Eiji Yoshikawa

Novelist. Born on August 11, 1892, in Kuraki District, Kanagawa Prefecture (Naka Ward, Yokohama City). His real name was Hidetsugu. When his father lost a lawsuit, the family fortunes began to decline, and he dropped out of elementary school. He worked in a variety of jobs, including as a shop boy, a waiter at a government office, a store clerk, and a ship's rigger at the docks. He later wrote about this time in his works "The Kankanmushi Sings" (1930-31) and "The Record of the Wasurenakari" (1955-56). At the end of 1910 (Meiji 43), he moved to Tokyo and lived in the downtown area for a while as an apprentice to an Aizu Makie craftsman. He also submitted senryu (Japanese senryu) under the name Kijiro, got to know Inoue Kenkabo and Igami Bonkotsu, and became a member of the Ryusonji Senryu Society, deepening his observation of humanity, but at the same time he came to understand the limitations of senryu. In 1921 (Taisho 10), he submitted works for contests held by various Kodansha magazines, and his works such as "Nawaobi Heihachi," "Uma ni Kitsune wo Nori Monogatari," and "Dekoboko Kabin" were selected. The following year he became a reporter for the Tokyo Mainichi Shimbun and serialized his anonymous novel Shinranki (1923) in the same paper. His literary fortunes gradually improved, and when he published Kennan Onnanan (1925-26) under the name Yoshikawa Eiji for the first time in the inaugural issue of King, orders began pouring in. Around this time he also published Shinshu Tenmakyo (1925-28) in Shonen Club, the first of his masterpieces of novels for boys and girls, which continued with Ryuko Hachitengu (1927-31), Tsukifue Hifue (1930-31), and Tenpei Doshi (1937-40). Next, with "Naruto Hicho" (1926-27), which was featured in the Osaka Mainichi Shimbun, he finally became a star writer in the popular literary world and began to make a name for himself.

At first, he wrote many works with a rich fantasy and legend, such as "Edo Sangokushi" (Romance of the Three Kingdoms in Edo) (1927-29), "Mange Jigoku" (1927-29), and "Kaigara Sanpei" (1929-30), but from around 1931 (Showa 6), he gradually changed his style and continued to explore new works set against the backdrop of the end of the Edo period and the Meiji Restoration, such as "Hiyama Kyodai" (1931-32) and "Matsunoya Tsuyuhachi" (1934), as well as humorous contemporary novels such as "Arpus Taisho" (1933-34). Eventually, he established a clear direction with "Miyamoto Musashi" (1935-39). This style was entertaining, the essence of popular literature, but also had a strong didactic aspect, and the author's dreams were entrusted to the creation of Musashi as a seeker seeking the state of mind where sword and Zen are one. He subsequently produced "Shinsho Taikoki" (1939-45) and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (1939-43), and after World War II, "Shin-Heike Monogatari" (1950-57) and "Shihon Taiheiki" (1956-59), in which he clarified his conception of it as national literature.

Yoshikawa Eiji's literary philosophy, as can be seen from the phrase "the masses are the greatest wisdom," is characterized by his desire to live with the masses and answer their dreams. Moreover, his approach to understanding the times is based on the recognition that ancient historical issues are considered in light of current events, and that history holds the key to understanding current events, which gives his work a lively and popular appeal that has resonated with a wide range of readers. In 1960 (Showa 35), he was awarded the Order of Culture. He died on September 7, 1962. The Yoshikawa Eiji Prize and the Yoshikawa Eiji Literature Prize were established according to his will. The Yoshikawa Eiji Memorial Museum was built in his former home in Ome, Tokyo, where he moved in 1944.

[Hideki Ozaki]

"The Definitive Edition of the Complete Works of Eiji Yoshikawa, Vol. 53 and Supplementary Volume 5 (1979-84, Kodansha)" ▽ "Biography of Eiji Yoshikawa by Hideki Ozaki (1970, Kodansha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

小説家。明治25年8月11日、神奈川県久良岐(くらき)郡（横浜市中区）に生まれる。本名は英次(ひでつぐ)。父が訴訟に敗れて家運傾き、小学校を中退。店の小僧、官庁の給仕、商店員、ドックの船具工など転々とする。このころについては、のちに『かんかん虫は唄(うた)う』（1930～31）、『忘れ残りの記』（1955～56）に描かれている。1910年（明治43）の暮れに上京、下町に住んでしばらく会津蒔絵(まきえ)の工芸家の徒弟となり、また雉子郎(きじろう)の名で川柳(せんりゅう)を投稿、井上剣花坊(けんかぼう)、伊上凡骨(ぼんこつ)らを知り、柳樽寺(りゅうそんじ)川柳会同人となって、人間観察を深めるが、同時に川柳の限界も知る。21年（大正10）講談社の諸雑誌の懸賞に応募、『縄帯平八』『馬に狐(きつね)を乗せ物語』『でこぼこ花瓶(かびん)』などが入選した。翌年『東京毎夕新聞』記者となり、同紙に『親鸞記(しんらんき)』（1923）を無署名で連載したのを機に、しだいに文運が開け、『キング』創刊号から初めて吉川英治の名で『剣難女難』（1925～26）を発表するに及んで、注文が殺到するようになる。このころ、また『少年倶楽部(くらぶ)』に『神州天馬侠(てんまきょう)』（1925～28）を発表するが、これは『竜虎八天狗(りゅうこはちてんぐ)』（1927～31）、『月笛日笛』（1930～31）、『天兵童子(てんぺいどうし)』（1937～40）などと続く、彼の少年少女小説の傑作の最初のものであった。ついで、『大阪毎日新聞』紙上を飾った『鳴門秘帖(なるとひちょう)』（1926～27）で、ようやく大衆文壇の花形作家となって活躍が始まる。

　初めは、『江戸三国志』（1927～29）、『万花(まんげ)地獄』（1927～29）、『貝殻三平』（1929～30）など伝奇性に富んだ、空想力豊かな作品が多かったが、1931年（昭和6）ごろからしだいに傾向を改め、『檜山(ひのきやま)兄弟』（1931～32）や『松のや露八』（1934）のように幕末・維新を背景にした新しい作品、また『あるぷす大将』（1933～34）などユーモア現代小説と模索を続けたが、やがて『宮本武蔵(むさし)』（1935～39）に至って、はっきりと一つの方向を確立する。それは、大衆文学の本質である娯楽性をもちながらも教訓的な側面を強めた作風で、剣禅一如の境地を求める求道者としての武蔵像の造形には、作者の夢が託されていた。その後、『新書太閤記(たいこうき)』（1939～45）、『三国志』（1939～43）を経て、第二次世界大戦後の『新・平家物語』（1950～57）や『私本太平記』（1956～59）に至り、国民文学としての構想を明らかにした。

　吉川英治の文学理念は「大衆即大智識(ちしき)」といったことばからもうかがわれるように、大衆とともに生き、大衆の夢にこたえようとしたところに特色をもつ。しかも時代把握の仕方には、古い歴史の問題を今日の事象に照らして考え、現在生起しつつあるできごとを解く鍵(かぎ)を歴史に学ぶという認識が働いており、それが生き生きとした大衆性を生んで、広く読者の共感をよんでいる。1960年（昭和35）文化勲章を受章。昭和37年9月7日没。その遺志により吉川英治賞および吉川英治文学賞が設定された。1944年から移り住んだ東京・青梅(おうめ)市の旧邸内に、吉川英治記念館が建てられている。

［尾崎秀樹］

『『決定版　吉川英治全集』53巻・補巻5（1979～84・講談社）』▽『尾崎秀樹著『伝記吉川英治』（1970・講談社）』

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