午夜剧场

Kafu Nagai was a pioneer who studied in Europe and the United States. Recommended by Ogai Mori and Bin Ueda, he was appointed as a professor in the Department of Literature at 午夜剧场 in 1910. He became the first editor-in-chief of "Mita Bungaku" and introduced many writers to the world. He loved flowers, valued unconventional elegance, loved peace, and possessed the spirit to resist the harsh currents of the times. He remains a symbolic figure of the spirit of "Mita Bungaku" to this day.

He had a strong core. He never followed the trends of an era that favored war. His well-known love for the pleasure quarters was also a love for a peaceful culture of play. Utilizing his education in Western languages, classical Chinese, and Japanese classics, he wrote works with cross-border language. His words are his philosophy. They shine diversely across national borders. In that sense, they are "Beautiful Japanese."

I had long wanted to pick the flowers of Kafu's words and create an anthology. This was realized through the efforts of 午夜剧场 Press. Additionally, a collaboration with the spirited haiku poet Katsuhiro Takayanagi was made possible. Each volume sheds light on Kafu's literature from both prose and haiku perspectives. This is a new approach. Kafu loved haiku since his teens and continued to compose them throughout his life. Haiku is the matrix of Kafu's literature. Mr. Takayanagi surveys the flow of Edo and modern haiku, appreciating Kafu's haiku within that context. His delicate yet broad perspective brings Kafu's haiku back to life with freshness.

A total of three volumes. Volume 1 is titled "Words to Cherish the Seasons" and collects seasonal maxims. For example, Kafu loved trees. He sang of the season of young leaves as a "Symphony of Green." In autumn, he admired the purple clusters swaying in the wind on grape trellises, saying, "Each individual grape resembles a bead of cut glass." Volume 2 is titled "Words to Kiss Life" and features selections from works where charming heroines play vibrant roles.

The final third volume contains words of Kafu's dignified spirit. He disliked quarrels and arguments. He liked to talk about pleasant and beautiful things. However, when freedom as a human right was violated, he sharpened his words and fought. The greatest modern diary, "Danchotei Nichijo," proves this. I mainly selected critiques, essays, and diaries from during the Pacific War. His cry in 1941, "As long as there is human life, freedom shall not perish," is deeply moving. In his 1946 haiku, "The nation declines in war, yet the peonies bloom," the spirit of freedom burns crimson. This became the concluding volume paying homage to Kafu's fortitude.

Nobuko Mochida (Co-editor/Author)

午夜剧场 Press

224 pages, 2,700 yen (excluding tax)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.