Roan Uchida - Uchida Roan

A critic, translator, and novelist of the Meiji and Taisho periods. His real name was Mitsugi, and he also had other pen names such as Fuchian. He was born on leap April 5, 1868, as the son of a former shogunate official. After dropping out of Rikkyo School and University Preparatory School, he acquired language skills by helping out the work of a distant relative, the translator Inoue Tsutomu. He entered the literary world in 1888 (Meiji 21), and with the rise of the Kenyusha company, he was active as a literary critic in magazines such as Jogaku Zasshi and Kokumin no Tomo, with his sharp critical eye and highly satirical writing. He became friends with Futabatei Shimei and translated Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment," which shook Shimei's view of literature. In 1998, he became a novelist with "Nijuuhachinichi" (28 days of the year), and published "Social Hundred Faces" (1901) and other works. His love for books, which he gained through his studies of Chikamatsu Monzaemon and Basho, led him to join Maruzen in 1901 (Meiji 34), and he worked as an editor for "Gakuto" for the rest of his life. After Futabatei's death, he translated Tolstoy's "Resurrection," and devoted himself exclusively to essay writing and historical research. He became known for his progressive criticism of civilization and the promotion of reading culture, as contained in his literary memoir "Omoidasu Hitobito" (1925), and his essay collections "Baku no Shita" (1921) and "Bakudan" (1922). A representative modern Japanese reader. Died June 29, 1929.

[Takashi Nomura]

"Modern Japanese Literature Series 3: Uchida Roan and Other Works" (1970, Chikuma Shobo)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

明治・大正期の評論家、翻訳家、小説家。本名は貢(みつぎ)、別号に不知庵(ふちあん)など。慶応4年閏(うるう)4月5日、旧幕臣の子として生まれる。立教学校、大学予備門を中退後、遠縁の翻訳家井上勤(つとむ)の仕事を手伝って語学力を身につけた。1888年（明治21）文壇に登場、硯友社(けんゆうしゃ)勃興(ぼっこう)に際し、鋭利な批評眼と風刺性の強い文章で、『女学雑誌』『国民之友』などの誌上で文芸評論家として活躍した。二葉亭四迷(しめい)と親交を結び、その文学観を揺すぶったドストエフスキーの『罪と罰』を翻訳し、98年に『くれの廿八日(にじゅうはちにち)』で小説家となり、『社会百面相』（1901）などを発表。近松門左衛門や芭蕉(ばしょう)の研究を通じて得た書物への愛着から1901年（明治34）に丸善入社、『学鐙(がくとう)』の編集に終生あたったが、二葉亭の死後、トルストイの『復活』の翻訳を行うほか、もっぱら随筆と考証に従事した。文壇回想録『思ひ出す人々』（1925）や随筆集『貘(ばく)の舌』（1921）、『バクダン』（1922）などに所収の進歩的立場での文明批評や読書文化普及で世に知られた。わが国近代の代表的読書人。昭和4年6月29日没。

［野村　喬］

『『現代日本文学大系3　内田魯庵他集』（1970・筑摩書房）』

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