Rohan Koda - Kouda Rohan

Novelist, essayist, and historical researcher. His real name was Shigeyuki. His other names included Kagyuan, Raion Doshu, and Datenshi. He was born on July 23, 1867 (according to one theory, July 26) in Shitaya, Edo, as the fourth child of Shigenobu, a shogunate official, and his mother Yu. His second brother, Gunji Naritada, was a naval captain, his second brother, Shigetomo, an economic historian, and his younger sisters, Nobuko and Sachiko, were known as musicians. For generations, his family had served as monks at Edo Castle, and were knowledgeable about court etiquette and entertainment, and Rohan was raised under their tutelage. He studied Confucianism from an early age, and was an avid reader of early modern novels by Kyokutei Bakin, Ryutei Tanehiko, and other Chinese novels. In 1883 (Meiji 16), he entered the Telegraph Technical School at his father's urging, and after graduating the following year and completing his practical training, he was posted to Yoichi, Hokkaido, in 1885 as a telegraph technician. However, his fate was changed when he was suggested a new path to literature by works such as Tsubouchi Shoyo's "The Essence of Novels." Troubled by the contradiction between his dream of literature and his career, Rohan finally escaped Yoichi two years later in 1887, determined to "run through and get out of this adversity" ("Totsukan Kikou"), and returned to Tokyo. After returning to Tokyo, he read the Bible at his father's influence, but had no connection to faith. Around the same time, he discovered the existence of Ihara Saikaku, was influenced by him, and became an avid reader of books related to Buddhism.

In 1889 (Meiji 22), he published his debut short story "Tsuyudandan" in Miyako no Hana. He then gained a literary reputation with the success of "Furyubutsu" (No. 5 of Shincho Hyakushu) in September of the same year. This unusual work, which borrows the framework of Buddhist thought to depict the supremacy of romantic love and the mysteries of the arts, tells the story of a sculptor named Shojin who has lost his love and breathes life into a Buddhist statue he has carved in the likeness of a woman, already shows the uniqueness of Rohan's literature, which is an idealism based on Eastern philosophy. While Ozaki Koyo, with whom he shared the slogan "The Koro Period," was committed to realism and excelled in his portrayal of women, Rohan continued to portray the indomitable spirit of a man who lived for his art in a powerful style, reaching one of his pinnacles in "The Five-Story Pagoda" (1891-92), which depicts the insatiable obsession and determination of a rugged carpenter who pursues his creations. His ambitious works include "Isanatori" (1891), which depicts the free-spirited life of a master whaler, and "Furyu Mijinzo" (1893-95, aborted), in which he attempted to evoke the various aspects of life by linking the changing fates of a diverse cast of characters. Also, "Taidokuro," published in "Nihon no Bunka" in 1890, is a masterpiece in the form of a complex dreamlike Noh play, depicting the earthly desires and liberation of a woman at the mercy of a strange fate, set in a poetic space that blends fact and fiction. Later, together with Mori Ogai and Saito Ryokuu, he participated in creative writing joint critiques ("Sannin Jougo" and "Yunchugo") for the magazine Mesamashigusa (founded in 1896), but due to his dislike of the naturalism-centered trend in the literary world after the Russo-Japanese War, he almost completely stopped writing after abandoning his long novel Sora Utsu Nami (1903-05), which was intended to criticize civilized society. After that, he opened up new fields in the world of historical research, historical biography, and essays, but while he remained isolated from the mainstream of the literary world, his extensive knowledge of Eastern philosophy, including Laozi and Zhuangzi, Confucianism, and Buddhism, continued to attract the respect of the public. During this time, he married Yamamuro Ikumiko in 1895, and gave birth to his second daughter, Aya, in 1904 (Meiji 37). He also worked as a lecturer at Kyoto Imperial University (College of Letters) from 1908 for one year, and received a Doctor of Literature degree in 1911.

During the Taisho period, Rohan continued to write self-cultivation theories that contained deep insights into life, such as "Shuseiron" (1914), while he reached the pinnacle of historical writing with "Unmei" (Fate), published in "Kaizō" in 1919 (Taishō 8). Based on the official history of the Ming dynasty, it is a masterpiece that vividly expresses the tendency of "number" (heaven's will) that transcends human control, while closely tracing the contrast between the lives of those who were dethroned and those who pursued them. In the following year, he also began working on a commentary on "Basho Shichibu-shu." This was a long-lasting work that he poured his heart and soul into, and was finally completed in the year of his death. In 1937 (Showa 12), he was awarded the Order of Culture, and once again he was eager to write, and wrote the four stories included in the novel collection "Gendan" (1941). Among them, "Renganki" (1941) is his final masterpiece, which depicts the life and death of various people based on the Buddhist view of impermanence, evoking the depth of life. Along with "Fate," it attracted attention for its free-spirited style of writing that went far beyond the framework of modern novels, as well as its free-spirited narrative style. Rohan's literature, which made full use of his wide-ranging knowledge of Eastern philosophy and literature, was in itself a powerful critique of modern Japan, which was rushing to Westernize. He died on July 30, 1947.

