==Early life==
==Early life==
Tsuneari Fukuda was born to Kōshirō and Masa Fukuda on 25 August 1912 in the [[Hongō]] ward of [[Tokyo City]], the first of five children. His father Kōshirō worked as [[salaryman]] for the Tokyo Electric Light Company, while his mother Masa had an interest in theatre.{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=1}} His given name {{nihongo|”Tsuneari”|恆存}} was chosen by novelist [[Ishibashi Shian]], and originates from a passage found in [[Mencius (book)|the works]] of Confucian philosopher [[Mencius]].{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=4}}{{efn|[[wikisource:The Chinese Classics/Volume 2/The Works of Mencius/chapter13|Jin Xin I]]: 人之有德慧術知者”’恆存”’乎疢疾 – Translated by [[James Legge]]: “Men who are possessed of intelligent virtue and prudence in affairs will generally be found to have been in sickness and troubles.”}} From 1919, Fukuda attended the prestigious Kinka Primary School, where he received a liberal education that placed emphasis on independent learning. His studies were interrupted by the [[Great Kantō Earthquake]] in September 1923, which destroyed his home and much of Tokyo. He was evacuated to the countryside, and did not return to school until March 1924.{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|pp=6–7}}
Tsuneari Fukuda was born to Kōshirō and Masa Fukuda on 25 August 1912 in the [[Hongō]] ward of [[Tokyo City]], the first of five children. His father Kōshirō worked as [[salaryman]] for the Tokyo Electric Light Company, while his mother Masa had an interest in theatre.{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=1}} His given name {{nihongo|”Tsuneari”|恆存}} was chosen by novelist [[Ishibashi Shian]], and originates from a passage in [[Mencius (book)|the works]] of Confucian philosopher [[Mencius]].{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=4}}{{efn|[[wikisource:The Chinese Classics/Volume 2/The Works of Mencius/chapter13|Jin Xin I]]: 人之有德慧術知者”’恆存”’乎疢疾 – Translated by [[James Legge]]: “Men who are possessed of intelligent virtue and prudence in affairs will generally be found to have been in sickness and troubles.”}} From 1919, Fukuda attended the prestigious Kinka Primary School, where he received a liberal education that placed emphasis on independent learning. His studies were interrupted by the [[Great Kantō Earthquake]] in September 1923, which destroyed his home and much of Tokyo. He was evacuated to the countryside, and did not return to school until March 1924.{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|pp=6–7}}
From 1925, he attended Tokyo No. 2 Middle School, which was also known for [[Taishō Democracy|Taishō liberal]]-style education.{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=11}} From 1930, he attended the elite Urawa High School in [[Saitama Prefecture]], where he enrolled in a humanities and English language course.{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=14}} The school was enveloped in a wave of left-wing [[student activism|student movements]] taking place across Japan at that time, but Fukuda never participated.{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=15}} During his high-school years, he developed an interest in literature and drama, and was particularly attracted to the works of [[Thomas Hardy]]{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=16}} and [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]].{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=18}} In an article published in the high school newspaper, Fukuda criticised the politicisation of art in the then popular ”[[shingeki]]” genre, which was often used a vehicle for leftist thought.{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|pp=18–19}} Around this time, he wrote his first play, called {{nihongo|”Aru machi no hito”|或る街の人}}, and submitted it to a new playhouse called Tsukiji-za run by shingeki actor [[Kyōsuke Tomoda]]. It received honourable mention, but was never performed.{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|pp=22–23}}
From 1925, he attended Tokyo No. 2 Middle School, which was also known for liberal education.{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=11}} 1930, he the elite Urawa High School in [[Saitama Prefecture]], where he enrolled in a humanities and English language course.{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=14}} The school was enveloped in a wave of left-wing [[student activism|student movements]] taking place across Japan at that time, but Fukuda never participated.{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=15}} During his high-school years, he developed an interest in literature and drama, and was particularly attracted to the works of [[Thomas Hardy]]{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=16}} and [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]].{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=18}} In an article published in the high school newspaper, Fukuda criticised the politicisation of art in the then popular ”[[shingeki]]” genre, which was often used a vehicle for leftist thought.{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|pp=18–19}} Around this time, he wrote his first play, called {{nihongo|”Aru machi no hito”|或る街の人}}, and submitted it to a new playhouse called Tsukiji-za run by shingeki actor [[Kyōsuke Tomoda]]. It received honourable mention, but was never performed.{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|pp=22–23}}
In 1933, he matriculated at [[University of Tokyo|Tokyo Imperial University]], where he read English literature,{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=26}} graduating in 1936.{{sfn|Ortolani|2015|p=466}} His thesis, which was written in English, was entitled “Moral Problems in [[D. H. Lawrence]]”. In the paper, Fukuda used works such as ”[[Lady Chatterley’s Lover]]” and ”[[Sons and Lovers]]” to examine whether the individualistic modern man was capable of love, i.e. whether he could recover his “lost paradise”. The whereabouts of the text of this thesis are unknown.{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=29}}
In 1933, he matriculated at [[University of Tokyo|Tokyo Imperial University]], where he read English literature,{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=26}} graduating in 1936.{{sfn|Ortolani|2015|p=466}} His thesis, which was written in English, was entitled “Moral Problems in [[D. H. Lawrence]]”. In the paper, Fukuda used works such as ”[[Lady Chatterley’s Lover]]” and ”[[Sons and Lovers]]” to examine whether individualistic modern man was capable of love, i.e. whether he could recover his “lost paradise”. The whereabouts of text are unknown.{{sfn|Kawakubo|2012|p=29}}
==Career==
==Career==
Japanese dramatist, translator, and literary critic
Tsuneari Fukuda (福田 恆存, Fukuda Tsuneari; 25 August 1912 – 20 November 1994) was a Japanese dramatist, translator, and literary critic. From 1969 until 1983, he was a professor at Kyoto Sangyo University. He became a member of the Japan Art Academy in 1981.[1]
His criticism of the pacifist Japanese establishment of the early post-Second World War era earned him early notoriety, though he is most well known for his translations of William Shakespeare‘s oeuvre into Japanese, starting with Hamlet in 1955. He was a frequent contributor to conservative magazines, such as Bungeishunjū, Shokun, and Jiyū. Called a “rhetorician“, and a “conjuror of controversy”, he frequently used cognitive reframing in his discourse.[2]
Tsuneari Fukuda was born to Kōshirō and Masa Fukuda on 25 August 1912 in the Hongō ward of Tokyo, the first of five children. His father Kōshirō worked as salaryman for the Tokyo Electric Light Company, while his mother Masa had an interest in theatre. His given name “Tsuneari” (恆存) was chosen by novelist Ishibashi Shian, and originates from a passage in the works of Confucian philosopher Mencius.[a] From 1919, Fukuda attended the prestigious Kinka Primary School, where he received a liberal education that placed emphasis on independent learning. His studies were interrupted by the Great Kantō Earthquake in September 1923, which destroyed his home and much of Tokyo. He was evacuated to the countryside, and did not return to school until March 1924.
