| Hinatsu Kōnosuke | |
|---|---|
Hinatsu Kōnosuke |
|
| Born | 22 February 1890 Iida, Nagano Japan |
| Died | 13 June 1971 (aged 81) Iida, Nagano Japan |
| Occupation | Writer, University Professor |
| Genres | poetry, literary criticism |
Hinatsu Kōnosuke (日夏 耿之介, February 22, 1890 - June 13, 1971) was the pen-name of a Japanese poet known for his romantic and gothic poetry patterned after English literature. His real name was Higuchi Kunito.
A native of what is now part of Iida city in Nagano prefecture, Hinatsu graduated from Waseda University, and was later a professor of English literature at Waseda. He was influenced by the works of Oscar Wilde and Edgar Allan Poe, and the Japanese writers Mishima Yukio and Shibusawa Tatsuhiko. His specialty was the translation of romantic and gothic poetry from English into Japanese. Always in poor health, and a fervent Roman Catholic, he always had an icon of the Virgin Mary in his room.
In 1915 Hinatsu founded the magazine Shijin (Poets) with Horiguchi Daigaku and Saijo Yaso.
In 1917, Hinatsu published the first anthology of his own works, Tenshin no sho, which combined elements from both genre into what he described as “gothic romanticism”. Using complex symbolism, his works were a distinct contrast from the realistic poetry then in vogue.
His critical study, Meiji Taisho shi shi (1929) was the first scholarly history of modern Japanese poetry, and was awarded the 1st Yomiuri Prize in 1949.
Hinatsu suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1956, and returned to his native Iida. However, in 1961, he accepted a post as professor of English literature at Aoyama Gakuin University, and returned to Tokyo, where he lived until 1971.
In 1986, the Hinatsu Kōnosuke Memorial Museum was opened in his honor in Iida, Nagano.