Ueda Akinari: Difference between revisions
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{{Japanese name|Ueda}} |
{{Japanese name|Ueda}} |
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[[Image:Akinari1.jpg|thumb|right|Portrait of Ueda Akinari by Koga Bunrei]] |
[[Image:Akinari1.jpg|thumb|right|Portrait of Ueda Akinari by Koga Bunrei]] |
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'''Ueda Akinari''' or '''Ueda Shūsei''' (''上田 秋成'', July 25, 1734, [[Osaka]] - August 8, 1809, [[Kyoto]]) was a [[Japanese people|Japanese]] [[author]], [[scholar]] and ''[[Waka (poetry)|waka]]'' poet, and a prominent literary figure in 18th century Japan.<ref>Keene, Donald. 1976. ''World within Walls: Japanese Literature of the Pre-Modern Era, 1600-1867''. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.</ref> He was an early writer in the ''[[yomihon]]'' genre and his two masterpieces, ''[[ |
'''Ueda Akinari''' or '''Ueda Shūsei''' (''上田 秋成'', July 25, 1734, [[Osaka]] - August 8, 1809, [[Kyoto]]) was a [[Japanese people|Japanese]] [[author]], [[scholar]] and ''[[Waka (poetry)|waka]]'' poet, and a prominent literary figure in 18th century Japan.<ref>Keene, Donald. 1976. ''World within Walls: Japanese Literature of the Pre-Modern Era, 1600-1867''. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.</ref> He was an early writer in the ''[[yomihon]]'' genre and his two masterpieces, ''[[Tales of Moonlight and Rain]]'' (''Ugetsu monogatari'') and ''[[Tales of Spring Rain]]'' (''Harusame monogatari''), are central to the canon of [[Japanese literature]].<ref>Hamada, Kengi. “About the Author.” In ''Tales of Moonlight and Rain''. [[New York]]: Columbia University Press.</ref> |
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==Biography== |
==Biography== |
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Born to an [[Osaka]] [[Prostitution|prostitute]] and an unknown father, Ueda was [[Adoption|adopted]] in his fourth year by a wealthy merchant who reared him in comfort and provided him with a good education. As a child he became gravely ill with [[smallpox]], and although he survived, he was left with deformed fingers on both hands. During his illness, his parents prayed to the [[god]] of the Kashima Inari [[Shrine]], and Ueda felt that this [[deity]] had intervened and saved his life. Throughout his life he remained a strong believer in the [[supernatural]], and this belief seems to inform important elements of his literature and scholarship such as his most famous work, a collection of [[ghost]] stories titled ''[[ |
Born to an [[Osaka]] [[Prostitution|prostitute]] and an unknown father, Ueda was [[Adoption|adopted]] in his fourth year by a wealthy merchant who reared him in comfort and provided him with a good education. As a child he became gravely ill with [[smallpox]], and although he survived, he was left with deformed fingers on both hands. During his illness, his parents prayed to the [[god]] of the Kashima Inari [[Shrine]], and Ueda felt that this [[deity]] had intervened and saved his life. Throughout his life he remained a strong believer in the [[supernatural]], and this belief seems to inform important elements of his literature and scholarship such as his most famous work, a collection of [[ghost]] stories titled ''[[Tales of Moonlight and Rain]]''.<ref>Reider, Noriko T. 2002. ''Tales of the Supernatural in Early Modern Japan: Kaidan, Akinari, Ugetsu Monogatari''. [[Edwin Mellen Press]].</ref> |
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He inherited the Ueda family oil and [[paper]] [[business]] when his adoptive [[father]] had died. However, he was not a successful merchant, and he lost the business to a fire after running it unhappily for ten years. During this time, he published several humorous stories in the ''[[ukiyozōshi]]'' style, literally translated as “tales of the floating world”. |
He inherited the Ueda family oil and [[paper]] [[business]] when his adoptive [[father]] had died. However, he was not a successful merchant, and he lost the business to a fire after running it unhappily for ten years. During this time, he published several humorous stories in the ''[[ukiyozōshi]]'' style, literally translated as “tales of the floating world”. |
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Taking the fire as opportunity to leave the business world, Ueda began studying [[medicine]] under [[Tsuga Teishō]], who in addition to teaching Ueda to be a doctor also taught him about colloquial [[Chinese language|Chinese]] fiction. In 1776 he began to practice [[medicine]] and also published '' |
Taking the fire as opportunity to leave the business world, Ueda began studying [[medicine]] under [[Tsuga Teishō]], who in addition to teaching Ueda to be a doctor also taught him about colloquial [[Chinese language|Chinese]] fiction. In 1776 he began to practice [[medicine]] and also published ''Tales of Moonlight and Rain''. This work places Ueda alongside [[Takizawa Bakin]] among the most prominent writers of ''yomihon'' — a new genre that represented a dramatic change in reading practices from the popular fiction that came before it.<ref>Washburn, Dennis. “Ghostwriters and Literary Haunts: Subordinating Ethics to Art in Ugetsu Monogatari.” ''Monumenta Nipponica'' 45.1 (1996)</ref> |