[Yukio Miyoshi]

"The Complete Works of Rohan, 41 volumes, 2 supplementary volumes, 1 appendix (1978-80, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "Koda Rohan, by Yanagita Izumi, expanded edition (1942, Shinzenbisha)" ▽ "The Human Rohan, by Takagi Taku (1948, Tancho Shobo)" ▽ "Koda Rohan, by Saito Mokichi (1949, Senshin Shorin)" ▽ "Koda Rohan, by Shioya San, complete set of 3 volumes (Chuko Bunko)" ▽ "The Space of Koda Rohan, by Shinoda Kazushi" (included in Tradition and Literature, 1964, Chikuma Shobo)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

小説家、随筆家、考証家。本名成行(しげゆき)。別号蝸牛庵(かぎゅうあん)、雷音洞主(らいおんどうしゅ)、脱天子など。慶応(けいおう)3年7月23日（一説に26日）に江戸の下谷で、幕臣成延(しげのぶ)、母猷(ゆう)の第4子として生まれる。次兄郡司成忠(ぐんじなりただ)は海軍大尉、次弟成友(しげとも)は経済史学者、妹延子、幸子(さちこ)は音楽家として知られる。家は代々江戸城の表坊主衆を勤め、有職故実(ゆうそくこじつ)や遊芸に詳しく、露伴もまたその薫陶を受けて育った。幼少時から儒学を学び、また曲亭馬琴(ばきん)、柳亭種彦(りゅうていたねひこ)らの近世小説や中国小説を耽読(たんどく)した。1883年（明治16）に父の勧めで電信修技学校に入学、翌年卒業後の実習を経て85年北海道の余市(よいち)に電信技手として赴任した。しかし、坪内逍遙(つぼうちしょうよう)の『小説神髄』などによって新しい文学への道を示唆されたことが、露伴の運命を変えることになった。文学への夢と職業との矛盾に悩んだ露伴は、ついに2年後の87年に「よし突貫して此(この)逆境を出(い)でむ」（『突貫紀行』）との決意で余市を脱出し、東京に帰った。帰京後、父の感化で聖書を読んだが、信仰とは無縁だった。同じころ井原西鶴(さいかく)の存在を知って影響を受け、また、仏教関係の書を耽読したという。

　1889年（明治22）『都の花』に処女作の短編『露団々(つゆだんだん)』を発表。ついで同年9月の『風流仏(ふうりゅうぶつ)』（『新著百種』第5号）の成功によって文名を得た。恋を失った彫刻師の精進(しょうじん)が女に似せて彫った仏像に生命を吹き込むという、恋愛の至上と芸道の神秘を仏教思想の枠組みを借りて描いた異色作で、東洋哲学を根底に据えた理想主義という露伴文学の独自性もすでにうかがえる。紅露時代として双称された尾崎紅葉(こうよう)が写実に徹し、女性描写に優れていたのに対して、露伴は一芸に生きる男の不退転の気力を雄渾(ゆうこん)な文体で描き続け、無骨な大工の創造への飽くなき執念と意地を描いた『五重塔』（1891～92）に一つの頂点を示している。鯨取りの名手の奔放な生涯を描いた『いさなとり』（1891）、多彩な登場人物の運命の転変を連環して、人生の諸相を彷彿(ほうふつ)しようとした『風流微塵蔵(みじんぞう)』（1893～95、中絶）などの野心作があり、また、90年に『日本之文華』に発表した『対髑髏(たいどくろ)』は、複式夢幻能の形式に擬して、数奇な宿命に翻弄(ほんろう)された女の煩悩(ぼんのう)と解脱(げだつ)を、虚と実のあやなす詩的空間に描いた佳作である。その後、森鴎外(おうがい)、斎藤緑雨(りょくう)らとともに、雑誌『めさまし草』（1896創刊）の創作合評（「三人冗語」「雲中語」）に参加したが、日露戦争後の自然主義中心の文壇動向を嫌悪したこともあって、文明社会の批判を意図した長編『天(そら)うつ浪(なみ)』（1903～05）の中絶後は創作の筆をほとんど廃するに至った。以後は考証、史伝、随筆の世界に新しい領域を開くことになるが、終始、文壇の主流から孤立しながら、老荘、儒仏などの東洋哲学への該博な造詣(ぞうけい)が世人の畏敬を集め続けた。その間、1895年に山室幾美子と結婚、1904年（明治37）に次女文(あや)が出生、また、08年から1年間、京都帝国大学（文科大学）の講師を務め、11年には文学博士の学位を受けている。

　大正期の露伴は、『修省(しゅうせい)論』（1914）など、人生への深い洞察を秘めた修養論を書き継ぐかたわら、1919年（大正8）に『改造』に発表した『運命』で史伝の最高峰を極めた。明(みん)の正史に取材して、帝位を追われた者、追った者の半生の対照を克明にたどりながら、人為を超えた「数」（天命）の帰趨(きすう)を鮮やかに表現した傑作である。翌20年には『芭蕉(ばしょう)七部集』の評釈にも着手している。これは心血を注いだ仕事として長く持続され、死の年に至ってようやく完成された。37年（昭和12）に文化勲章を受章、ふたたび創作に意欲を燃やし、小説集『幻談』（1941）所収の4編が書かれた。なかでも『連環記』（1941）は仏教の無常観を軸に、さまざまな人間たちの生と死を描き分け、人生の奥行を彷彿する最後の傑作で、『運命』とともに、近代小説の枠組みを大きく踏み越えた自在な手法が闊達(かったつ)な語り口とあわせ注目された。東洋の哲学や文学についての幅広い教養を駆使した露伴の文学はそれ自体として、西洋化を急いだ日本の近代に対する有力な批評的存在であった。昭和22年7月30日没。

［三好行雄］

『『露伴全集』41巻・別巻2・付録1（1978～80・岩波書店）』▽『柳田泉著『幸田露伴』増補版（1942・真善美社）』▽『高木卓著『人間露伴』（1948・丹頂書房）』▽『斎藤茂吉著『幸田露伴』（1949・洗心書林）』▽『塩谷賛著『幸田露伴』全3巻（中公文庫）』▽『篠田一士著「幸田露伴の空間」（『伝統と文学』所収・1964・筑摩書房）』

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