Inagaki Taruho - Inagaki Taruho

Novelist. Born in Osaka. Interested in airplanes, machines and paintings from an early age, he moved to Tokyo after graduating from the Kansai Gakuin Junior High School and studied under Haruo Sato. In 1923 (Taisho 12), he published his first collection of short stories, "The Tale of One Thousand and One Seconds." His subsequent works, "The Shop That Sells Stars" (1926), "The Tale of the Third Hemisphere" (1927), and "Astronomy" (1928), were renowned for their surrealistic style of writing, which took celestial bodies and the tools of scientific civilization as its subject matter, and attracted attention as cutting-edge modernism. However, he soon became unable to write due to alcohol and nicotine addiction, and continued to live a life of poverty and recklessness. After World War II, he resumed his writing, publishing "Miroku" (1946) and "Vita Machinikaris" (1948). His works became more autobiographical and philosophical, and at the same time, the theme of pederasty came to the forefront. In 1968 (Showa 43), he simultaneously published "The Aesthetics of Boy Love" (1968), which rejected conventional sexual aesthetics and advocated the superiority of "A-sense" (anus sense), as well as "My Eureka" and "Tokyo Fugue," sparking a Tarho boom. Both his works and his life make him a rare presence in the history of modern Japanese literature.

[Hiroyoshi Sone]

"The Collected Works of Taruho Inagaki, 9 volumes (1974-75, Ushio Publishing)" ▽ "Masayoshi Shirakawa, Taruho Inagaki" (1976, Fuyuki Publishing)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

小説家。大阪生まれ。少年のころから飛行機や器械類や絵画に興味をもち、関西(かんせい)学院普通部卒業後、上京、佐藤春夫の門をたたく。1923年（大正12）、処女小品集『一千一秒物語』を出版。続く『星を売る店』（1926）、『第三半球物語』（1927）、『天体嗜好(しこう)症』（1928）などとともに、天体や科学文明の利器を題材にした超現実派的な異色の作風が、モダニズムの最先端として注目を浴びたが、まもなくアルコールおよびニコチン中毒のため創作不能となり、貧窮、無頼の生活を続けた。第二次世界大戦後、『弥勒(みろく)』（1946）、『ヰタ・マキニカリス』（1948）などを出版して、創作を再開。自伝的、哲学的な傾向を強めると同時に、少年愛のテーマが前面に出てきた。68年（昭和43）、従来の性美学を否定して「A感覚」（アヌス感覚）の優位を唱えた『少年愛の美学』（1968）や『僕の“ユリーカ”』『東京遁走(とんそう)曲』をほぼ同時に出して、タルホブームがおこった。作品、生活ともに、近代日本文学史上、希有(けう)の存在である。

［曾根博義］

『『稲垣足穂作品集』全九巻（1974～75・潮出版社）』▽『白川正芳著『稲垣足穂』（1976・冬樹社）』

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