Ougai Mori

Mori Ougai February 17 1862 July 8 1922 was a Japanese physician translator novelist and poet. Gan The Wild Geese 191113 is considered his major work. Mori was born as Mori Rintarou in Tsuwano Iwami province presentday Shimane prefecture. His family were hereditary physicians to the daimyou of the Tsuwano Domain. As the eldest son it was assumed that he would carry on the family tradition therefore he was sent to attend classes in the Confucian classics at the domain academy and took private lessons in rangaku and in the Dutch language. In 1872 after the Meiji Restoration and the abolition of the domains the Mori family relocated to Tokyo. Mori stayed at the residence of Nishi Amane in order to receive tutoring in the German language which was the primary language for medical education at the time. In 1874 he was admitted to the government medical school the predecessor for Tokyo Imperial Universitys Medical School and graduated in 1881 at the age of 19 the youngest person ever to be awarded a medical license in Japan. It was also during this time that he developed an interest in literature reading extensively from the lateEdo period popular novels and taking lessons in Chinese poetry and literature. After graduation Mori enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Army as a medical officer hoping to specialize in military medicine and hygiene. Mori was sent by the Army to study in Germany Leipzig Dresden Munich and Berlin from 18841888. During this time he also developed an interest in European literature. As a matter of trivia Mori Ougai is the first Japanese known to have ridden on the Orient Express. Upon his return to Japan he assumed a high rank as a medical doctor in the Japanese army and pushed for a more scientific approach to medical research even publishing a medical journal out of his own funds. Meanwhile he also attempted to revitalize modern Japanese literature and published his own literary journal Shigarami Soushi 18891894 and his own book of poetry Omokage 1889. In his writings he was an antirealist asserting that literature should reflect the emotional and spiritual domain. Maihime The Dancing Girl 1890 described an affair between a Japanese man and a German woman. In 1899 Mori married Akamatsu Toshiko daughter of Admiral Akamatsu Noriyoshi a close friend of Nishi Amane. He divorced her the following year under acrimonious circumstances that irreparably ended his friendship with Nishi. Although Mori did little writing from 18921902 he continued to edit a literary journal Mezamashi gusa 18921909. He also produced translations of the works of Goethe Schiller Ibsen Hans Christian Andersen and Hauptmann. It was during the RussoJapanese War 19041905 that Mori started keeping a poetic diary. After the war he began holding tanka writing parties that included several noted poets such as Yosano Akiko. His later works can be divided into three separate periods. From 19091912 he wrote mostly fiction based on his own experiences. This period includes Vita Sexualis and his most popular novel Gan The Wild Geese191113 which is set in 1881 Tokyo and was filmed by Shiro Toyoda in 1953 as The Mistress. From 19121916 he wrote mostly historical stories. Deeply affected by the seppuku of General Nogi Maresuke in 1912 he explored the impulses of selfdestruction selfsacrifice and patriotic sentiment. This period includes Sanshou Dayuu and Takasebune . From 1916 he turned his attention to biographies of late Edo period doctors. As an author Mori is considered one of the leading writers of the Meiji period. In his literary journals he instituted modern literary criticism in Japan based on the aesthetic theories of Karl von Hartmann. A house which Mori lived in is preserved in Kokura Kita ward in Kitakyushu not far from Kokura station. Here he wrote Kokura Nikki Kokura Diary. His birthhouse is also preserved in Tsuwano. The two onestory houses are remarkably similar in size and in their traditional Japanese style. One of Moris daughters Mori Mari influenced the Yaoi movement in contemporary Japanese literature. Source AniDB