Countryside Melancholy - Countryside Melancholy

A short story by Sato Haruo. The first half was published in Kuroshio in June 1917 (Taisho 6) under the title "Sick Rose." He completed it and published it in Chugai in September 1918 under the title "Countryside Melancholy," and in November of the same year it was included in his first collection of stories, "Sick Rose," published by Tenyusha. The definitive version of "Countryside Melancholy" was published by Shinchosha in June 1919. Set against the backdrop of life in the countryside at the southern end of Musashino, the story depicts a simple daily life with his wife and two dogs without electric lights, a fresh communion with nature, and the feelings of melancholy and fatigue that arise from this, all of which are transferred into a world of dense prose, beautifully capturing the inner world of a modern man. Although it lacks the drama of a novel, the way in which it traces in detail the shadows of one's inner state of mind gives a sense of the new sensibilities of the Taisho period, making it one of the masterpieces of not only the author but also Taisho literature as a whole.

[Kunihiko Nakajima]

"'Countryside Melancholy' (Iwanami Bunko)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

佐藤春夫の短編小説。前半部分を『病める薔薇(そうび)』の題で1917年（大正6）6月の『黒潮(こくちょう)』に発表。いちおう完成させ18年9月の『中外』に『田園の憂鬱』の題で掲載、同年11月天佑(てんゆう)社刊の処女創作集『病める薔薇』に収録。定本版『田園の憂鬱』を19年6月、新潮社刊。武蔵野(むさしの)の南端の田園での生活を背景に、妻と二匹の犬との電灯もない簡素な日常、自然との新鮮な交感、そこから生まれる憂鬱と倦怠(けんたい)の心情を、緻密(ちみつ)な散文世界に移し、近代人の内面をみごとに定着させた作品。小説的ドラマはないが、心境の陰翳(いんえい)を詳細にたどるその方法には、大正期の新しい感性の息吹が感じられ、作者のみならず大正文学の代表作の一つである。

［中島国彦］

『『田園の憂鬱』（岩波文庫）』

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