Kazuo Hirotsu

Novelist. Born on December 5, 1891, in Yaraicho, Ushigome Ward, Tokyo (now Shinjuku Ward), as the second son of Kenyusha writer Hirotsu Ryuro. While at Azabu Middle School, he wrote letters to Joshi Bundan and Yorozu Choho, occasionally receiving prize money. In 1912 (Taisho 1), while studying English at Waseda University, he helped found the coterie magazine Kiseki, publishing short stories and translations. He graduated in 1913. After working for the Mainyu Shimbun for around six months and leaving the company, he was in charge of literary reviews for the magazine Flood After in 1916, and first gained recognition as a critic. His critical essays such as "Angry Tolstoy" (1917) and "On Shiga Naoya" (1919) were later collected in "The Author's Thoughts" (1920) and are considered the pinnacle of Taisho-period criticism. His creative work was his breakthrough with "The Age of Neurosis" (1917), and his subsequent works can be divided into two series: stories about character bankruptcies such as "Two Unfortunates" (1918) and personal novels such as "Gecko" (1919), but it is the latter that is more highly regarded.

Later, through his debate with Arishima Takeo on "One Declaration" (1922), he gradually deepened his interest in reality and society, and in "The Position of Prose Art" (1924) he clarified the characteristics of novels that are closely related to life. He also approached the emerging proletarian literature from the standpoint of a free intellectual, wary of its political omnipotence, and was called a companion writer. His representative work is "The Wind and Rain Must Be Strong" (1933-34). He showed a strong opposition to the militaristic trend of the 1930s with works such as "On the Spirit of Prose" (1936) and "The Problem of the Heart" (1937). After the war, he demonstrated his vital critical spirit in his debate with Nakamura Mitsuo on "The Stranger" (1951), and his talent blossomed beautifully in "The Matsukawa Trial" (1958) and "The Footsteps of the Years" (1963, 1967). Although he lacks the ability to compose novels, Hirotsu's literature has a unique appeal in that he combines a keen pursuit of reality with the passion of an idealist, and he portrays the lives of intellectuals and the joys and sorrows of ordinary people with a flexible, unconventional way of thinking. Member of the Japan Art Academy. Died on September 21, 1968.

[Michio Hashimoto]

"The Complete Works of Hirotsu Kazuo, 13 volumes (1973-74, Chuokoron-Shinsha)" ▽ "Hashimoto Michio, Hirotsu Kazuo (1965, Meiji Shoin, Modern Writers Series)" ▽ "Mamiya Mosuke, Hirotsu Kazuo: Fifty Years with This Man (1969, Rironsha, Taimatsu Series)" ▽ "Hirotsuka Kazuo: My Father, Hirotsu Momoko (1973, Mainichi Shimbun)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

小説家。明治24年12月5日、東京市牛込区（現新宿区）矢来町に硯友社(けんゆうしゃ)の作家広津柳浪(りゅうろう)の次男として生まれた。麻布(あざぶ)中学時代から『女子文壇』や『萬朝報(よろずちょうほう)』に投書し、ときどき賞金をもらう。1912年（大正1）早稲田(わせだ)大学英文科在学中に同人雑誌『奇蹟(きせき)』の創刊に加わり、短編、翻訳などを発表。13年に卒業。約半年『毎夕新聞』に勤め、退社後、16年、雑誌『洪水以後』の文芸時評を担当し、まず批評家として認められた。「怒れるトルストイ」（1917）、「志賀直哉(なおや)論」（1919）などの評論はのちに『作者の感想』（1920）に収録され、大正期評論の白眉(はくび)とされている。創作では17年の『神経病時代』を出世作とし、以後の作品は『二人の不幸者』（1918）などの性格破産者物と、『やもり』（1919）などの私小説の二系列に分かれるが、いずれかといえば後者がより高く評価されている。

　その後、有島武郎(たけお)との「宣言一つ」論争（1922）などを通じてしだいに現実や社会への関心を深め、「散文芸術の位置」（1924）で人生に密着した小説の特性を明らかにした。また新興のプロレタリア文学にはその政治万能主義を警戒しつつ自由な知識人の立場から接近し、同伴者作家とよばれた。『風雨強かるべし』（1933～34）はその代表作といえる。昭和10年代の軍国主義の時流には「散文精神について」（1936）、「心臓の問題」（1937）などで鋭い反発をみせた。戦後には中村光夫(みつお)との『異邦人』論争（1951）で批評精神の健在を示し、『松川裁判』（1958）や、『年月のあしおと』正続（1963、67）にその資質をみごとに開花させた。小説構成力には劣るが、現実への鋭い追求心と理想家的な情熱とをあわせもち、しかも型にとらわれない柔軟な思考で知識人の生き方や庶民の哀歓を描いたところに広津文学の独特な魅力がある。芸術院会員。昭和43年9月21日没。

［橋本迪夫］

『『広津和郎全集』全13巻（1973～74・中央公論社）』▽『橋本迪夫著『広津和郎』（1965・明治書院・近代作家叢書）』▽『間宮茂輔著『広津和郎　この人との五十年』（1969・理論社・たいまつ双書）』▽『広津桃子著『父広津和郎』（1973・毎日新聞社）』

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