From 1925, he attended Tokyo No. 2 Middle School, which was also known for liberal education. In 1930, he was admitted to the elite Urawa High School in Saitama Prefecture, where he enrolled in a humanities and English language course. The school was enveloped in a wave of left-wing student movements taking place across Japan at that time, but Fukuda never participated. During his high-school years, he developed an interest in literature and drama, and was particularly attracted to the works of Thomas Hardy and Shakespeare. In an article published in the high school newspaper, Fukuda criticised the politicisation of art in the then popular shingeki genre, which was often used a vehicle for leftist thought. Around this time, he wrote his first play, called Aru machi no hito (或る街の人), and submitted it to a new playhouse called Tsukiji-za run by shingeki actor Kyōsuke Tomoda. It received honourable mention, but was never performed.
In 1933, he matriculated at Tokyo Imperial University, where he read English literature, graduating in 1936. His thesis, which was written in English, was entitled “Moral Problems in D. H. Lawrence“. In the paper, Fukuda used works such as Lady Chatterley’s Lover and Sons and Lovers to examine whether individualistic, modern man was capable of love, i.e. whether he could recover his “lost paradise”. The whereabouts of this text are unknown.
After graduating, Fukuda worked as a secondary school teacher and a publisher.[1] He began his long career as a literary critic with a contribution to the Kōdō bungaku literary magazine in 1937, the article entitled “Riichi Yokomitsu and The Author’s Secret“. Before and just after the Second World War, he wrote critiques of the works of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Isota Kamura, and other modern Japanese writers. In 1947, Fukuda’s article Ippiki to kyūjūhiki to (一匹と九十九匹と), published in the Shisaku magazine, stirred up controversy about the dividing line between literature and politics, and later came to be seen as one of his representative works. From 1949, he participated in the Japanese–British cultural exchange group “Albion Club” (あるびよん・くらぶ). From 1950 onward, Fukuda’s interest shifted away from general literary criticism and critiques of individual writers. Representative works from this period include What is Art? (藝術とは何か, Geijutsu to wa nanika) published in 1950, and Man, This Dramatic Being (人間・この劇的なるもの, Ningen, kono gekiteki naru mono) published in 1956.
What made Fukuda famous, however, was his status as a lone conservative voice amidst a flourishing of progressive thought in post-Second World War Japan. In his 1954 article “Doubts About the Advancement of the Pacifist Theory” (平和論の進め方についての疑問, Heiwaron no susumekata ni tsuite no gimon), he criticised the pacifism that had become dominant in Japan. Furthermore, he was a strong critic of the post-war reforms to the Japanese language, and in 1955–56, he participated in a public debate with advocates of those reforms, led by Kyōsuke Kindaichi, in which he pointed out what he saw as the illogical nature of the Tōyō kanji list and modern kana usage. On this subject, he released the book My Japanese Language Classroom (私の國語教室, Watashi no kokugokyōshitsu) in 1960, where he advocated for the reversal of the post-war Japanese script reforms, which he argued were irrational and destructive, the preservation of historical kana usage and the abolition of restrictions on the usage of kanji. Fukuda himself never adopted the style mandated by the reforms, writing in historical kana and traditional kanji, though some publishing houses converted his writing into modern usage after his death.
His representative works as a literary translator include Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Hamlet, Richard III and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Ernest Hemingway‘s The Old Man and the Sea, and Oscar Wilde‘s Salome and The Picture of Dorian Gray.
In the 1950s, Fukuda also wrote and produced plays, including Kitty Typhoon and also The Man Who Stroked a Dragon.[16] He was linked to Shingeki, and in 1955 he did a production of Hamlet with Hiroshi Akutagawa, son of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, playing the lead role. He also wrote a 1957 essay Directing Shakespeare, which dealt with his views on the subject of directing Shakespearean plays. Later he did a Japanese version, based on his translation, of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.[17] In addition, he helped found the Kumo Theatre Company (present-day Theatre Company Subaru) and received the Yomiuri Prize multiple times.[18]
He died at the age of 82 from complications related to pneumonia at Tōkai University Ōiso Hospital on 20 November 1994.[1]
- ^ Jin Xin I: 人之有德慧術知者恆存乎疢疾 – Translated by James Legge: “Men who are possessed of intelligent virtue and prudence in affairs will generally be found to have been in sickness and troubles.”
