Takizawa Bakin

Takizawa Bakin
(), a.k.a. (4 July 1767 – 1 December 1848), was a Japanese novelist of the Edo period. Born , he wrote under the pen name . Later in life he took the pen name . Modern scholarship generally refers to him as , or just as n. He is regarded as one of, if not the, leading author of early 19th century Japanese literature. He was the third surviving son of a family of low rank. After numerous deaths in his family, he relinquished his status, married a merchant's widow, and became an townsperson. He was able to support his family with his prolific writing of , primarily didactic historical romances, though he always wanted to restore his family to the social class. Some of his best known works are (The Chronicles of the Eight Dog Heroes of the Satomi Clan of Nansō) consisting of 106 books and (Strange Tales of the Crescent Moon). published more than 200 works in his life, including literary critiques, diaries, and historical novels.
Life and career
Family and early life
Born in (present-day Tokyo) on 4 July 1767, was the fifth son of and . Two of his elder brothers died in infancy.
's father was a samurai in the service of one of the retainers, until 1751 when he left his lord and gained service with . While serving under , was adopted into the family and wed 's adopted daughter, . returned to serve the family in 1760 after successor was dismissed for embezzlement. Though a heavy drinker, he was devoted to scholarship of classical Chinese works, especially those focused on military matters. He was a diligent , but contracted gout in 1773 and died in 1775. His death forced the clan to reduce the stipend by half, starting the steady decline of 's family.
, 's mother, is characterized as being a good mother and loyal wife and the family had the privilege of living in the mansion until their piecemeal departure from 's service that reached its completion in 1780. Her eldest son, (1759-1798) was the only child not born on the estate and served the family until becoming a in 1776. His departure led to and her remaining children including and his two younger sisters, (1771-?) and (1774-?), being forced into a much smaller dwelling. 's older brother, (1765–1786),was adopted out to lessen the financial burden and was declared the head of the family at age nine. When found service with a new family in 1778, pretended to be ill to move in with him. While living there, grew ill due to malnutrition and died 1 August 1785.
served the lord's grandson until 1780 when he declared himself at age 14 leaving the following :
こがらしに
思い立ちけり
神の旅
Chilled by winter winds
I have decided
To journey with the gods.
was able to secure a position for him in 1781, the longest would hold, until he departed in 1784 due to dissatisfaction. then moved in with for a short time until 's lord died, discharging him from service in 1785. He found a position for , though the young stayed on for less than a year. died unattended in September 1786.
's death humbled who became ill in 1788. He left his post as a and moved in with who had spent most of his savings on medicine. This was the last time would serve as a . He would study medicine but find the profession uncomfortable before pursuing jobs as a comic poet, fortuneteller, comedian, and Confucian Scholar. 's turning point came in 1790 when he approached the very successful author seeking help with the publication of the former 's first work, .
In 1798 died of dysentery leaving as the sole male heir of the line. He swore to restore the family line. 's two daughters had died of illness in infancy.
Life as an author
(尽用而二分狂言) was published in 1791 under the pen name ", Disciple of ". This first book had a didactic tone that would carry through most of his works going forward. This choice in tone would benefit him as literature and the laws around it had changed in 1790 with the adoption of the Kansei Reforms. was able to avoid the punishments levied on his contemporaries like , and his friend and patron, . chose to stay silent and on any controversies in his writings. 's own humiliation deeply affected him. He request ghostwrite for him as a deadline for two works approached. These two works, and were written by and copied by before being sent off for publishing. 1792 marked the first time "" appeared in a published work.
In 1793 married , a widow and owner of a footwear shop, mainly for financial reasons. gave four children during their marriage: three daughters; (1794-1854), (1796-?) and (1800-?), and one son, (1798-1835). helped with the shop until the death of his mother-in-law in 1795 when he acquired time to write more regularly. In 1796, he published his first and his works spread to and , earning him nationwide acclaim. He had eleven other works published in 1797, setting a pace of about ten books per year until 1802. If he wrote a story he didn't enjoy, he would sign it ", disciple of " causing other aspiring authors to seek out this fictional disciple.
In 1800 embarked on a walking tours and his experiences would play pivotal roles in both his life and writing. The first tour lasted two months and provided him with several historical locations that would appear in his works. During this trip he also fully resolved to restore his family position using his writing.
A second walking tour in 1802 lasted three months and was a tour along the Tōkaidō Post Road. On this tour, visited many places that would appear in his future work. He also encountered people of various social standing and professions. His travels coincided with extensive flooding across the nation. witnessed recent destruction and displaced peoples all along the road. These encounters and experiences made their way into 's novels and lent them an honesty that would make his works popular through the entire social strata of Japan.
From 1803 to 1813, published thirty historical novels, marking the beginning of his full career as a professional writer. Several of these works were adapted to various forms of theater across Japan. By 1810 was making a comfortable living as a writer, exceeding the stipend that had been allotted to his family while they served under and he was considered the preeminent author of historical novels.
