) A Respectful New Translation of The Tale of Genji" (ten volumes, Shodensha Bunko). He has written numerous academic papers, essays, novels, song lyrics, Noh criticism, and commentaries on classical literature. From a young age, he also studied the practical art of Noh, has made many appearances to provide commentary at Noh performances, and has written extensively on Noh. Together with Kiyokazu Kanze, the head of the Kanze school, he wrote the new Noh play "The Conversion of St. Paul." He also studied vocal music and has written lyrics for many solo and choral pieces. His works include the choral suites "Yume no Imi" (The Meaning of Dreams) and "Chinkon no Fu" (Requiem) (composed by Maki Ueda); the song cycle "Tabi no Sonnet" (Sonnets of a Journey) (composed by Reiko Ninomiya); the solo song "Ankoma Pan" (composed by Yasuhide Ito); the dramatic song cycle "Hika-shū" (A Collection of Laments) (composed by Ichiro Nodaira); the song cycle "Tsuioku Sanshō" (Three Chants of Reminiscence) (composed by Mayuko Fukami); and the school song for Keio Yokohama Elementary School (composed by Joji Yuasa), among many others.

[Major Works]

"A Comprehensive Catalogue of Pre-Meiji Japanese Books in Cambridge University Library" (co-authored with P. Kornicki, Cambridge University Press, 1991)

"Igirisu wa Oishii" (Britain is Delicious), Heibonsha, 1991 (Bunshun Bunko, 1995)

"Igirisu wa Yukai da" (Britain is Delightful), Heibonsha, 1991 (Bunshun Bunko, 1996)

"Holmhead no Nazo" (The Mystery of Holmhead), Bungeishunju, 1992 (Bunshun Bunko, 1995)

"Kaeranu Hi Tooi Mukashi" (Days Gone By, Long Ago), Kodansha, 1992 (Kodansha Bunko, 1995)

"Table no Kumo" (Clouds on the Table), Shinchosha, 1993 (Shincho Bunko, 1996)

"Shoyabō Junreki" (A Pilgrimage Through Thickets of Books), Shinchosha, 1995 (Shincho Bunko, 1998) ("Zōho Shoyabō Junreki" [Expanded Pilgrimage Through Thickets of Books], Chikuma Bunko, 2014)

"Hawthorn no Ki no Shita de" (Under the Hawthorn Tree), Bungeishunju, 1997 ("Rakudai no Susume" [An Encouragement to Fail], Bunshun Bunko, 2000)

"Rinbō-sensei no Hesomagari naru Seikatsu" (Professor Rinbō's Eccentric Life), PHP Institute, 1996 (PHP Bunko, 1998)

"Rinbō-sensei Tōmegane" (Professor Rinbō's Telescope), Shogakukan, 1998 (Bunshun Bunko, 2001)

"Rinbō-sensei no Kanga naru Kyūjitsu" (Professor Rinbō's Elegant Holiday), PHP Institute, 1999 (Shueisha Bunko, 2005)

"Nihongo Hesomagari Kōgi" (An Eccentric Lecture on the Japanese Language), PHP Shinsho, 2000

"Koi no Uta Koi no Monogatari" (Love Songs, Love Stories), Iwanami Junior Shinsho, 2000

"Onna Daigaku Hyōron / Shin Onna Daigaku" (Critique of the Greater Learning for Women / The New Greater Learning for Women), by Yukichi Fukuzawa, supervised by Nozomu Hayashi, Kodansha Gakujutsu Bunko, 2001

"Surasura Yomeru Fūshikaden" (A Smooth Reading of the Fūshikaden), Kodansha, 2003

"Tokyo Botchan," Shogakukan, 2004 (Shogakukan Bunko, 2007)

"Surasura Yomeru Tosa Nikki" (A Smooth Reading of the Tosa Diary), Kodansha, 2005

"Satsuma Students, Go West," Kobunsha, 2007 (Kobunsha Jidai Shōsetsu Bunko, 2010)

"Tenmō Kaikai: Ohanashi Bugyō Seidan-hikae" (Heaven's Net is Wide: Notes from the Storytelling Magistrate's Frank Discussions), Kobunsha, 2011 (Kobunsha Jidai Shōsetsu Bunko, 2014)

"A Respectful New Translation of The Tale of Genji," ten volumes, Shodensha, 2013

"A Respectful New Translation of The Tale of the Heike," four volumes, Shodensha, 2016

"Genji Monogatari no Tanoshimikata" (How to Enjoy The Tale of Genji), Shodensha Shinsho, 2020

"A Respectful New Translation of Essays in Idleness," Shodensha, 2021

"Makura no Sōshi no Tanoshimikata" (How to Enjoy The Pillow Book), Shodensha, 2024

[Contact]

Keio University Office of Communications and Public Relations 03-5427-1541

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