A foreigner's gaze towards eternal Japan: Memories of the name Lafcadio Hearn
A Foreigner's Gaze, Towards Eternal Japan - Memories of the Name Lafcadio Hearn
A foreigner arrived in Meiji Japan.
His name was Lafcadio Hearn, later known as Koizumi Yakumo.
His gaze is fixed on the world beyond the hustle and bustle of modern civilization.
I gazed upon the "forgotten Japan" quietly breathing on.
1. Across the Sea - From Greece to Japan
In 1850, on the island of Lefkada in the Ionian Sea,
Lafcadio was born to an Irish military doctor, Charles Hearn, and a Greek mother, Rosa.
His name comes from the name of the island, Lefkada.
But his childhood was far from peaceful.
He experienced his parents' separation, a strict Catholic upbringing by his great-aunt, and the loss of his left eye at the age of 16.
He experienced loneliness as a "heretic" from an early age,
This deepens their admiration for myths, folk tales, and different cultures.
He moved to the United States at the age of 19 and worked as a newspaper reporter in Cincinnati and New Orleans.
On the Caribbean island of Martinique, I was fascinated by Creole culture.
He developed a deep attachment to "things that are being lost."
Then in the spring of 1890, when he was 40 years old.
He finally sets off for Japan, the land of his dreams.
2. Encounter with Setsu, the Wind of Matsue
His first assignment was in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture.
It is a quiet castle town on the shores of Lake Shinji.
He begins his life as an English teacher.
It was here that he met Koizumi Setsu, the daughter of a samurai.
Upon marrying her, Hearn became a naturalized Japanese citizen and took the name "Koizumi Yakumo."
This name was a tribute to the place in Izumo mythology, "Yakumo Tattsu."
For Yakumo, his life in Matsue was a time that could be called his "soul's homeland."
Stone steps of the shrine, wooden houses wet with rain,
The laughter of children, the back of an old woman praying at the Buddhist altar...
All of this is deeply engraved in his heart.
3. "Kaidan" and "Unknown Faces of Japan"
Yakumo's most famous work is undoubtedly "Kwaidan."
"Earless Hoichi," "Snow Woman," "Wizard," etc.
Oral stories passed down throughout Japan,
He re-told it in English and introduced it to the world.
But his writing style is not simply translation.
There is respect for different cultures,
It is filled with sorrow for "things that are disappearing."
In another important work, "Unknown Faces of Japan,"
Beauty hidden in everyday life
For example, light through a shoji screen,
The sound of insects on a summer night,
New Year's mochi pounding
Such "anonymous poetic sentiment"
Yakumo delicately scoops it up.
4. In the Rift of the Meiji Era
Yakumo lived in Japan from 1890 to 1904.
The Meiji era was truly
It was a time when Japan was torn between Westernization and tradition.
He taught English literature at the Imperial University (now the University of Tokyo) and Waseda University,
He is also known as Natsume Soseki's predecessor.
However, differences in educational policies,
There was also a sense of caution towards "foreigners who loved Japan more than the Japanese themselves."
In his later years he was plagued by loneliness and illness.
Still, he
He continued to record "the Japan that the Japanese people have forgotten."
5. Yakumo's death and subsequent memories
He died of a heart attack on September 26, 1904, at the age of 54.
His grave is in Zoshigaya Cemetery in Tokyo.
It is simply engraved with "Koizumi Yakumo."
After that, his work was temporarily forgotten,
During the war, he was criticized for being "too pro-Japanese."
However, since the 1980s, a wave of reevaluation has come.
In particular, "Kaidan"
As the origin of Japanese horror literature,
It is read both at home and abroad.
6. The Legacy of a Foreigner's Gaze
Yakumo's gaze,
He is sometimes criticized as a "Westerner who idealizes Japan."
But in his writing,
Beyond mere admiration and exoticism,
He has deep empathy and an ethical perspective.
He is not a "Westerner who talks about Japan"
As a "foreigner living in Japan,"
I listened carefully to the voice of the land.
This is an attitude that resonates with the "cultural memory" that Tetsuya weaves through WABISUKE.
7. Reading Yakumo Now
Nowadays, we are
It's consuming too much, too quickly.
However, Yakumo's writings are
It teaches us the value of "stopping."
for example,
The quiet terror of the "Snow Woman."
The narrative power of "Earless Hoichi."
Depicted in "Unknown Faces of Japan"
The beauty of the lives of nameless people.
They are all,
It is an expression of deep love and responsibility for "things that will disappear if not recorded."
Koizumi Yakumo is
The "landscape of the heart" that Japanese people have almost forgotten,
It was portrayed through the eyes of a foreigner.
The brush,
Still quietly,
It continues to light up the depths of our memories.