Ryuro Hirotsu

Novelist. Born in Nagasaki, Hizen on June 8, 1860 (July 15, Gregorian calendar). His real name was Naoto. In 1877 (Meiji 10), he entered the preparatory school for the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tokyo, but dropped out due to illness. Later, he aspired to be a businessman and became an apprentice clerk at the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and an official at the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, but he did not last long and spent a time of frustration and wandering. In 1887, he published the political novel "Joshi Sansei Shinchuurou" (Mirage of Women's Political Suffrage), which was welcomed into the literary world, and he published many highly subjective works, such as "Zankiku" (1889), which vividly depicts the psychology of a young wife facing death, "Ochi Tsubaki" (1890), and "Obune Arashi" (1890-91). In 1895, he switched to a more realistic approach and published the serious (tragic) novels "Hemeden," "Kuro Tokage," and "Kame-san." In 1896, he published the masterpieces of double suicides "Imado Shinju" and "Kawachi-ya," as well as "Kasanezuma" (1898), "Motareito" (1899), and "Meguro Komachi" (1900), which explored the entanglements of love and desire and human grudges. In "Rain" (1902), he depicted the poor lives of ordinary people in a realistic style, and although he was a member of the Kenyusha Society, he stood out as a unique figure, and his literary world still contains many problems and possibilities today. He died on October 15, 1928. The writer Hirotsu Kazuo was his second son.

[Kuniharu Ogata]

"Complete Collection of Meiji Literature 19: Hirotsu Ryuro Collection" (1965, Chikuma Shobo)" ▽ "Definitive Collection of Hirotsu Ryuro Works, 2 volumes and supplementary volume 1" (1982, Toka Shobo)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

小説家。文久(ぶんきゅう)元年6月8日（新暦7月15日）肥前長崎生まれ。本名直人。1877年（明治10）東京大学医学部予備門に入学するが、病気のため中退。のち実業家を志し大阪商法会議所の書記見習、農商務省の官吏となるが、長続きせず、挫折(ざせつ)と放浪のときを過ごす。87年政治小説『女子参政蜃中楼(しんちゅうろう)』を発表、文壇に迎えられ、死に直面した若妻の心理を克明に描いた『残菊』（1889）、『おち椿(つばき)』（1890）、『小舟嵐(おぶねあらし)』（1890～91）など主観的傾向の強い作品を多く発表する。95年になると一転写実的手法に転じ、深刻（悲惨）小説『変目伝(へめでん)』『黒蜥蜴(くろとかげ)』『亀さん』を発表、96年には心中物の傑作『今戸心中』『河内(かわち)屋』のほか、『重(かさね)づま』（1898）、『もつれ糸』（1899）、『目黒小町』（1900）などで、愛欲のもつれと人間の怨念(おんねん)を追求した。また『雨』（1902）では庶民の貧しい生活をリアルなタッチで描いてみせるなど、硯友(けんゆう)社同人でありながら、その存在は異彩を放ち、その文学世界は今日なお多くの問題点と可能性を含んでいる。昭和3年10月15日死去。作家の広津和郎(かずお)は次男。

［尾形国治］

『『明治文学全集19　広津柳浪集』（1965・筑摩書房）』▽『『定本　広津柳浪作品集』二巻・別巻一（1982・冬夏書房）』

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