This success was partly due to his collaboration with famous artists. Between 1804 and 1815, and the creative illustrator collaborated on 13 works. In particular published between 1807 and 1811, which borrowed the concept of The Tale of Hōgen, Taiheiki and Water Margin. There are various theories as to why and dissolved their cooperation, such as discordant personalities and conflicting opinions on how to draw illustrations. By 1818, with the purchase of a second household with the profits of his book sales and wife's business, the family was officially restored. In 1820, 's son, was appointed clan physician by Lord making his social class officially and felt his family's future was secured.
The Bunka-Bunsei cultural renaissance which started in 1804 lent momentum to fiction as a whole and art flourished until the renaissance concluded around 1830. Serialized long-form works became more prevalent, not just among historical novels. It was during this time that continued publishing profitable and popular works. These ranged among scholarly essays and journals, though his most prevalent fiction remained the historical novel. He also embarked on creating his signature piece, . This work consisted of 106 volumes, making it one of the world's longest novels, and took 28 years to complete (1814–1842). Like most of his works, focused on themes, including loyalty and family honor, as well as Confucianism, and Buddhist philosophy. During its production, would recede from public life and split from his contemporaries causing rumors to circulate that he had died. Unfortunately, while working on this voluminous work, would experience the loss of his eyesight and the death of his wife and only son.
Decline and death
While writing, also went about ensuring his children married well. had married in 1815 and given birth to a son. married (1787-1837) in 1823 and her new husband took on the management of the family business under the name . , after a prolonged illness that kept him from his duties as a clan physician, married a young woman named in 1827. She was later called and would play a pivotal role in her father-in-law's later life. bore three children; son (1828-?), daughter (1830-?) who was adopted by and , and daughter (1833-?). The final parts of the work were dictated to his daughter-in-law.
's health, which had started a slow decline in 1818 worsened into the 1830s. He continued to publish but at a much slower pace than before. His wife's frequent illnesses taxed him as did his son's continued invalidity and 's rheumatism and vision loss progressed. He would feel bouts of energy between 1825 and 1835 that would allow him to continue working. In 1835, passed and the blow was so devastating to that he considered retiring from writing.
Fearing the collapse of his newly restored family, decided in 1836 to hold a party to celebrate his birthday. In reality, he did so to raise funds for to afford a position as a low-ranking samurai. The gala attracted leading writers and publishers, poets and entertainers, and important officials form the 's court. 's future was secured though he was too young to serve at the time. 's cousin served in his place until 1840 under the name . In order to be closer to his grandson's post, sold the family house in the city and moved into a rural estate. He would spend the last twelve years of his life there.
lost vision in his right eye in 1834 and was completely blind by 1840. , who could read complex literature acted as 's amanuensis from 1840 till his death in 1848. With her assistance he finished several works and answered many letters and critiques. She also attended to the house as had slipped into mental instability with the death of . died in 1841.
In the autumn of 1848, felt chest pains and had difficulty breathing. After a short recovery he relapsed and declined the services of a physician. On November 30, he gave his final testament and passed early in the morning of December 1. He was interred in the Temple beside his ancestors.
Influence on Japanese culture
Nearly four decades after his death, 's works were still popular. Many writers, such as kept his works in the public eye. There was, however, push back from students who had become versed in Western literature. Foremost among them was who heavily criticized 's didactic method of writing as pre-modern without directly attacking in his work . This attitude was countered by scholars like .
made also the Japanese version of Haoqiu zhuan, titled Kyōkakuden. and authors like used 's methodology for adapting Chinese literature to bring Western works to Japan.
A series of containing 50 pictures depicting characters from and featuring leading kabuki actors was created by . These prints were published in the early 1850s by . Excerpts translated by Chris Drake are included in Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600-1900, edited by (Columbia University Press, 2002). The Eight Dog Chronicles has been adapted many times in, for example, the anime OVA The Hakkenden.
His (Strange Tales of the Crescent Moon) was adapted for the stage by .
Kyokutei Bakin has been released as a playable 5★ Rider-class Servant in Fate/Grand Order during early summer 2022. However, this version of Bakin is actually his daughter who is using her father's True Name and powers.
Sample bibliography
Yomihon (Readers' Books)
1796
1804
1804
1804 (Volume 1 and 2)
1805
1805
1804
1805
1807
1807-1811
1808
1808
1808
1808
1808
1808
1809
1810
1814-1842
1815 (Volume 1 Unfinished)
(u) 1829-1830 (Bunsei 12 and 13)
1832 (Unfinished)
Gōkan
1812
1825 (Unfinished)
1839
1831
Yellow Books
1791
1797
1800
1801
Saijiki (Seasonal Dictionary)
1803 The first ""
References
External links
Takizawa Bakin in Encyclopædia Britannica
1767 births
1848 deaths
18th-century Japanese novelists
19th-century Japanese novelists
Japanese diarists
Japanese historical novelists
Japanese medical writers
Japanese serial novels
Japanese writers of the Edo period
People from Kōtō
Writers from Tokyo