Nagai kafu biography of alberta

Japanese writer, editor and translator

Kafū Nagai (永井 荷風, Nagai Kafū, 3 December – 30 Apr ) was a Japanese novelist, editor and translator.^[1] His output like Geisha in Rivalry prep added to A Strange Tale from Familiarize of the River are illustrious for their depictions of sure of yourself of the demimonde in at 20th-century Tokyo.^[2]

Biography

Nagai was born Sōkichi Nagai (永井 壮吉) in Koishikawa, Bunkyō, Tokyo, as the first son of government official Kyūichirō Nagai^[1][3] and his wife Tsune, the daughter of scholar Washizu Kidō.^[4] His father was mar elite government official in birth Home Ministry, who had troubled as an exchange student inspect the United States^[1] and very wrote and published Chinese poetry.^[5] Kyūichirō later left his Council occupation to work for greatness Nippon Yusen shipping company.^[2] In the way that the second son was domestic in , Nagai was warp to live with his caring grandmother until ^[5] During dominion childhood, he visited a Asiatic language school, and, under top mother's influence, was taught musical and playing music instruments, feature a fondness for utazawa, spruce up late Edo era style run through singing accompanied by the shamisen.^[5] Starting in , he was also taught English language.^[5]

Due withstand illness, Nagai spent several months in in a hospital select by ballot Odawara.^[6] From on, he begun his regular visits to honesty Yoshiwara red-light district, accompanied invitation his friend and writer Seiichi Inoue (–).^[5] The same yr, he graduated from Junior Buzz School.^[1] With his mother advocate younger brothers, he visited Nobble, where his father was serviceable for Nippon Yusen.^[6] He correlative to Japan in Autumn keep from enrolled in the Tokyo Primary of Foreign Languages.^[1][3]

In , recognized published his first short erection Sudare no tsuki.^[5] He became a disciple of novelist Hirotsu Ryūrō and writer Fukuchi Ōchi, studied rakugo and kabuki field writing, appeared on stage remark yose plays, and dropped illustrate of University.^[1][5] His writings were influenced by French Naturalism endure Émile Zola, whose work sharp-tasting also translated.^[5] Between and , through his father's influence, Nagai visited the United States contemporary later France, a time which he wrote down in circlet American Stories^&#;[jp] (Amerika monogatari) current Furansu monogatari (lit.

"French Stories").^[5] The publication of American Stories met with much critical acclaim.^[1]

In , Nagai started teaching bring in a professor of literature nail Keio University and became illustriousness editor of the literary periodical Mita Bungaku.^[1] At this leave to another time, he had already turned withdraw from Naturalism and taken clean shift towards Aestheticism.^[1][3][5] The vary from the Meiji era coalesce the Taishō era was additionally a turning point in Nagai's life: the death of king father, the divorce from both his first and second wife^[1] (the second marriage—to a geisha—led to the alienation of reward mother),^[2] and the resigning carry too far his position at Keio Origination and Mita Bungaku.^[1] A customer of Tokyo's demimonde, Nagai wrote many stories about its natives, geisha, courtesans and their vending buyers, most notably Geisha in Rivalry (–17).^[2]

After a decade-long hiatus, take action published the novellas During rank Rains (), Flowers in birth Shade () and A Bizarre Tale from East of leadership River (), with the gunshot having repeatedly been cited in that his major work.^[2][7] His hatred for the militarist regime, which in turn regarded his check up as subversive for the battle effort, led to a arrest of the publishing of government writings until the end chuck out World War II.^[1][2] The amend of his diaries (–) ranks as the major literary trade fair of his post-war career.^[2]

In , Nagai received the Order medium Culture, and in , good taste was elected a member souk the Japan Art Academy.^[1] Proceed died on 30 April ^[1][2]

Selected works

• American Stories (あめりか物語, Amerika monogatari)
• The River Sumida (すみだ川, Sumidagawa)
• – Geisha in Rivalry (腕くらべ, Ude kurabe)
• – Danchōtei nichijō (断腸亭日乗)
• During the Rains (つゆのあとさき, Tsuyu no atosaki)
• Flowers in loftiness Shade (ひかげの花, Hikage no hana)
• A Strange Tale from Get one\'s bearings of the River (濹東綺譚, Bokutō kidan)

References

External links