Nakamura Kichizo

Playwright, novelist, and theater researcher. Born in Shimane Prefecture. Graduated from the Department of English Literature at Waseda University. He wrote novels under the name Shun'u from his boyhood, and after moving to Osaka he founded the coterie magazine Yoshiashigusa with fellow writers. After moving to Tokyo, he became a guest at the home of Hirotsu Ryuro, and his novel Fig (1901) won a prize in a newspaper novel contest, earning him recognition as a budding writer. After graduating from Waseda, he studied abroad in Europe and the United States, where he was influenced by modern playwrights such as Ibsen, and after returning to Japan he turned to playwrighting, publishing The Pastor's House in 1910 (Meiji 43). He then joined the Geijutsuza Theatre Company, where he established himself with social plays such as "Razor" (1914) and "Rice" (1915), before turning to historical dramas such as "The Death of Lord Ii" (1920) and "Oshio Heihachiro" (1921), which were well received, and later wrote many biographical plays. He began teaching at his alma mater at the end of the Taisho period, and received a doctorate in literature for his book "Japanese Drama Techniques" (1942).

[Hiroyuki Fujiki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

劇作家、小説家、演劇研究家。島根県生まれ。早稲田(わせだ)大学英文科卒業。少年時代から春雨(しゅんう)の号で小説を書き、大阪に出て文学仲間と同人誌『よしあし草』を創刊。上京後、広津柳浪(りゅうろう)家の食客となり、新聞の懸賞小説に『無花果(いちじく)』（1901）が当選、新進作家として認められた。早大卒業後、欧米に留学、イプセンなど近代劇作家の影響を受け、帰国後劇作家に転向し、1910年（明治43）『牧師の家』を発表。ついで芸術座に参加し、社会劇『剃刀(かみそり)』（1914）、『飯(めし)』（1915）で地位を確立、さらに史劇に向かい『井伊大老の死』（1920）、『大塩平八郎』（1921）が好評、のち伝記劇を多く書いた。大正末から母校の教壇に立ち、『日本戯曲技巧論』（1942）で文学博士となる。

［藤木宏幸］

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