石川啄木の初期詩の考察 - 東京と日露戦争を中心に -

Abstract

Takuboku’s early poetry is negatively viewed as imitational romantic poetry. This view carries validity to some degree. Yet some of his early poems cannot be simply classified as imitational romantic poems: “The Capital Asleep” and “Tokyo.” Interestingly enough, these two poems are similar to each other in poetic content and mood despite the dissimilarity in titles and years of composition. That is, to Takuboku, Tokyo is not a place where dreams come true but a negative place where its residents choke up and think of death out of uncertainty and anxiety. There are few poets of the Meiji era who portrayed Tokyo in such negative terms. This is one of the characteristics of Takuboku’s early poetry. Another characteristic of Takuboku’s early poetry is linked to his interest in the Russo-Japanese War. In “A Poem in Siberia,” the poet ponders upon nationalism in relation to genuine beauty and the ideals of a nation in association with the barren land of Siberia. In addition, he elaborates on global humanism in “A Pome in Memory of Admiral Makarov.” In this sense, the seemingly contradictory juxtaposition of nationalism and global humanism is characteristic of Takuboku’s early poetry. The aforementioned three poems―“The Capital Asleep,” “Tokyo,” and “A Poem in Memory of Admiral Makarov”―may not represent the entire early poetry of Takuboku but can serve as means to reevaluate his poetry with a new meaning.