Naoya Shiga

A representative novelist from the Taisho to Showa eras. Born on February 20, 1883 in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, where his father was posted, he grew up in Azabu, Yamanote, Tokyo. He was at odds with his father, revered his grandfather, who was from the former Soma domain, and had many ups and downs in his love-hate relationship with his grandmother. During his time at Gakushuin, he got to know Mushanokoji Saneatsu and Kinoshita Rigen, who became his lifelong friends. Influenced by Uchimura Kanzo himself, he attended Uchimura's church in Tsunohazu, Shinjuku. He was also passionate about Kabuki and Musumegidayu, and was familiar with the works of Chikamatsu, Saikaku, and Izumi Kyoka, and read the works of Ibsen, Gorky, Maupassant, and others in English translation. He went on to study at the Imperial University of Tokyo, but dropped out. In 1908 (Meiji 41), he started a circulating magazine with Mushakoji and others, and wrote "To Abashiri". It merged with the circulating magazines of Satomi Ton and Yanagi Muneyoshi, who were lower-ranking members of Gakushuin, and in April 1910, "Shirakaba" was launched. "Shirakaba" opened a window into the starting point of Taisho literature.

Among Shiga's early works, such as "The Razor," "The Old Man," "The Righteous," "The Diary of Claudius," and "Seibei and the Gourd," there is a mixture of objective novels using various techniques, and personal novels using himself, his relatives, and friends as models. Furthermore, as symbolized by "Muddy Head" (1911), he painfully depicted the conflict between Christian commandments and sexual desire. He always respected his inner nature and its intrinsic nature, boldly following the natural nature of his body, and while sometimes including anarchic elements, he tried to control himself and achieve harmony between beauty and ethics. In September 1912 (Taisho 1), he published "Otsu Junkichi" in "Chuokoron," earning him his first manuscript fee. This work also features a struggle with his family that unfolds as a result of love, and is based on the protagonist's experience four years earlier. Later, Kazuo Ozaki read this novel and was deeply moved by it, which marked the first step in his studies under Naoya Shiga.

In the same year, due to conflict with his father, he temporarily lived in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, and attempted to write a story along the lines of "Otsu Junkichi," but returned to Tokyo without success. His first collection of fiction was "Rume" (1913), named after his grandmother and dedicated to her, and it contains short stories about the hypersensitive life of a young man from Yamate. In 1914, he married Kadenokoji Sadako, a cousin of Mushanokoji Saneatsu, despite his family's opposition, and lived in Kyoto and Akagi for a while. He wrote "Han's Crime" (1913), an objective novel that psychologically depicts the problem of adultery, and then he stopped writing for about three years and moved to Abiko, Chiba Prefecture, on the banks of Lake Teganuma. At that time, Muneyoshi Yanagi, Mushakoji, Bernard Leach, and Kansuke Naka also lived in Abiko, and the area had a strong Shirakaba village atmosphere. Shiga moved more than twenty times in his life, and produced masterpieces that were inspired by the places where he lived.

