Towards the bright side

Author: [Japan] Kaneko Mitsumasa
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features:, The Chinese meaning of "" refers to poems passed down among children, while in Japan, such poems are specifically created for children and can be translated as "." The authors are often adults, even great poets. In the early 20th century, from 1912 to 1926, the frail Taisho Emperor reigned, sandwiched between the Meiji and Showa eras, a period of vigorous democratization when urban-based mass culture was beginning to take shape. In 1918, the novelist Suzuki Saneji, a self-proclaimed disciple of Natsume Sōseki, founded the children's literature magazine Akutō (Red Bird), sparking a fervent folk song movement. Kaneko Mitsumasa was born in 1903 in Yamaguchi Prefecture, a region bordering the Sea of Japan. Wu Fei also lived in that area, and the sea, the mountains, the snow, the bells, and the fish were all seemingly woven into Mitsumasa's folk songs. Mitsumasa often spoke with nature. Her hometown of Seizaki Village (now part of Nagazumi City) was once a famous whaling port where people buried the fetuses of whales and held annual ceremonies in their honor, but Mitsumasa heard the cries of young whales in the sea. Her uncle (later her stepfather) ran a bookstore, which. Working in the bookstore, she was surrounded by a sea of books, though far from Tokyo, she could read folk songs in magazines and began writing them herself at the age of 20. She submitted her work to four magazines and had all of them published, three of which were edited by Nishijō Hachi. He wrote the following review: "Among adult works, Kaneko's 'Fish' and 'Lucky Hammer' moved me deeply. The handling of language and rhythm is insufficient, but there is a warm, gentle atmosphere surrounding the entire folk song. This feeling is exactly the same as that of the British lady Christina Rossetti. In today's world, with no lady poets of refinement, please continue to strive in this direction."