Yosano Akiko – What She Brought Back from Paris a Hundred Years Ago
MATSUDAIRA Meiko / Poet
September 20, 2012
A century has passed since Yosano Akiko,the famed Poet of Passion,made her trip to Paris. In May 1912,the final year of the Meiji period,Akiko headed for Paris via the Siberian Railway at the strong prompting of her husband Yosano Tekkan,who had gone to Paris six months ago to study. Akiko had seven small children,but prodded by her love for a husband who was far away,she left the children in the care of relatives and took off. Alone,she made a two-week journey not knowing any foreign languages. She barely knew how to exchange money,and was strapped for cash at one point. It was a journey that required unimaginable courage.
At the time,Akiko was already well-established as a poet. In 1901,she published her first book of tanka (31-syllabled verse) "Midaregami (Tangled Hair)" containing poems that boldly celebrated romantic love and the female body,causing major controversy in a male-dominated society where modesty was the female virtue. Thereafter,she had begun to demonstrate her talents beyond tanka in an ever expanding arena including novels,children's stories,commentary on classical works and critique.
In those days,the Japanese community in Paris was mostly made up of men,such as diplomats,bankers and students. Many of them also belonged to the world of art,such as painters,but the presence of women was limited. Akiko would certainly have been the first famous woman of letters to have arrived from Japan. In France,where artists and intellectuals are held in great esteem,Akiko was received with courtesy as the representative of Japanese female intellectuals and was treated with due respect. She was interviewed by a literary magazine and the article was published along with her photograph. She even met the renown sculptor Auguste Rodin. Akiko had set off for Paris feeling helpless,but her experience there gave her a sense of confidence and pride as a Japanese and brushed aside the vague sense of inferiority she had felt towards advanced Western societies.
Akiko also saw the lively way women in Paris strode the streets and how they expressed their individuality in the way they dressed,and couldn't help thinking about the women in Japan. She became convinced of the need to change the mentality of Japanese women who were behaving demurely and modestly as though they had no individuality under the value system of male dominance.
She paid a one-week visit to London as well. There,the women's rights movement was in full swing,and at times Akiko found herself at odds with the radicalism of the women involved. Yet,upon her return to Japan she herself began offering stinging commentary on inconsistencies in politics and society in the hope that one day Japanese women will win their right to vote. It was also after her time in Paris that she began to respond to overseas news in the newspapers with acute awareness and to clearly establish her standpoint of placing Japan in a global context.
Akiko's life in Paris actually lasted only five months. While that may have been a short period,what she gained was by no means insignificant. In a word,she brought back a comparative perspective that could only be gained by observing Japanese society from the outside. How this broadened the horizon of her work is evident in the vast volume of literary accomplishments she left behind since then.
We could say that Akiko was a pioneer for all of us living in this time of globalism. Even today,when we can see visual images from the other side of the globe,real-life encounters with the international community is still important. Let us travel abroad,mingle with the local people and take a look at Japan from the outside. It will broaden the perspective of each individual Japanese,enhance our capabilities,enrich our work,and consequently bolster the very foundation of our nation.
The writer is Poet.
At the time,Akiko was already well-established as a poet. In 1901,she published her first book of tanka (31-syllabled verse) "Midaregami (Tangled Hair)" containing poems that boldly celebrated romantic love and the female body,causing major controversy in a male-dominated society where modesty was the female virtue. Thereafter,she had begun to demonstrate her talents beyond tanka in an ever expanding arena including novels,children's stories,commentary on classical works and critique.
In those days,the Japanese community in Paris was mostly made up of men,such as diplomats,bankers and students. Many of them also belonged to the world of art,such as painters,but the presence of women was limited. Akiko would certainly have been the first famous woman of letters to have arrived from Japan. In France,where artists and intellectuals are held in great esteem,Akiko was received with courtesy as the representative of Japanese female intellectuals and was treated with due respect. She was interviewed by a literary magazine and the article was published along with her photograph. She even met the renown sculptor Auguste Rodin. Akiko had set off for Paris feeling helpless,but her experience there gave her a sense of confidence and pride as a Japanese and brushed aside the vague sense of inferiority she had felt towards advanced Western societies.
Akiko also saw the lively way women in Paris strode the streets and how they expressed their individuality in the way they dressed,and couldn't help thinking about the women in Japan. She became convinced of the need to change the mentality of Japanese women who were behaving demurely and modestly as though they had no individuality under the value system of male dominance.
She paid a one-week visit to London as well. There,the women's rights movement was in full swing,and at times Akiko found herself at odds with the radicalism of the women involved. Yet,upon her return to Japan she herself began offering stinging commentary on inconsistencies in politics and society in the hope that one day Japanese women will win their right to vote. It was also after her time in Paris that she began to respond to overseas news in the newspapers with acute awareness and to clearly establish her standpoint of placing Japan in a global context.
Akiko's life in Paris actually lasted only five months. While that may have been a short period,what she gained was by no means insignificant. In a word,she brought back a comparative perspective that could only be gained by observing Japanese society from the outside. How this broadened the horizon of her work is evident in the vast volume of literary accomplishments she left behind since then.
We could say that Akiko was a pioneer for all of us living in this time of globalism. Even today,when we can see visual images from the other side of the globe,real-life encounters with the international community is still important. Let us travel abroad,mingle with the local people and take a look at Japan from the outside. It will broaden the perspective of each individual Japanese,enhance our capabilities,enrich our work,and consequently bolster the very foundation of our nation.
The writer is Poet.
