Atsushi Nakajima

Novelist. Born in Tokyo on May 5, 1909. The Nakajima family, a famous family of vehicle makers, lived in Shin-Norimonocho, Nihonbashi (now Nihonbashi Horidomecho) for generations. His grandfather had been an aspiring scholar, and his great-grandfather, uncle, and father all studied Chinese. After graduating from First Higher School, he graduated from the Department of Japanese Literature at Tokyo Imperial University in 1933 (Showa 8). While still enrolled in graduate school, he became a teacher at Yokohama Girls' High School. He had been writing novels since middle school, but because he lived a life of solitude, he never had the opportunity to be known by the world. In 1906, he was assigned to Palau as a textbook editor for the South Seas Bureau, where he met sculptor and folklorist Hijikata Hisakatsu. Before leaving, he entrusted a manuscript to Fukada Kyuya, who published it in Bungakukai (February 1909 issue: Sangetsu-ki and Moji-ga), and for the first time, he was recognized as a talented new writer. He returned to Tokyo in March 1942 and resolved to become a writer, writing "Gojyo Shusse" (1942), "Disciple" and "Li Ling" (both 1943), and publishing "Light, Wind and Dreams" in July and "Tales of the South Island" in November, but died on December 4th from asthma, a chronic condition. He is buried in Tama Cemetery. He is a part of the pure and cool lineage of literature during World War II. A literary monument stands on the former grounds of Yokohama Girls' High School, and the Nakajima Atsushi Collection can be found in the Nihon University Law School Library.

[Mitsuru Sasaki]

"The Complete Works of Nakajima Atsushi, three volumes (1976, Chikuma Shobo)" ▽ "Nakajima Atsushi by Sasaki Mitsuru (1968, Ohfusha)" ▽ "Nakajima Atsushi Studies, edited by Nakamura Mitsuo et al. (1978, Chikuma Shobo)" ▽ "The Literature of Nakajima Atsushi by Sasaki Mitsuru (1973, Ohfusha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

小説家。明治42年5月5日、東京に生まれる。中島家は、乗物師の名家として代々日本橋新乗物町（現日本橋堀留町）に住んだ。祖父の代から学問を志し、従祖父、伯叔父、父と、みな漢学に生きた。一高を経て、1933年（昭和8）東京帝国大学国文科卒業。大学院在籍のまま私立横浜高女の教師となる。中学時代から小説を書いたが、孤独をよしとする生活を貫いたため、世に知られる機会を得られなかった。41年南洋庁の教科書編集書記としてパラオへ赴任、彫刻家・民俗研究家の土方久功(ひじかたひさかつ)と知る。出発前深田久弥(きゅうや)に託した原稿が深田によって『文学界』に載り（42年2月号に『山月記』と『文字禍』）、初めて有才の新人として処遇される。42年3月帰京、作家としてたつ決意をし、『悟浄出世』（1942）、『弟子』『李陵(りりょう)』（ともに1943）を書き、7月『光と風と夢』、11月『南島譚』を刊行するが、12月4日持病喘息(ぜんそく)によって死去。多磨墓地に葬られる。第二次世界大戦下文学の清冽(せいれつ)な一脈である。横浜高女旧校地に文学碑、日大法学部図書館に中島敦文庫がある。

［佐々木充］

『『中島敦全集』全三巻（1976・筑摩書房）』▽『佐々木充著『中島敦』（1968・桜楓社）』▽『中村光夫他編『中島敦研究』（1978・筑摩書房）』▽『佐々木充著『中島敦の文学』（1973・桜楓社）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例