Lecture: Matsumoto Seicho in the Context of Literary History
Lecturer: YAMADA Yusaku, Professor Emeritus, Tokyo Gakugei University,
JapanTranslator: KASHIMA Takumi
To begin, I would like to present my perspective on literary history. Whena new work emerges, it inevitably carries influences from the preceding era,
thus

contributingto

acontinuous,structurednarrative.

The

interconnections and relationships among various works collectively shape
literary history.
Now, let’s consider an example. There is a writer named Un’no Juza, whois about ten years older than Matsumoto Seicho. He published various works,
including science fiction detective novels in a magazine titled Shinseinen.
One of these works is titled Shindoma, and the story features a wealthy man
with a beautiful wife, leading a comfortable life.

However, the man issuffering from tuberculosis, a deadly illness at the time.

He undergoes asurgical procedure performed by a renowned doctor, involving the use ofmedication to create a barrier around his lungs, like a wall, to prevent
tuberculosis bacteria from entering. As he regains his health, he becomesinvolved in a romantic relationship with the young wife of the doctor, and she
eventually becomes pregnant and insists on having a child. Unable to copewith the situation, the wealthy man constructs a hidden, sealed laboratory in
his garden and generates vibrations that resonate within it. The pregnant
woman hears the vibrations, which are intended to terminate her pregnancy.
After the deed is done, the woman leaves, and the man believes he is freefrom the affair. Ironically, the vibrations that led to the demise of the unborn
child also damage the protective wall around the man's lungs, and he, too,faces impending mortality.
In Shindoma, Un’no Zuza introduces an innovative concept using soundwaves. When we read it, we sense an unsettling connection, perhaps to thevibrations associated with the second and third murders in Matsumoto
Seicho's Suna no Utsuwa.

It is an era of ultrasonic, so in the story, one of

the main characters is a young, energetic expert in electronic music.

He uses

ultrasonic surgical instruments to induce heart failure in a young actor with aweak heart, resulting in his demise. Furthermore, he uses sound waves foran abortion procedure on the mistress of one of his friends, inadvertently
leading to her death as well. In other words, the ideas in Un’no Juza's

Shindoma had been circulating and were later revitalized as ultrasonicmurders when they intersected with Matsumoto Seicho's talent, creating aunique and narrow current in literary history.
Now, let’s delve into another example. In 1957, Matsumoto Seicho wrote
a work titled Hossa. The protagonist is a gambling addict deeply entangled
in debt, so he neglects to provide living expenses for his sick wife and instead
indulges in extramarital affairs, showing that he is a careless andirresponsible man.

One day, unpleasant events start unfolding from themoment he wakes up. At work, he makes a major mistake and is a severelyreprimanded by his boss.

Failing to secure a loan, he also faces rejection andcoldness from his lover, leaving him physically and mentally shattered.
The novel concludes as follows: Late at night, the protagonist boards thetrain, grabs the handrail, and gazes ahead.

There, he notices a man who

seems on the brink of falling asleep, swaying to the side as if about to tip over
but returning to an upright position.

The man repeats this motion,

resembling the rhythm of his own monotonous daily routine, replaying everyday. The man does not relinquish his seat. As the protagonist looks at his
repeating movement, he finds himself strangely captivated by this repetitive
motion. Suddenly, he is overcome by a violent, impulsive emotion and lunges
at the person, clutching the man's throat. It might be the irrational anger ofeveryday life, or perhaps even a murderous intent.

At that moment, thenovel concludes, leaving the interpretation to the reader.
This is a highly skilled piece of work.

When I read Matsumoto Seicho'sHossa, it reminds me of work from a previous era, Kamisori. It is one of theearly works by Shiga Naoya, a prominent writer of the Taisho era.

The

protagonist is a young barber with a quick temper and extreme nervousness
but is a masterful craftsman.

He catches a cold during a busy season,

causing him to lie down with a high fever that makes his hands tremble.
Despite his quick temper, he becomes increasingly irritated by everything his
young apprentices do, and his frustration builds up. At last, he gets up andstarts sharpening razors, but the razors end up being returned by one of hisclients, tearing his pride to shreds.
At that moment, a man enters and requests a beard shave.

He has a coarse

appearance and appears to be heading to a brothel. The barber, who is very
fastidious, holds a strong aversion to men like him.

Despite everyone'sefforts to dissuade him, he reluctantly begins to shave, his hands trembling.
That was when he unexpectedly injures the customer while trimming hisbeard. As he watches the small clots of blood rise, he is suddenly overcome
by wild emotions and cuts the man's throat with a razor. The novel ends witha gruesome scene of blood spatter.
This work also depicts irrational anger and murderous intent in everyday
life. Shiga Naoya’s piece, Kamisori, from the Taisho era, has continued toresonate through the ages, and its influence has emerged in Matsumoto
Seicho’s work titled Hossa. The similarity between these two novelists isviewed as a continuation in literary history.
Shiga Naoya wrote many crime novels of this nature, including Nigotta

Atama and Han’s Hanzai. Why did he engage in this genre from the end of
the Meiji era to the Taisho era?