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
与謝野晶子ー１００年前のパリ体験
松平 盟子 / 歌人
2012年 9月 20日
情熱の歌人と呼ばれる与謝野晶子がパリに行って今年は１００年にあたる。明治末年の１９１２年５月、半年前にパリへ遊学した夫、与謝野鉄幹からの強い誘いに応じ、シベリア鉄道経由でパリに向かった。幼い７人の子供がいたが、子供達を親戚に預け、離れて暮らす夫への恋心に促されての旅だった。言葉も通じない単身での２週間の旅。お金の交換の仕方さえ十分に分からず、途中でお金も乏しくなる。どれほどの勇気が求められたか知れない旅だった。
すでに当時、晶子は著名な歌人としての地位を築いていた。１９０１年、彼女は最初の歌集『みだれ髪』で、恋愛や女性の身体を大胆に賛美した歌を詠み、男尊女卑、女性はしとやかにという社会通念が支配する社会に、賛否大きな波紋を投げかけた。その後は短歌のみならず小説、童話、古典評釈、評論と活躍の場を広げていた。
当時のパリの日本人社会はほとんどが男性によって成り立っていた。外交官、銀行家、留学生…。画家などの芸術方面の人間も多かったが、日本人女性は限られていた。ましてや晶子のような有名な女性文学者は初めてではなかったろうか。芸術家や知識人を重んじるフランスで、晶子は日本の女性知識人の代表格のように丁重に扱われ、尊敬の念をこめた待遇を受けている。文芸誌のインタビューも受け、それが写真入りで載った。世界的彫刻家ロダンと対面できたこともそうだった。心細い思いでパリに行った晶子だが、こうした体験は彼女に日本人としての自信と誇りを与え、先進的な西欧に対しての漠然とした劣等意識を拭わせた。
また晶子はパリの女性たちが生き生きと闊歩し、個性的な衣装に身を包むのを見て、日本人女性全体の問題に思いが及ぶ。男性優位の価値観のもとで没個性、かつ従順で目立たぬように身を処す女性たちの意識を変えねばならないと確信する。
晶子はまたロンドンにも１週間ほど滞在した。ちょうど女権拡張運動が激しい時期で、晶子は当初、運動する女たちの過激さに反発したりもする。しかし帰国後は、日本女性も選挙権をもつ時代がくるべきことを期待し、政治や社会の矛盾に鋭い意見を述べるようになる。新聞の海外ニュースに敏感に反応し、世界の中の日本という視点を明確にしていくのもパリから戻ってからである。
晶子が実際にパリで暮らしたのは５ヶ月にすぎない。短い期間ではあったが、得たものは小さくない。ひとことで言うなら、日本社会を外から眺めることで獲得した相対的な視点である。これが一人の文学者の仕事の地平を大きく広げたことは、その後に残した膨大な著作の内容が示している。
晶子はグローバリズムの時代を生きる私たちの先駆者とも言える。地球の裏側のことさえ映像で見ることのできる今日にあっても、国際社会とのリアルな出会いは重要である。外国に行き、そこの人々と交わり、日本を外から眺めよう。それは日本人一人一人の幅を広げ、力をつけさせ、仕事を豊かにし、ひいては日本という国の底力につながるのだ。
（筆者は歌人）
すでに当時、晶子は著名な歌人としての地位を築いていた。１９０１年、彼女は最初の歌集『みだれ髪』で、恋愛や女性の身体を大胆に賛美した歌を詠み、男尊女卑、女性はしとやかにという社会通念が支配する社会に、賛否大きな波紋を投げかけた。その後は短歌のみならず小説、童話、古典評釈、評論と活躍の場を広げていた。
当時のパリの日本人社会はほとんどが男性によって成り立っていた。外交官、銀行家、留学生…。画家などの芸術方面の人間も多かったが、日本人女性は限られていた。ましてや晶子のような有名な女性文学者は初めてではなかったろうか。芸術家や知識人を重んじるフランスで、晶子は日本の女性知識人の代表格のように丁重に扱われ、尊敬の念をこめた待遇を受けている。文芸誌のインタビューも受け、それが写真入りで載った。世界的彫刻家ロダンと対面できたこともそうだった。心細い思いでパリに行った晶子だが、こうした体験は彼女に日本人としての自信と誇りを与え、先進的な西欧に対しての漠然とした劣等意識を拭わせた。
また晶子はパリの女性たちが生き生きと闊歩し、個性的な衣装に身を包むのを見て、日本人女性全体の問題に思いが及ぶ。男性優位の価値観のもとで没個性、かつ従順で目立たぬように身を処す女性たちの意識を変えねばならないと確信する。
晶子はまたロンドンにも１週間ほど滞在した。ちょうど女権拡張運動が激しい時期で、晶子は当初、運動する女たちの過激さに反発したりもする。しかし帰国後は、日本女性も選挙権をもつ時代がくるべきことを期待し、政治や社会の矛盾に鋭い意見を述べるようになる。新聞の海外ニュースに敏感に反応し、世界の中の日本という視点を明確にしていくのもパリから戻ってからである。
晶子が実際にパリで暮らしたのは５ヶ月にすぎない。短い期間ではあったが、得たものは小さくない。ひとことで言うなら、日本社会を外から眺めることで獲得した相対的な視点である。これが一人の文学者の仕事の地平を大きく広げたことは、その後に残した膨大な著作の内容が示している。
晶子はグローバリズムの時代を生きる私たちの先駆者とも言える。地球の裏側のことさえ映像で見ることのできる今日にあっても、国際社会とのリアルな出会いは重要である。外国に行き、そこの人々と交わり、日本を外から眺めよう。それは日本人一人一人の幅を広げ、力をつけさせ、仕事を豊かにし、ひいては日本という国の底力につながるのだ。
（筆者は歌人）
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