(1883-1956) poet
Takamura Kotaro was born in Tokyo to sculptor Takamura Koun and his wife, Waka. His father, hoping that his son would follow in his footsteps, sent Takamura to Tokyo Fine Arts School in 1897. Even so, Takamura was already demonstrating an interest in literature and had begun to write and publish haiku and tanka. In 1906, he left to study in the United States, England, and France. When he returned to Japan, he fell in with dissolute artists and writers. In 1914, he married Naganuma Chieko. During the war, he acted as the head of the Japanese Literature Patriotic Association. Takamura took defeat hard and retreated to a country cabin in Iwate Prefecture for seven years, some believe to come to terms with the guilt he expressed over having encouraged young soldiers to battle and thus their deaths.
Takamura’s first poems were written in traditional poetic forms. He began to write free verse, however, when he returned to Japan. His first poem of note, “The Lost Mona Lisa,” published in 1911, was about the disappearance of a prostitute. His first collection of poetry, The Road Ahead, published in 1914, challenged conceptions of poetry by using subjects and diction that were not traditionally considered appropriate. Chieko’s Sky, his second collection, was published in 1941 and consisted of love poems to his wife.
Takamura always considered himself first and foremost a sculptor, but he is more highly regarded as a poet who helped redefine the landscape of modern poetry. His most significant poetry is in free verse. In particular, his love poems to his wife garner the greatest praise for their moving emotional content and for their clear expression.
Other Works by Takamura Kotaro
A Brief History of Imbecility: Poetry and Prose of Takamura Kotaro. Translated by Hiroaki Sato. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, 1992.
Chieko and Other Poems of Takamura Kotaro. Translated by Hiroaki Sato. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, 1980.
Works about Takamura Kotaro
Keene, Donald. Dawn to the West: Japanese Literature in the Modern Era: Poetry, Drama, Criticism. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1984.
Rabson, Steve. Righteous Cause or Tragic Folly: Changing Views of War in Modern Japanese Poetry. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 1998.