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In addition to his fiction, Ueda was involved in the field of research known as ''[[kokugaku]]'', the study of [[philology]] and classical Japanese literature. ''Kokugaku'' was often typified by a rejection of foreign influences on Japanese culture, notably [[Chinese language]], [[Buddhism]] and [[Confucianism]]. Ueda took a highly independent position within these circles, and his vigorous polemical dispute with the leading scholar of the movement, [[Motoori Norinaga]], is recorded in the latter's dialogue ''[[Kagaika]]'' (''呵刈葭'' 1787-1788). Some argue that Ueda also worked out this conflict in stories such as |
In addition to his fiction, Ueda was involved in the field of research known as ''[[kokugaku]]'', the study of [[philology]] and classical Japanese literature. ''Kokugaku'' was often typified by a rejection of foreign influences on Japanese culture, notably [[Chinese language]], [[Buddhism]] and [[Confucianism]]. Ueda took a highly independent position within these circles, and his vigorous polemical dispute with the leading scholar of the movement, [[Motoori Norinaga]], is recorded in the latter's dialogue ''[[Kagaika]]'' (''呵刈葭'' 1787-1788). Some argue that Ueda also worked out this conflict in stories such as ''Tales of Moonlight and Rain'' by beginning his stories grounded on Chinese stories and moral and intellectual discourses and that he then foregrounded a Japanese sensibility by calling on supernatural elements and having his characters feel deep emotion (as opposed to Chinese reliance on the [[intellect]]). |
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In the years after his wife’s death in 1798 he suffered from temporary [[blindness]], and although eventually sight returned to his left eye from that point on he had to dictate much of his writing. It was at this time that he began working on his second ''yomihon'', and he finished the first two stories of what would be '' |
In the years after his wife’s death in 1798 he suffered from temporary [[blindness]], and although eventually sight returned to his left eye from that point on he had to dictate much of his writing. It was at this time that he began working on his second ''yomihon'', and he finished the first two stories of what would be ''Tales of the Spring Rain'' (''Harusame monogatari'') in around 1802.<ref>Ueda Akinari. 1974. ''Ugetsu Monogatari: Tales of Moonlight and Rain Trans'' by Leon M. Zolbrod. George Allen and Unwin Ltd.</ref> ''Spring Rain'' is quite different from ''Tales of Moonlight and Rain''. Among other differences, ''Spring Rain'' does not invoke the supernatural, and the stories are of greatly varied length. The story titled ''Hankai'' is about a disreputable ruffian who suddenly converts to [[Buddhism]] and spends the rest of his life as a [[monk]]. |
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In 1809, Ueda died at the age of 76 in [[Kyoto]]. |
In 1809, Ueda died at the age of 76 in [[Kyoto]]. |
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==Works== |
==Works== |
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*''[[ |
*''[[Tales of Moonlight and Rain]]'' (''雨月物語'', ''Ugetsu monogatari'') (1776) |
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*''[[ |
*''[[Tales of the Spring Rain]]''<ref>Zolbrod, Leon M., trans. and ed. Introduction. ''Ugetsu Monogatari: Tales of Moonlight and Rain''. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1974.</ref> (''春雨物語'', ''Harusame monogatari'') (1809)<ref>Donald Keene ''World Within Walls: Japanese Literature of the Pre-Modern Era'' 1978 Page 371 "... of antiquity, the product of his long association with kokugaku scholars, occupied him during most of his mature years, and only at the end of his life did he tum again to fiction, when he wrote Harusame Monogatari (Tales of the Spring Rain)."</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 01:46, 20 February 2013
Ueda Akinari or Ueda Shūsei (上田 秋成, July 25, 1734, Osaka - August 8, 1809, Kyoto) was a Japanese author, scholar and waka poet, and a prominent literary figure in 18th century Japan.[1] He was an early writer in the yomihon genre and his two masterpieces, Tales of Moonlight and Rain (Ugetsu monogatari) and Tales of Spring Rain (Harusame monogatari), are central to the canon of Japanese literature.[2]
Biography
Born to an Osaka prostitute and an unknown father, Ueda was adopted in his fourth year by a wealthy merchant who reared him in comfort and provided him with a good education. As a child he became gravely ill with smallpox, and although he survived, he was left with deformed fingers on both hands. During his illness, his parents prayed to the god of the Kashima Inari Shrine, and Ueda felt that this deity had intervened and saved his life. Throughout his life he remained a strong believer in the supernatural, and this belief seems to inform important elements of his literature and scholarship such as his most famous work, a collection of ghost stories titled Tales of Moonlight and Rain.[3]
He inherited the Ueda family oil and paper business when his adoptive father had died. However, he was not a successful merchant, and he lost the business to a fire after running it unhappily for ten years. During this time, he published several humorous stories in the ukiyozōshi style, literally translated as “tales of the floating world”.
