Kinoshita Mokutaro

Poet, playwright, novelist, art researcher, medical scientist. Born on August 1, 1885 in Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture. His real name was Ota Masao. He also used many pseudonyms, including Kishi no Akashiya, Chika Isshakusei, and Sounan. He was born into an old family called Komeso. After graduating from the First Higher School, he went on to study medicine at Tokyo Imperial University, where he specialized in dermatology. He first contributed to the magazine Myojo, then wrote "Nanban Poetry," and became a central figure in the magazines Hosun, Roof Garden, and Subaru. He was strongly influenced by Mori Ogai, and was deeply involved in both medical research and literary activities, and was also a driving force behind the "Pan no Kai" (Bread Society), which became the base of the aesthetic school. His play Izumiya Somemonomise (Dyeing Shop) contains a reaction to the High Treason Incident. The tone of Mokutaro's work is a fusion of exoticism and mood. This poem later came to fruition as "Song after Meals" (1919).

In 1916 (Taisho 5), he was appointed professor of dermatology at the Nanman Medical School in Mukden (present-day Shenyang) in Manchuria (northeastern China). In addition to his duties, he developed an interest in Buddhist art, and published "Datong Stone Buddha Temple" (1922), co-authored with Kimura Shohachi. He then studied in France, where he engaged in joint research on filamentous fungi with Maurice Langeron (1874-1950), a professor at the University of Paris. In his spare time, he showed an interest in records of Christianity in Europe, and after returning to Japan, he published many books on Christianity, including "Espanya Portugal Record" (1929). He went on to work at Aichi Medical University and Tohoku University before becoming a professor at the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Medicine. He is famous for his research on the "Ota nevus," a brownish-blue birthmark on the face. "Geirinkanpo" (1936), which gets to the heart of Ogai's character and literature, is highly regarded as a masterpiece.

Even during the war, he sketched many plants in his notebooks, which were later published as "Hyakkafu" (1979). He also became an editorial advisor for the magazine "Bungei" edited by Noda Utaro. He was a typical example of a broad-minded, high-minded intellectual and literary figure. He died on October 15, 1945, just after Japan's defeat in the war. The Kinoshita Mokutaro Memorial Museum is located in his birthplace.

[Toshiro Akano]

"The Diary of Kinoshita Mokutaro, 5 volumes (1979-1980, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "The Complete Works of Kinoshita Mokutaro, 25 volumes (1981-1983, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "The Life and Art of Kinoshita Mokutaro, by Noda Utaro (1980, Heibonsha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

詩人、劇作家、小説家、美術研究家、医学者。明治18年8月1日、静岡県伊東に生まれる。本名太田正雄。きしのあかしや、地下一尺生、葱南(そうなん)など多くの別号も用いる。生家は米惣(こめそう)と称する旧家。第一高等学校より東京帝国大学医学科に進み、皮膚科を専攻。初め『明星』に寄稿、ついで「南蛮詩」をつくり、『方寸』『屋上庭園』『スバル』の中心となる。森鴎外(おうがい)の影響を強く受け、医学研究と文学活動の両面に深くかかわり、耽美(たんび)派の拠点となった「パンの会」でも推進役であった。戯曲『和泉屋染物店(いずみやそめものみせ)』には大逆事件の一反応がみいだせる。杢太郎の作品の基調には、エキゾチシズムと情調とが融合している。その詩はのち『食後の唄(うた)』（1919）として結実する。

　1916年（大正5）南満医学堂皮膚科教授として満州（中国東北）の奉天（現、瀋陽(しんよう)）に赴任。本務のかたわら仏教美術に興味をもち、木村荘八(しょうはち)との共著『大同石仏寺』（1922）を刊行。ついでフランスに留学し、パリ大学教授ランジュロンMaurice Langeron（1874―1950）と糸状菌（真菌）に関する共同研究に従いつつ、その余暇にヨーロッパのキリシタン記録に関心を示し、帰国後『えすぱにや・ぽるつがる記』（1929）はじめキリシタン関係の著書を多く出した。愛知医大、東北大を経て東大医学部教授となる。顔面の褐青色のあざ「太田母斑(ぼはん)」の研究で有名。鴎外の人と文学の核心をついた『芸林間歩(かんぽ)』（1936）は名著の誉れが高い。

　戦時中もノートに多くの植物を写生、のち『百花譜』（1979）として刊行された。また野田宇太郎編集の『文芸』の編集顧問にもなった。幅の広い、高踏的な知識人文学者の典型。敗戦直後の昭和20年10月15日死去。生家に木下杢太郎記念館がある。

［紅野敏郎］

『『木下杢太郎日記』全5巻（1979～1980・岩波書店）』▽『『木下杢太郎全集』全25巻（1981～1983・岩波書店）』▽『野田宇太郎著『木下杢太郎の生涯と芸術』（1980・平凡社）』

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