Shiina Rinzo - Shiina Rinzo

Novelist. Born on October 1, 1911, in Kaizamura, Shikama County, Hyogo Prefecture (Shosha, Himeji City). His real name was Otsubo Noboru. He was the eldest son of his father Kumaji and mother Misu. He grew up in poverty from an early age and ran away from home at the age of 15. After that, he worked in various jobs, including as a boy at a fruit shop, a delivery boy, and an apprentice cook, before joining the Ujigawa Electric Railway (now Sanyo Electric Railway) as an apprentice conductor at the age of 18. He eventually became a member of the Communist Party, but was arrested in 1931 (Showa 6) and released after nearly two years in prison. During this time, he was exposed to existentialist ideas such as those of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard, and then in 1938, he was decisively influenced by Dostoevsky and decided to pursue literature. He made his postwar debut in the literary world in 1947 (Showa 22) with "Midnight Banquet." His existentialist style in subsequent works such as "In the Heavy Current" (1947), "Eternal Prologue" (1948), and "The Red Solitary Man" (1951) became representative of a period of postwar literature, but after converting to Christianity in 1950, he displayed his own religious style that aimed to overcome nihilism in works such as "Encounter" (1952), "Beyond Freedom" (1953-54), and "Beautiful Woman" (1955). His fusion of common people's everyday life and ideas showed excellent results not only in his novels but also in his plays such as "The Woman Who Keeps a Scorpion" (1960), and he also displayed his own unique views on religion and literature in many essays such as "My Bible Story" (1957). From 1982 onwards he continued to struggle with heart disease, and with "The Prisoner's Accusation" (1969) being his last original full-length novel, he ended his honest life as a Christian writer which had lasted 62 years on March 28th, 1973.

[Yasumasa Sato]

"The Complete Works of Shiina Rinzo, 23 volumes and 1 supplementary volume (1970-79, Fuyukisha)" ▽ "The Literature of Shiina Rinzo, by Saito Suehiro (1980, Ohfusha)" ▽ "Appreciation of Contemporary Japanese Literature 25, Shiina Rinzo and Endo Shusaku, edited by Sato Yasumasa (1983, Kadokawa Shoten)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

小説家。明治44年10月1日、兵庫県飾磨(しかま)郡会左村（姫路市書写）に生まれる。本名大坪昇。父熊次、母みすの長男。幼少より貧窮のうちに育ち、15歳のとき家出。以後、果物屋の小僧、出前持ち、見習いコックなど転々のすえ、18歳のとき宇治川電鉄（現山陽電鉄）に車掌見習いとして入社。やがて共産党員になるが、1931年（昭和6）に検挙され、2年近い獄中生活ののち出所。この間ニーチェ、キルケゴールなど実存主義の思想に触れ、その後38年、ドストエフスキーから決定的な影響を受け文学を志す。47年（昭和22）『深夜の酒宴』によって戦後文壇に登場。以後『重き流れのなかに』（1947）、『永遠なる序章』（1948）、『赤い孤独者』（1951）などの実存主義的作風は戦後文学の一時期を代表するものとなるが、50年キリスト教入信後は『邂逅(かいこう)』（1952）、『自由の彼方(かなた)で』（1953～54）、『美しい女』（1955）などにニヒリズムの超克を目ざす独自の宗教的作風を示した。その庶民的日常性と観念の渾融(こんゆう)は、小説のみならず『蠍(さそり)を飼う女』（1960）ほかの戯曲にも優れた成果をみせ、また『私の聖書物語』（1957）ほか多くのエッセイに独自の宗教観、文学観を示した。57年以後は心臓病との闘いが続き、『懲役人の告発』（1969）を最後の書下しの長編として、昭和48年3月28日、キリスト教作家としての62年に及ぶその真率なる生涯を閉じた。

［佐藤泰正］

『『椎名麟三全集』23巻・別巻1（1970～79・冬樹社）』▽『斎藤末弘著『椎名麟三の文学』（1980・桜楓社）』▽『佐藤泰正編著『鑑賞日本現代文学25　椎名麟三・遠藤周作』（1983・角川書店）』

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