was a

Japanese poet Japanese poetry is poetry typical of Japan, or written, spoken, or chanted in the Japanese language, which includes Old Japanese, Early Middle Japanese, Late Middle Japanese, and Modern Japanese, as well as poetry in Japan which was written in t ...

active during the

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

of Japan. His real name was ; Kyoshi was a

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

given to him by his mentor, Masaoka Shiki.

Early life

Kyoshi was born in what is now the city of

Matsuyama 270px, Matsuyama City Hall 270px, Ehime Prefectural Capital Building is the capital city of Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan and also Shikoku's largest city. , the city had an estimated population of 505,948 in 243541 househo ...

Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, T ...

; his father, Ikenouchi Masatada, was a former

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...

and fencing master and was also a fan of the traditional noh drama. However, with the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, he lost his official posts and retired as a farmer. Kyoshi grew up in this rural environment, which influenced his affinity with nature. At age nine he inherited from his grandmother's family, and took her surname of Takahama. He became acquainted with Masaoka Shiki via a classmate, Kawahigashi Hekigoto. Ignoring Shiki's advice, Kyoshi quit school in 1894, and went to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

to study

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japanes ...

. In 1895, he enrolled in the Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō (present-day

Waseda University , mottoeng = Independence of scholarship , established = 21 October 1882 , type = Private , endowment = , president = Aiji Tanaka , city = Shinjuku , state = Tokyo , country = Japan , students = 47,959 , undergrad = 39,382 , postgrad ...

), but soon left the university for a job as an editor and

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. ...

ism for the

literary magazine A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and lett ...

''Nihonjin''. While working, he also submitted variants on

haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a '' kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a '' kigo'', or ...

poetry, experimenting with irregular numbers of syllables. He married in 1897. His descendants include his son, the composer, Tomojiro Ikenouchi and great-granddaughter and cellist, Kristina Reiko Cooper.

Literary career

In 1898, Kyoshi came to manage the haiku magazine '' Hototogisu,'' which had been previously edited by Shiki, and moved the headquarters of the magazine from Matsuyama to Tokyo. In ''Hototogisu'', he kept with the traditional style of haiku, as opposed to the new trend having been developed in the Hekigo school, which did not follow the traditional pattern of 17 syllables. Kyoshi attached importance to the symbolic function of the '' kigo'' (season word), and he tried to exclude the more modern trend towards season-less haiku completely. While editing ''Hototogisu'', he also expanded its scope to include '' waka poems'' and prose, so that it became a general literary magazine. This was where

Natsume Sōseki , born , was a Japanese novelist. He is best known around the world for his novels ''Kokoro'', ''Botchan'', ''I Am a Cat'', '' Kusamakura'' and his unfinished work '' Light and Darkness''. He was also a scholar of British literature and writer ...

's ''Wagahai wa Neko de aru'' ("

I Am a Cat is a satirical novel written in 1905–1906 by Natsume Sōseki about Japanese society during the Meiji period (1868–1912), particularly the uneasy mix of Western culture and Japanese traditions. Sōseki's title, ''Wagahai wa Neko de Aru'', us ...

") was first published, and Kyoshi contributed his own verses and short stories. These stories were collected into an anthology ''Keito'' ("Cockscomb", 1908), with a foreword by Natsume Sōseki, who described the contents as "leisurely tales". In 1908, Kyoshi began a full-length novel, ''Haikaishi'' ("The Haiku Master"), which appeared in newspapers in serialized form. This was followed by ''Bonjin'' ("An Ordinary Person", 1909), and ''Chōsen'' ("Korea", 1912). After 1912, he renewed his interest in haiku, and published a commentary on haiku composition, ''Susumubeki haiku no michi'' ("The Path Haiku Ought to Take", 1915–1917). However, he continued to write short stories, edit ''Hototogisu'', and wrote another novel, ''Futatsu Kaki'' ("Two Persimmons", 1915). In addition, he began to show an interest in traditional Noh theatre, writing some new plays himself. Kyoshi wrote 40,000 to 50,000 haiku in his lifetime, which appeared in anthologies such as ''Kyoshi-kushū'' and ''Gohyaku-ku''. His major postwar novel was ''Niji'' ("Rainbow", 1947). In 1954, he was awarded the

Order of Culture The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipient ...

by the

Japanese government The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, ...

. As editor of ''Hototogisu'', Kyoshi was instrumental in bringing many new writers and poets into the literary world, including

Mizuhara Shuoshi Mizuhara (written: 水原 lit. "water plain") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese model and actress *, Japanese actress Fictional characters: *, character in the manga series ''Azumang ...

Yamaguchi Seishi Yamaguchi Seishi (山口誓子; November 3, 1901 – ) was a Japanese ''haiku'' poet. Early life Yamaguchi Seishi was born on November 3, 1901, in Kyoto. His father, an electrical engineer, took him at age eleven to Karafuto Prefecture on Sa ...

and

Takano Suju Takano is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Ai Takano, Japanese singer *Aya Takano, Japanese artist and writer * Aya Takano (swimmer), Japanese athlete * Takano Chōei, scholar of the late Edo period * Takano Fusataro, J ...

. He also encouraged his second daughter Hoshino Tatsuko to publish her own haiku magazine, ''Tamamo''. Kyoshi moved to

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

in 1910 for his children's health and a fresh start for himself, and lived there for nearly 50 years until his death. His grave is at the temple of Jufuku-ji in Kamakura. He was posthumously awarded the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest tw ...

, 1st class, by the Japanese government.

External links

Ehime Prefectural Library Site

Takahama Kyoshi Memorial Museum in Ashiya
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takahama, Kyoshi 20th-century Japanese novelists Japanese literary critics Japanese male short story writers People from Matsuyama, Ehime Waseda University alumni 1874 births 1959 deaths Recipients of the Order of Culture 19th-century Japanese poets 20th-century Japanese poets 19th-century Japanese short story writers 20th-century Japanese short story writers 20th-century Japanese male writers Japanese haiku poets

Early life

Literary career

See also

External links