Motojirō Kajii Explained

Motojirō Kajii
梶井 基次郎
Birth Date:17 February 1901
Birth Place:Nishi-ku, Osaka, Japan
Death Place:Oji-cho, Sumiyoshi-ku (now:Abeno-ku), Osaka
Resting Place:Minami-ku (now:Chūō-ku), Osaka
Occupation:Writer
Language:Japanese
Alma Mater:University of Tokyo (withdrew)
Period:1925 – 1932
Genre:Short story, Prose poetry
Movement:(I-Novel[1])

was a Japanese writer in the early Shōwa period known for his poetic short stories. Kajii's works included, . and . His poetic works were praised by fellow writers including Yasunari Kawabata and Yukio Mishima.[2] Today his works are admired for their finely tuned self-observation and descriptive power.

Despite the limited body of work he created during his short lifetime, Kajii has managed to leave a lasting footprint on Japanese culture. "Lemon" is a staple of literature textbooks. According to a report in major daily newspaper Asahi Shimbun, many high school students have emulated the protagonist's defiant act of leaving a lemon in the book section of Maruzen, a department store chain.[3] [4] The opening line of "Under the Cherry Trees" (Dead bodies are buried under the cherry trees!) is popularly quoted[5] in reference to hanami, the Japanese custom of cherry blossom viewing.

Biography

Childhood and education (1901–1924)

Kajii was born in Osaka in 1901. He attended primary school in Tokyo from 1910 to 1911, middle school in Toba from 1911 to 1913, and Osaka Prefectural Kitano High School from 1914 to 1919. In September 1919, Kajii entered Kyoto's Third Higher School (Kyoto-Sanko, a junior college), where his roommate was Tadashi Iijima.[6] While a student there in 1920, he was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Early literary career (1924–1928)

In 1924, Kajii entered Tokyo Imperial University, where he studied English literature. Shortly, he planned for publish a literary coterie magazine, with his friends from high school.

In 1925, was published in Aozora first issue.

After relinquished a graduation, Kajii had been stayed in on the Izu Peninsula between 1927 and 1928, hoping to recuperate. During that time, he visited the writer Yasunari Kawabata, whom he befriended. The two writers would play go together[7] several times a week.

After Aozora ceased publication in 1927, Kajii's works appeared in, another literary coterie magazine.

Late career and death (1928–1932)

In September 1928, Kajii returned to Osaka, where he spent a period of convalescence at home.

Sensing his impending death, friends including the poet Tatsuji Miyoshi and Ryūzō Yodono decided to publish his first book, a collection of his short stories titled Lemon in 1931.

In 1932, he wrote his first novella, titled . Its publication in Chūōkōron, which had commissioned the work, was Kajii's first in the commercial magazine.

On March 24, 1932, Kajii died of tuberculosis at age 31.

Bibliography

Works available in English translation

Monographs

Anthologies

Literary magazines

Scholarly works

Miscellaneous amateur translations on Internet (see external links below).

Translations into other languages

List of works in original Japanese

Stories in magazines

  1. - May 1923
  2. - July 1923
  3. – January 1925
  4. - February 1925
  5. - July 1925
  6. - October 1925
  7. - November 1925
  8. - January 1926
  9. - June 1926
  10. - July 1926
  11. - August 1926
  12. - October 1926
  13. - February, April 1927
  14. - March 1928
  15. – April 1928
  16. – May 1928
  17. – May 1928
  18. – July 1928
  19. – December 1928
  20. – June 1930
  21. – September 1930
  22. – January 1931
  23. – January 1932, novella

(Unpublished or unfinished works included in Complete Works are not listed above.)

Books

-- posthumously --

See also

References

Sources consulted

Endnotes

External links

General reference

Translations available online (includes amateur translations)

Reviews

Notes and References

  1. [I Novel|I-Novel]
  2. Book: ja:新潮日本文学アルバム27 梶井基次郎. Shincho Japanese literature Album 27 Motojirō Kajii. 1985. Shinchosha. ja.
  3. " I read an article about Maruzen closing its business in yesterday's Asahi Journal Evening Edition. It claims that many people are leaving lemons in the department store, just like the main character in Motojiro Kajii's short story titled LEMON. Coincidentally, I learned that many people are buying LEMON from the bookstore inside Maruzen. LEMON is featured in school textbooks; there aren't many Japanese who don't know the story. I am fond of the story myself. I learned the name Maruzen for the first time through LEMON. To be perfectly honest... I left a lemon in Maruzen when I was a high school student. My friend did the same. It must have been a nuisance for the people who worked there. " – Hideo Kojima (creator of the Metal Gear Solid video games for Konami), in the Web site: Sunday, 2 October 2005 entry of his English blog . 2007-02-13 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070213010329/http://www.blog.konami.jp/gs/hideoblog_e/2005/10/000297.html . February 13, 2007 . mdy-all .
  4. " On October 10 Maruzen will close their Kyoto shop which is associated with this novel Lemon. After they announced their closure, store staff found lemons on the books. They had lemons before a few times in a year, but this year they have found 11 lemons already. " – Mari Kanazawa (notable Tokyo blogger), in the Monday, October 03, 2005 entry "A lemon on books" of her English blog "Watashi to Tokyo – Me and Tokyo"
  5. http://kenji.cnu.ac.kr/loveletter/sakura/hanami-2.htm "Why is the Cherry Blossom (Sakura) cherished?"
  6. Web site: Honma. Satoru. 飯島正先生とその蔵書. Fumikura. Waseda University. 29 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180430045418/http://www.wul.waseda.ac.jp/Libraries/fumi/38/38-2.html. April 30, 2018. dead.
  7. (op. cit.) Kajii & Kodama de Larroche, Le citron, p. 13

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