Shiga's creative activities resumed in 1917, and he published works such as "At Kinosaki," a representative novel of his state of mind in which he contemplated the meaning of life and death through the eyes of small animals while recuperating in the quiet hot springs of Kinosaki; "A Good Couple," born out of his life in Abiko; "Akanishi Kakita," which depicts the humorous and warm psychology of a spy while setting the Date riots of storytelling in the background; and "Reconciliation," which frankly expresses the immediate joy of finally resolving a long-standing dispute with his father. These made him a representative mid-career writer of the Taisho period. He also published a collection of short stories, "Light of the Night" (1918), bound by Bernard Leach. Kazuo Hirotsu's classic "On Shiga Naoya" (collected in "Impressions of the Author," 1920), was also written during this period, and the image of Shiga as a writer with a naked eye who could accurately see what he should see was firmly established. He also serialized "A Certain Man and His Sister's Death" (1920), which was written from a different perspective to "Otsu Junkichi" and "Wakaiwa", as his only newspaper novel. "Bonfire", which Akutagawa Ryunosuke admired, shows a quiet, strong, and affectionate oriental poetic spirit. "Manazuru" and "Kozo no Kamisama" are also famous short stories from the Taisho period. Along with these short stories, in 1921 he began serializing his full-length novel "Anyakouro" in Kaizo, and while the first part was completed for the time being, the second part was extremely difficult and was interrupted many times, but was finally completed in April 1937 (Showa 12). It received praise from Kobayashi Hideo, Kawakami Tetsutaro, Tanigawa Tetsuzo, and others, and became an immortal masterpiece in the history of modern literature. During this time, he moved from Abiko to Kyoto, Yamashina, and finally to Nara. He published short story collections such as "Frog" and "Memories of Yamashina." His interest in Western art in the early days of "Shirakaba" eventually shifted to Eastern art, and he edited and published "Zauho," an extremely famous art catalogue of the time. This was also not bound by the so-called ordinary art history, but was instead obsessed with his own aesthetic sense based on his own naked eye. Around him were people such as Takii Kosaku, Ozaki Kazuo, Amino Kiku, Naoi Kiyoshi, Shimamura Toshimasa, Fujieda Shizuo, and Agawa Hiroyuki, who formed the "Shiga Mountains." However, there was opposition from Dazai Osamu and Oda Sakunosuke to his autobiographical nature and the harmonious "personality aesthetics" that Ito Sei spoke of. After the Second World War, he published concise yet profound short stories such as "Grey Moon," "Morning Glories," and "Yamabato." In terms of his influence, he is unrivaled among modern writers. In 1941 (Showa 16), he became a member of the Japan Art Academy, and in 1949 (Showa 24), he was awarded the Order of Culture. He moved from Atami to Shibuya, Tokyo, and spent his later years in leisure, dying on October 21, 1971, at the age of 88. He is buried in Aoyama Cemetery.

[Toshiro Akano]

"The Complete Works of Shiga Naoya, Vol. 15 and Supplementary Volume 1 (Republished 1983-84, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "The Literature of the Shirakaba School, by Honda Shugo (1954, Kodansha, later Shincho Bunko)" ▽ "A Personal Theory of Shiga Naoya, by Yasuoka Shotaro (1968, Kodansha)" ▽ "Shiga Naoya: Modernity and Mythology, by Takahashi Hideo (1981, Bungeishunju)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

大正から昭和にかけての代表的小説家。明治16年2月20日、父の赴任地の宮城県石巻(いしのまき)に生まれ、東京の山手(やまのて)の麻布(あざぶ)で育つ。父とは対立、旧相馬(そうま)藩出身の祖父を敬愛し、祖母とは愛憎の起伏甚大であった。学習院時代に武者小路実篤(むしゃのこうじさねあつ)、木下利玄(りげん)を知り、生涯の友人となる。内村鑑三その人の影響を受け、新宿角筈(つのはず)の内村の教会に通う。また歌舞伎(かぶき)、娘義太夫(むすめぎだゆう)に熱中、近松、西鶴(さいかく)や泉鏡花などの作品に親しみ、イプセン、ゴーリキー、モーパッサンなどの作品を英訳で読む。東京帝国大学に進んだが中退。1908年（明治41）武者小路らと回覧雑誌を始め、『網走(あばしり)まで』などを書く。学習院下級の里見弴(とん)らや柳宗悦(やなぎむねよし)らの回覧雑誌と合併、10年4月『白樺(しらかば)』を創刊。大正文学の出発点の窓がこの『白樺』により開かれる。

　初期の志賀作品のなかには、『剃刀(かみそり)』『老人』『正義派』『クローディアスの日記』『清兵衛(せいべえ)と瓢箪(ひょうたん)』はじめ多様な技法を用いた客観小説の流れと、自己と肉親および友人をモデルに用いた私小説の流れとが入り交じって展開。さらに『濁つた頭』（1911）などに象徴されるようなキリスト教の戒めと性欲との葛藤(かっとう)を苦しみながら描いた。あくまでも自己内部の自然、その内発性を尊重、大胆に肉体の自然に従い、ときにはアナーキーな要素を含みながらも、自己を制御し、美と倫理との一致を図るべく努めた。1912年（大正1）9月『中央公論』に『大津順吉』を発表、最初の原稿料を得た。この作品にも恋愛を契機として展開する家との戦いがあり、4年前の主人公の体験が下敷きとなっている。のち尾崎一雄がこの小説を読み、大いに感動し、志賀直哉への師事の第一歩となる。

