Morita Shiken

A Meiji-era newspaper journalist and translator. His real name was Bunzo. His other pen names included Yakyaku, Yokaku Sanjin, and Byakuren-an Shujin. He was born on July 21, 1290, in Kasaoka, Bitchu Province (Okayama Prefecture). He studied under Yano Ryukei at the Osaka branch of Keio Gijuku. He later moved to Tokyo and studied English literature at Keio Gijuku. He also studied Chinese classics. In 1882 (Meiji 15), he was persuaded by Ryukei to join the Yubin Hochi Shimbun. He was dispatched to China in 1885, where he gained fame as a writer through his travel writings such as "Peking Travelogue." In the same year, he set off on a tour of Europe and America. After returning to Japan, he cooperated with the reforms of the Hochi Shimbun that Ryukei had promoted. This reform transformed the Hochi Shimbun from a political newspaper to one with a more substantial social and literary section. Shiken displayed his skills as the de facto editor-in-chief and also published his own literary works in the paper. Around this time, he especially made a name for himself as a translator, translating and adapting many novels by Jules Verne and Victor Hugo. At one time, he was even called the "king of translations." Some of his most well-known translations include Verne's "The Iron World" and "The Fifteen-Year-Old Boy," and Hugo's "Detective Huber" and "Cloud." In 1892, he resigned from the Hochi Shimbun and joined the Diet as a guest. He contributed many translations and critiques to the newspaper and to magazines such as "Kokumin no Tomo" and "Taiyo," and was a popular figure in the literary world. In 1896, persuaded by Kuroiwa Ruiko, he joined the Yorozu Choho newspaper and contributed prolifically to the paper's literary section. Shiken's unique writing style, also known as the "close and detailed style," had a major impact on the literature of his time, and in terms of literary history, his achievements went beyond the translation and introduction of foreign literature. He passed away on November 14, 1897.

[Teruo Ariyama]

"Only the first volume of the Complete Works of Shiken was published (1907, Sakaiya Ishiwari Shoten)" ▽ "Research on Translated Literature of the Early Meiji Period by Yanagida Izumi (1961, Shunjusha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

明治の新聞記者、翻訳家。本名文蔵。別号は埜客(やきゃく)、羊角(ようかく)山人、白蓮庵(びゃくれんあん)主人など。文久(ぶんきゅう)元年7月21日備中(びっちゅう)国（岡山県）笠岡(かさおか)に生まれる。慶応義塾大阪分校で矢野龍渓(りゅうけい)に師事する。のち上京し、慶応義塾で英文学を学ぶ。さらに漢学を修めた。1882年（明治15）龍渓の勧誘により『郵便報知新聞』に入社した。1885年中国に特派され、「北京(ペキン)紀行」などの紀行文によって文名を高めた。同年、ヨーロッパやアメリカ巡遊に出発。帰国後は龍渓の推進した報知新聞社の改革に協力した。この改革により『報知新聞』は、政論本位の新聞から社会面、文芸欄を充実させた新聞に変質した。思軒は、事実上の編集責任者として腕を振るうとともに、自らの文学作品を紙面に掲載した。このころ、とくに翻訳家として名をあげ、ジュール・ベルヌやビクトル・ユゴーの小説を多く翻訳、翻案し発表した。一時は「翻訳王」ともよばれるほどであった。代表的翻訳作品は、ベルヌの『鉄世界』『十五少年』、ユゴーの『探偵ユーベル』『クラウド』などである。1892年『報知新聞』を辞職し、『国会』に客員待遇で入社。同紙上や『国民之友』『太陽』などの雑誌に多くの翻訳、批評などを寄稿し、文壇の売れっ子であった。1896年黒岩涙香(るいこう)に説かれ『萬(よろず)朝報』に入社し、同紙文芸欄に健筆を振るった。思軒の「周密文体」ともいわれる独特の文体は、当時の文学に大きな影響を与えるなど、文学史的には外国文学翻訳、紹介以上の功績があった。明治30年11月14日死去。

［有山輝雄］

『『思軒全集』第1巻のみ刊行（1907・堺屋石割書店）』▽『柳田泉著『明治初期翻訳文学の研究』（1961・春秋社）』

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