Sakutaro Hagiwara

Poet. Born November 1, 1886 in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture. His father was a doctor. He began his literary activities, mainly writing tanka, when he was in his third year at Maebashi Junior High School, and contributed his work to alumni magazines such as Bunko and Myojo. He also drew pictures and became interested in photography. In 1907 (Meiji 40), he enrolled in the English department of the Fifth High School in Kumamoto, but dropped out after one year, and in 1908 re-entered the German law department of Rokuko High School in Okayama. However, he remained as a first-year student until May 1910, when he dropped out as he saw no prospects for continuing his studies. During this time, he contributed tanka to the magazine Subaru. After dropping out of Rokuko High School, he commuted between his hometown of Maebashi and Tokyo, learning the mandolin and preparing for the entrance exam to enter a music school.

In 1913 (Taisho 2), he made his debut in the poetry world with the publication of "Michiyuki" and five other poems in "Zamboa," a magazine edited by Kitahara Hakushu. He discovered Muro Saisei's "Shokei Ijyo" in the same issue, and the two of them formed a lifelong friendship. The following year, he joined Yamamura Bocho, and the three of them founded the Ningyo Shisha, a company "with the main purpose of researching poetry, religion, and music." In 1915, they published three issues of their journal, "Tabletop Fountain." Around this time, he was deeply troubled by the life question, "What am I living for?", and he published no works for almost a year until the following year. He eventually found a temporary solution to this problem by coming into contact with Christian love through the works of Dostoevsky. In 1913, he founded the poetry magazine Kanjō (Feelings) with Saisei (until November 1919), bringing a breath of fresh air to a poetry world that had fallen into an intellectual style with its poems that were full of emotion.

In 1917, he published his first collection of poems, Howling at the Moon, and instantly became a darling of the poetry world. In 1918, he stopped publishing poems again, which continued until the beginning of 1921. During this period, he devoted himself to contemplation, and the results of this were aphorisms and a poetic theory that developed into Principles of Poetry. In 1919, he married Ueda Ineko. In 1921, he resumed publishing poems, and in 1923, he published Blue Cat, a compilation of poems after Howling at the Moon. In 1925, he moved to Tokyo with his wife and children. Prior to moving to Tokyo, he attempted to write a poem in literary style, Poems of a View of the Hometown. In 1929 (Showa 4), he divorced Ineko. In 1930, he lost his father, and came to deeply experience the hardships of life. This lifestyle is the background to Hyoto, published in 1934. After "Hyojima" he wrote almost no poetry, instead concentrating on aphorisms and cultural criticism. Although he was not blessed with a good family life, he was surrounded by talented young poets who gathered at "Shiki" and spent his later years as a poet happily. He died at home on May 11, 1942.

The essence of Sakutaro's poetry is that he put into practice what he himself said in "On Favorite Poems," "We devote ourselves entirely to filling our own feelings with our own rhythm." His eldest daughter was novelist Yoko Hagiwara (1920-2005). There is a Sakutaro Hagiwara Memorial Museum in Maebashi City.

[Tadao Kubo]

"The Complete Works of Hagiwara Sakutarō, 15 volumes (1975-78, Chikuma Shobo)" ▽ "The Great Collection of Modern Japanese Literature 37: The Collection of Hagiwara Sakutarō (1971, Kadokawa Shoten)" ▽ "Shincho Japanese Literature Album 15: Hagiwara Sakutarō (1984, Shinchosha)" ▽ "Hagiwara Sakutarō, by Miyoshi Tatsuji (1963, Chikuma Shobo)" ▽ "Studies on Hagiwara Sakutarō, edited by Ito Nobuyoshi (1972, Shichosha)" ▽ "Hagiwara Sakutarō in His Young Days, by Hagiwara Takashi (1979, Chikuma Shobo)" ▽ "Studies on Hagiwara Sakutarō, by Ando Yasuhiko (1998, Meiji Shoin)" ▽ "Yonekura Iwao's 'Study of Hagiwara Sakutarō - The Circuit of Poetics/Consideration of the Circuit' (2002, Ohfu)" ▽ "Hagiwara Yoko's 'My Father, Hagiwara Sakutarō' (Chuko Bunko)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