Taking the fire as opportunity to leave the business world, Ueda began studying medicine under Tsuga Teishō, who in addition to teaching Ueda to be a doctor also taught him about colloquial Chinese fiction. In 1776 he began to practice medicine and also published Tales of Moonlight and Rain. This work places Ueda alongside Takizawa Bakin among the most prominent writers of yomihon — a new genre that represented a dramatic change in reading practices from the popular fiction that came before it.[4]
In addition to his fiction, Ueda was involved in the field of research known as kokugaku, the study of philology and classical Japanese literature. Kokugaku was often typified by a rejection of foreign influences on Japanese culture, notably Chinese language, Buddhism and Confucianism. Ueda took a highly independent position within these circles, and his vigorous polemical dispute with the leading scholar of the movement, Motoori Norinaga, is recorded in the latter's dialogue Kagaika (呵刈葭 1787-1788). Some argue that Ueda also worked out this conflict in stories such as Tales of Moonlight and Rain by beginning his stories grounded on Chinese stories and moral and intellectual discourses and that he then foregrounded a Japanese sensibility by calling on supernatural elements and having his characters feel deep emotion (as opposed to Chinese reliance on the intellect).
In the years after his wife’s death in 1798 he suffered from temporary blindness, and although eventually sight returned to his left eye from that point on he had to dictate much of his writing. It was at this time that he began working on his second yomihon, and he finished the first two stories of what would be Tales of the Spring Rain (Harusame monogatari) in around 1802.[5] Spring Rain is quite different from Tales of Moonlight and Rain. Among other differences, Spring Rain does not invoke the supernatural, and the stories are of greatly varied length. The story titled Hankai is about a disreputable ruffian who suddenly converts to Buddhism and spends the rest of his life as a monk.
In 1809, Ueda died at the age of 76 in Kyoto.
Works
- Tales of Moonlight and Rain (雨月物語, Ugetsu monogatari) (1776)
- Tales of the Spring Rain[6] (春雨物語, Harusame monogatari) (1809)[7]
See also
References
- ^ Keene, Donald. 1976. World within Walls: Japanese Literature of the Pre-Modern Era, 1600-1867. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
- ^ Hamada, Kengi. “About the Author.” In Tales of Moonlight and Rain. New York: Columbia University Press.
- ^ Reider, Noriko T. 2002. Tales of the Supernatural in Early Modern Japan: Kaidan, Akinari, Ugetsu Monogatari. Edwin Mellen Press.
- ^ Washburn, Dennis. “Ghostwriters and Literary Haunts: Subordinating Ethics to Art in Ugetsu Monogatari.” Monumenta Nipponica 45.1 (1996)
- ^ Ueda Akinari. 1974. Ugetsu Monogatari: Tales of Moonlight and Rain Trans by Leon M. Zolbrod. George Allen and Unwin Ltd.
- ^ Zolbrod, Leon M., trans. and ed. Introduction. Ugetsu Monogatari: Tales of Moonlight and Rain. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1974.
- ^ Donald Keene World Within Walls: Japanese Literature of the Pre-Modern Era 1978 Page 371 "... of antiquity, the product of his long association with kokugaku scholars, occupied him during most of his mature years, and only at the end of his life did he tum again to fiction, when he wrote Harusame Monogatari (Tales of the Spring Rain)."
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