Takeo Arishima Japanese writer Date of Birth: 04.03.1878 Country: Japan

1. Biography of Takeo Arishima
2. Early Life and Family
3. Educational Background
4. Academic Pursuits
5. Early Literary Interests
6. Socialist and Christian Influences
7. Military Service and Political Awakening
8. Literary Career and Personal Life

Biography of Takeo Arishima

Takeo Arishima was a Japanese writer who belonged to the privileged classes of society but felt a heightened sense of guilt towards those who lacked the advantages of his position. He sought to find solutions through Christian teachings of love for one's neighbor, within the frameworks of socialism and anarchism.

Early Life and Family

Takeo Arishima's father, Takeshi Arishima, was a samurai from Satsuma and a participant in the war against the shogunate. After the war, thanks to the patronage of Matsukata Masayoshi, Takeshi Arishima was appointed as the deputy chief of the Tax and Duties Administration of the Ministry of Finance. From 1882 to 1891, he held the position of the chief of customs at the Yokohama Port. He acquired land in Hokkaido, which he later gifted to his eldest son, Takeo Arishima, in 1909. Takeo's mother, Yukino Yamanouti, came from a high-ranking samurai family from Nambu (modern-day Iwate Prefecture). Yukino was raised in an aristocratic environment and was familiar with classical Chinese literature, tea ceremonies, and the art of composing fragrances. However, in 1868, the Nambu clan sided with the shogunate and lost, leaving the Yamanouti family without means. Yukino was forced to earn a living through sewing. In 1877, she married Takeshi Arishima.

Educational Background

Takeo Arishima received a strict traditional education. Regardless of the season or weather, he was awakened at dawn every day and practiced sword fighting in the garden. He also engaged in archery and horseback riding. After returning from school, he was required to read Confucian texts, study Confucian ethics, and Chinese literature. From the age of 4 to 14, Arishima lived in Yokohama, in a quarter for foreigners, and became acquainted with the realities of Western lifestyle. Yokohama had a racetrack, European hotels and hospitals, churches, and butcher shops. Due to his father's work, the Arishima household often hosted foreigners. His father also made the children study English, sending Takeo and his sister Aiko to spend the whole day at the house of an American acquaintance to improve their conversational English skills.

Academic Pursuits

Takeo Arishima was prepared to enter the Yokohama English School (Yokohama Eiwa Gakko), where he studied from 1884 to 1887. The curriculum included reading the Bible, through which Arishima first came into close contact with Christianity. He experienced the clash of two value systems during this period. This period is described by Arishima in the story "The Grapevine Brush" ("Hitofusa-no Budō", 1920). In 1889, Arishima enrolled in the School for the Nobility, which he later criticized for its conservatism, prohibition of any discussions, and a system of unquestioning obedience.

Early Literary Interests

Even during his school years, Takeo Arishima showed an interest in literature. As a student, he wrote the story "The Samurai of the Keicho Era" ("Keicho Bushi"), about the defeat of the Satsuma clan's troops in the Battle of Sekigahara, and several other short stories that were not published during his lifetime. All of these were written in classical written language (bungo) under pseudonyms. In 1896, after completing the first stage of middle school, Arishima transferred to the second stage, which would qualify him for university admission. However, he chose to leave school and traveled to Hokkaido to enter the Agricultural College in Sapporo. The Agricultural College in Sapporo was founded in 1872 to support the development of land in Hokkaido. To achieve real results, William Smith Clark, the founder and third president of the Massachusetts Agricultural College in Amherst, United States, was invited as a professor. He exerted a significant influence on the curriculum and atmosphere of the institution. Clark demanded independence and self-respect from students. One of the results of his policies was the adoption of the Bible as the primary moral and ethical text. In 1896, when Arishima entered the college, several teachers belonged to the first graduating class who had studied under Clark. Among them was Nitobe Inazo, whose acquaintance and subsequent friendship played a significant role in Arishima's life. Nitobe was born in Morioka and came from a samurai family from the same Nambu principality as Arishima's mother. Therefore, when Arishima arrived in Sapporo, he stayed with Nitobe. Every Sunday, Nitobe held Bible study sessions at his home for students, and Arishima joined this group in studying Christian doctrine. During this period, Arishima's interests also included the works of Thomas Carlyle.

Socialist and Christian Influences

After Nitobe's departure to Kamakura and then the United States, Morimoto Kokichi became Arishima's closest friend. Morimoto had attended a Christian school in Tokyo and was baptized, which allowed Arishima to continue studying and discussing Christian themes, particularly the problems of Christian theology, sin, and redemption.

In 1897, Arishima's acquaintance with Utimura Kanzo had a significant influence on him. Utimura was one of the first graduates of the Agricultural College and a fervent follower of Christianity. Arishima studied Utimura's works "In Search of Peace" ("Kuanroku") and "Consolation for a Believing Christian" ("Kiristo Shinto Nagusame"), both published in 1893. Upon Utimura's recommendation, Arishima was accepted into the Independent Church community in Sapporo but did not get baptized, considering it unnecessary.

Military Service and Political Awakening

In 1872, universal military conscription was introduced in Japan, and after college, Arishima, with a degree in agriculture, was drafted into the army. The one year he spent in military service made him a pacifist for life. It was during this time that Arishima became interested in socialist ideas. In 1903, he traveled to the United States to continue his education at Haverford College, founded by Quakers near Philadelphia, recommended by Nitobe. His stay in Christian America revealed to Arishima the contradictions between Christian teachings and Christian practices.

In 1904, Arishima transferred to the graduate program at Harvard University, where he met Kaneko Kiiti, a contributor to socialist journals and a participant in the socialist movement in America. Under Kiiti's influence, Arishima's interest in socialism deepened further. He read the works of Walt Whitman, Henrik Ibsen, Peter Kropotkin, and others.

Literary Career and Personal Life

The events of this period were reflected in Arishima's novel "The Labyrinth" ("Meiro"), which was largely based on autobiographical material. The novel was published in parts, with the first part appearing in 1915 in the magazine "Shirakaba," the second part in 1917 in "Chuo Koron," and the third part in 1918 in "Shinseisetsu." The protagonist of the novel is a Japanese student in the United States. Among his acquaintances are a Japanese socialist K (easily recognizable as Kaneko) and an American lawyer P (Pibody, whom Arishima met in Boston). The main theme of the first part of the novel is the protagonist's departure from Christianity and growing interest in socialism.

In 1910, Arishima got married, but in 1916, his wife died of tuberculosis, leaving him with three children. In 1922, Arishima met Akiko Hatano, the editor of the women's magazine Fujin Koron, who was married. They started a romance that became known to Akiko's husband. As a result, Arishima and Hatano committed a double suicide by hanging themselves in Karuizawa.

Arishima's son, Yukimitsu (1911-1973), became a famous actor and performed under the pseudonym Masayuki Mori. After Arishima's death, he gained fame thanks to detailed diaries, comprising around twenty volumes of intimate autobiography, fears, and hopes. Arishima was considered not only a writer but also a philosopher and social critic by his contemporaries. In his works, he criticized Christianity and was influenced by socialism, the Bible, Tolstoy's humanistic ideas, and anarchist ideals.