　この年、父との対立がもとで広島県尾道(おのみち)に一時居住、『大津順吉』の延長線上の物語を書こうとするが果たせず帰京。第一創作集は祖母の名をとり、祖母に捧(ささ)げた『留女(るめ)』（1913）で、山手の青年の神経の過敏な短編作品を収録している。1914年、武者小路実篤の従妹勘解由小路康子(かでのこうじさだこ)と家の反対を押し切って結婚、京都や赤城(あかぎ)などにしばらく住む。姦通(かんつう)の問題を心理的に描いた客観小説『范(はん)の犯罪』（1913）などを書き、3年ほど創作を中止、千葉県手賀(てが)沼のほとり我孫子(あびこ)に移住。当時の我孫子には柳宗悦、武者小路、バーナード・リーチや中勘助(かんすけ)なども住み、『白樺』村的雰囲気が濃厚であった。志賀はその生涯において転居二十数回、居住した場所場所に材をとった名作を発表している。

　中期の志賀の創作活動は1917年より再開、城崎(きのさき)温泉での静かな療養生活のなかで、生きることと死ぬことの意味を小動物に托して凝視した心境小説の代表作『城の崎(きのさき)にて』、我孫子生活のなかより生まれた『好人物の夫婦』、講談の伊達(だて)騒動を遠景に置きつつ、ユーモアに満ちた温かい間者(かんじゃ)の心理を描いた『赤西蠣太(かきた)』、長年にわたった父との争いが一挙に和解した直接的な喜びを率直に表明した『和解』などを発表、大正期の代表的な中堅作家となる。またバーナード・リーチ装丁の短編集『夜の光』（1918）を刊行。広津和郎(かずお)の古典的な『志賀直哉論』（『作者の感想』所収・1920）もこの時期に書かれ、見るべきものを正確に見抜く肉眼の作家志賀のイメージが定着した。また『大津順吉』『和解』とは異なった視点より描いた『或(あ)る男、其(その)姉の死』（1920）を唯一の新聞小説として連載。芥川龍之介(あくたがわりゅうのすけ)も敬服した『焚火(たきび)』には、静かで勁(つよ)く、親愛に満ちた東洋的詩精神が表れている。『真鶴(まなづる)』や『小僧の神様』も大正文学の名短編である。それらの短編群にあわせて、1921年、長編小説『暗夜行路(あんやこうろ)』が『改造』に連載され始め、その前編はひとまず完結したが、後編はすこぶる難渋、幾度もの断絶を繰り返しながらも、37年（昭和12）4月、ついに完結。小林秀雄、河上徹太郎(てつたろう)、谷川徹三らより賛辞が寄せられ、近代文学史上の不朽の名作となる。その間に我孫子から京都、山科(やましな)を経て奈良に転居。『雨蛙(あまがえる)』『山科の記憶』などの短編集を刊行した。『白樺』初期の西洋美術への関心はやがて東洋美術への関心に移行、当時の美術図録としてきわめて著名な『座右宝(ざうほう)』を編集して刊行。これもいわゆる普通の美術史にとらわれず、自己の肉眼による美意識にあくまでも執着したものである。周辺には滝井孝作、尾崎一雄、網野(あみの)菊、直井潔(きよし)、島村利正(としまさ)、藤枝静男、阿川弘之(ひろゆき)らが集まり、「志賀山脈」を成形。しかし、その私小説性や、伊藤整のいう調和的な「人格美学」的ありように対して、太宰治(だざいおさむ)、織田作之助(おださくのすけ)らの反発もあった。第二次世界大戦後は『灰色の月』『朝顔』『山鳩(やまばと)』など簡潔にして奥行の深い短編を発表。その影響の点では近代作家のなかでは随一の存在である。1941年（昭和16）芸術院会員、49年（昭和24）文化勲章受章。熱海(あたみ)から東京・渋谷に居を移し、悠然とした晩年を送り、昭和46年10月21日、88歳で死去。青山墓地に葬られる。

［紅野敏郎］

『『志賀直哉全集』15巻・別巻1（再刊・1983～84・岩波書店）』▽『本多秋五著『「白樺」派の文学』（1954・講談社／のち新潮文庫）』▽『安岡章太郎著『志賀直哉私論』（1968・講談社）』▽『高橋英夫著『志賀直哉　近代と神話』（1981・文芸春秋）』

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