詩人。明治19年11月1日、群馬県前橋市生まれ。父は医師。前橋中学3年のころから、短歌を主とする文芸活動を始め、校友会誌、『文庫』『明星』などに投稿した。また、絵を描き、写真に興味をもった。1907年（明治40）熊本の第五高等学校英文科に入学したが、1年で退学、08年岡山の六高独法科に入り直した。しかし、ここも1年生のまま10年5月までいて、修学の見込みがないのでやめた。この間、『昴(スバル)』に短歌を投じた。六高中退後は、郷里前橋と東京の間を往来し、マンドリンを習ったり、音楽学校を志して入学試験の準備をしたりした。

　1913年（大正2）北原白秋(はくしゅう)主宰の『朱欒(ザンボア)』に『みちゆき』ほか5編の詩が掲載されて詩壇にデビュー。同じ号に室生犀星(むろうさいせい)の『小景異情』をみいだし、生涯にわたる親交を結んだ。翌14年山村暮鳥(ぼちょう)を加えた3人で「主として詩、宗教、音楽の研究を目的とする」人魚詩社を創立、15年、機関誌『卓上噴水』を3号まで出した。このころ、「おれはなんのために生きてゐるのか」という人生問題に深く悩み、翌年にかけてほとんど1年間作品を発表しなかった。この問題は結局、ドストエフスキーの作品を通してキリスト教の愛に触れることで、いちおうの解決をみた。そこで、16年犀星と詩誌『感情』を創刊（1919年11月まで）、知的詩風に堕した詩壇に、感情の盛んに流露した詩をもって新風を送った。

　1917年処女詩集『月に吠(ほ)える』を出して一躍詩壇の寵児(ちょうじ)となった。18年に入るとふたたび詩の発表がとだえ、21年の初めに及ぶ。この期間は思索に専心し、所産としてアフォリズム、『詩の原理』に発展する詩論があった。19年に上田稲子と結婚。21年、詩の発表を復活し、『月に吠える』以後の詩を編んで23年に『青猫(あおねこ)』を刊行した。25年妻子を伴って上京。上京に先だって文語体の詩『郷土望景詩』を試みた。29年（昭和4）稲子と離婚。30年父を失い、人生の辛苦をしみじみと味わう。34年刊行の『氷島(ひょうとう)』はこうした生活を背景にもつ。『氷島』以後にはほとんど詩作はなく、アフォリズムや文化評論をもっぱら書いた。家庭的には恵まれなかったが、『四季』に集まった若い優れた詩人たちに囲まれ、詩人としては幸せな晩年であった。昭和17年5月11日自宅で没した。

　朔太郎の詩業の真髄は、自ら「愛誦詩篇(あいしょうしへん)に就(つい)て」で「我々は一意専心我々自身の実感を我々自身のリズムに盛りあぐる」といっているが、この主張を実践できたところにあるといえよう。小説家萩原葉子(ようこ)（1920―2005）は長女。前橋市に萩原朔太郎記念館がある。

［久保忠夫］

『『萩原朔太郎全集』全15巻（1975～78・筑摩書房）』▽『『日本近代文学大系37　萩原朔太郎集』（1971・角川書店）』▽『『新潮日本文学アルバム15　萩原朔太郎』（1984・新潮社）』▽『三好達治著『萩原朔太郎』（1963・筑摩書房）』▽『伊藤信吉編『萩原朔太郎研究』（1972・思潮社）』▽『萩原隆著『若き日の萩原朔太郎』（1979・筑摩書房）』▽『安藤靖彦著『萩原朔太郎の研究』（1998・明治書院）』▽『米倉巖著『萩原朔太郎論攷――詩学の回路／回路の思索』（2002・おうふう）』▽『萩原葉子著『父　萩原朔太郎』（中公文庫）』

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