In fact, Tanizaki Jun’ichiro also penned

numerous crime novels during his early career, as did Sato Haruo. A writer
named Hirotsu Kazuo authored a novel titled Shinkeibyo Jidai, portraying thisera as an age of nervous disorders. The Taisho era was considerably more
tranquil, a time of smaller societal conflicts compared to the Meiji era, which
was marked by violent revolutions and wars. However, even as things settled
down, the harshness of the Meiji era likely continued to linger.

It is plausiblethat all the young artists of the Taisho era sensed this underlying ruggedness,
which found expression in the form of crime novels.
The Taisho era marked a period of significant cultural expansion, giving
rise to mediums like movies that captivated authors such as Tanizaki
Jun’ichiro. It served as a precursor to the mass society, an era when culture
became accessible to the broader population.

In the realm of literature,particularly, colloquial language became firmly established.

The complex

classical style of Meiji literature evolved into a more straightforward
vernacular style.

When reading novels by authors like Akutagawa

Ryunosuke and Kikuchi Kan, it becomes evident how clear and accessible
they are. In the case of Akutagawa Ryunosuke, in particular, the aesthetic
refinement is exceptionally high.
In this era, as literature expanded, an element of entertainment orrecreation became necessary. Naturalist literature had reached its zenith at
the end of the Meiji period.

However, it was quiet, simple, and lacking indrama, making it less engaging. As a reaction to this, the Taisho period saw
the incorporation of entertainment into literature. A key figure in promoting
this popular culture was Kikuchi Kan. He established BUNGEISHUNJU, Ltd. todisseminate this kind of culture to the masses. One of the genres that gained
popularity was detective novels, with Edogawa Rampo emerging as a notablefigure.
The Meiji era was characterized by ethics and logic. Then, in the Taisho
period, for instance, Tanizaki Jun’ichiro emerged with a work titled Shisei.
No novelists in the Meiji period could have crafted works like Shisei.

It is astory of a tattoo artist who lives with a desire to tattoo the skin of young
women.

The moment they receive a tattoo, women become empowered.

This marked the first instance of the human body becoming a prominent
theme. Edogawa Rampo followed in Tanizaki’s footsteps, using themes suchas “disguise,” “transformation,” “becoming a woman,” and “altering thehuman body” in his novels. He also emphasized the importance of the body.
These are revolutionary changes that become more apparent as time
progresses.
In comparison to the Taisho period, the 1950s can be considered a periodthat underwent similar changes.

In addition to newspapers and monthly

magazines, weekly magazines emerged. Radio and movies also reached theirzenith during this period, followed by the introduction of television.

Themedia

theforspreadingcultureexpanded

limitlessly,

leadingtoestablishment of a full-fledged mass society. This was the era of popular
culture when almost everyone could partake in shared cultural experiences.
It was during this period that a colloquial style became prevalent in most areas,making reading and writing accessible to a wider audience.
Matsumoto Seicho was a prominent figure of that era, and he expanded
upon what Kikuchi Kan had accomplished during the Taisho period but on amuch larger scale.

The connection or continuity from Kikuchi Kan toMatsumoto Seicho is evident, displaying how cultural and literary history isinterconnected.

With Matsumoto Seicho’s emergence, the distinction

between ‘pure literature’ and ‘popular literature,’ which had been clearly
separated until then, began to blur, and entertainment became exceedingly
sophisticated. It seemed that there were no longer any boundaries between
them.
Shiba Ryotaro emerged shortly after Matsumoto Seicho.

These twonovelists can be viewed as both partners and complementary figures. Moreof Shiba’s works are historical novels. The two can be seen as a single set,
not as separate entities. Among Meiji writers, Matsumoto Seicho admired
Mori Ogai, whereas Shiba Ryotaro was an ardent fan of Natsume Soseki.
Whether describing the dark or light aspects of history, Matsumoto Seichoand Shiba Ryotaro are also complementary. Matsumoto Seicho delves intothe true problems of the Showa period’s history, while Shiba Ryotaro
attempts to see the brighter side of history.

These two novelists

complemented each other and contributed to the significant culturaldevelopments of the 1950s and 60s.
Another common aspect shared by these two novelists was their creation ofa new genre by blending history and literature, erasing the boundaries
between them. Reading Matsumoto Seicho’s Showa-shi Hakkutsu or Nihonno Kuroi Kiri is far more thrilling and captivating than reading a conventional
novel. This is especially true of the Ni-ni-roku Jiken in the former, wherehistory is seamlessly transformed into literature. Shiba Ryotaro’s Saka noUe no Kumo is technically a novel but departs from the conventional novel
format, and Kaido o Yuku, which I like, does not have the typical qualities ofa novel either. Shiba Ryotaro essentially created a new genre.
Hando Kazutoshi was the first to recognize the connection between
Matsumoto Seicho and Shiba Ryotaro. In his book Seicho-san to Shiba-san,he emphasized the strong link between them, noting their overlap. He
identified this connection earlier than I did.

Hando’s book was a brilliant

work of comparative authorship and literary history theory.

HandoKazutoshi himself was an excellent scholar of Showa history, and it seems hewas contemplating the themes that connected Matsumoto Seicho, Shiba
Ryotaro, and himself.