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{{Short description|Japanese writer (1901–1932)}}
{{Infobox Writer <!-- for more information see ] -->
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2012}}
| name = Motojirō Kajii
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see ] -->
| image = KAJII, Motojiro (1901-1932) Japanese short-story writer.jpg
| name = Motojirō Kajii<br>梶井 基次郎
| imagesize = 200px <!--CLICK IMAGE TO SEE FAIR-USE NOTICE-->
| caption = Motojirō Kajii ''(© ])'' | image = Motojirō Kajii.jpg<!--CLICK IMAGE TO SEE FAIR-USE NOTICE-->
| caption = Motojirō at garden of his brother's house in ] (January 1931)
| pseudonym = <!--NONE-->
| pseudonym = <!--NONE-->
| birthdate = {{Birth date|1901|2|17}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1901|2|17}}
| birthplace = ], ]
| birth_place = ], Japan
| deathdate = {{Death date and age|1932|3|24|1901|2|17}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1932|3|24|1901|2|17}}
| deathplace = ], ]
| death_place = Oji-cho, ] (now:]), Osaka
| occupation = Writer
| resting_place = Minami-ku (now:]), Osaka
| nationality = ]ese
| occupation = Writer
| period = 1925 - 1932 <!--PUBLICATIONS-->
| language = Japanese
| genre = ], ]
| citizenship =
| subject = <!--NON-FICTION WRITERS ONLY-->
| education =
| movement = (]<REF>] wasn't an active literary movement ''per se'' but an emerging new genre in Japan, informally grouping the first authors who decided to use it.</REF>)
| alma_mater = ] (withdrew)
|
| period = 1925 – 1932 <!--PUBLICATIONS-->
| influences = ], ], ], ], ]<!--FROM TRAVEL DIARY "The Narrow Road to the Deep North"--> <BR /> ], ], ]<REF>Stephen DODD, "Dark pleasures: Baudelaire in the work of KAJII Motojirō", 2005</REF>, ]<!--FOR "A Fly in Winter"-->, ]<!--FOR "The Ascension of K"-->, Western ]
| genre = Short story, ]
|
| subject = <!--NON-FICTION WRITERS ONLY-->
| influenced = Japanese ], ]<REF>Beatrice MARECHAL, , 2005, ''] 2005 Special Edition''</REF> (] and ] manga)
| movement = (]<ref>] wasn't an active literary movement ''per se'' but an emerging new genre in Japan, informally grouping the first authors who decided to use it.</ref>)
|
| notableworks = {{ubl|] (1925)|In a Castle Town (1925)|Winter Days (1927)|Flies of Winter (1928)|Beneath the Cherry Trees (1928)|The Scroll of Darkness (1930)|The Easygoing Patient (1932)}}
| relatives =
| awards =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| website = <!-- www.example.com -->
| portaldisp =
}} }}
{{nihongo|'''Motojirō Kajii'''|梶井 基次郎|Kajii Motojirō|also<!--NAMECHECKING VARIANTS FOR SEARCH ENGINES--> '''Motojirou Kajii,''' February 17, 1901 – March 24, 1932}} was a Japanese writer in the early ] known for his poetic short stories. Kajii's works included {{Nihongo|''Remon''|]||"]"}}, {{Nihongo|"Shiro no aru machi nite"|]||"In a Castle Town"}}. {{Nihongo|''Fuyu no hi''|]||"Winter Days"}} and {{Nihongo|''Sakura no ki no shita ni wa''|]||"Beneath the Cherry Trees"}}. His poetic works were praised by fellow writers including ] and ].<ref name="album">{{cite book |script-title=ja:新潮日本文学アルバム27 梶井基次郎|trans-title=Shincho Japanese literature Album 27 Motojirō Kajii|year= 1985| publisher= ]| language= ja}}</ref> Today his works are admired for their finely tuned self-observation and descriptive power.
{{Japanese name|Kajii}}


Despite the limited body of work he created during his short lifetime, Kajii has managed to leave a lasting footprint on Japanese culture. "Lemon" is a staple of literature textbooks.<ref name=kojima/> According to a report in major daily newspaper ], many high school students have emulated the protagonist's defiant act of leaving a lemon in the book section of Maruzen, a department store chain.<ref name=kojima>"&nbsp;I read an article about Maruzen closing its business in yesterday's Asahi Journal Evening Edition. It claims that many people are leaving lemons in the department store, just like the main character in Motojiro Kajii's short story titled LEMON. Coincidentally, I learned that many people are buying LEMON from the bookstore inside Maruzen. LEMON is featured in school textbooks; there aren't many Japanese who don't know the story. I am fond of the story myself. I learned the name Maruzen for the first time through LEMON. To be perfectly honest... I left a lemon in Maruzen when I was a high school student. My friend did the same. It must have been a nuisance for the people who worked there.&nbsp;" – ] (creator of the ] video games for ]), in the {{cite web |url=http://www.blog.konami.jp/gs/hideoblog_e/2005/10/000297.html |title=Sunday, 2 October 2005 entry of his English blog |access-date=2007-02-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070213010329/http://www.blog.konami.jp/gs/hideoblog_e/2005/10/000297.html |archive-date=February 13, 2007 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>"&nbsp;On October 10 Maruzen will close their Kyoto shop which is associated with this novel Lemon. After they announced their closure, store staff found lemons on the books. They had lemons before a few times in a year, but this year they have found 11 lemons already.&nbsp;" – Mari Kanazawa (notable Tokyo blogger), in the </ref> The opening line of "Under the Cherry Trees" (''Dead bodies are buried under the cherry trees!'') is popularly quoted<ref name="loveletter"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930075910/http://kenji.cnu.ac.kr/loveletter/sakura/hanami-2.htm |date=September 30, 2007 }}</ref> in reference to ], the Japanese custom of cherry blossom viewing.
{{nihongo|'''Motojirō Kajii'''|梶井 基次郎|Kajii Motojirō|sometimes written<!--NAMECHECKING VARIANTS FOR SEARCH ENGINES--> '''Motojirou Kajii''', ] ] - ] ]}} was a ]ese ] of the ]. He left masterpieces of poetic short stories such as "The Lemon", "Winter Days", and "Under the Cherry Trees". An obscure writer all his short life, his stories were praised by ] in several articles, and today his works are highly appreciated for his fine feelings.

As short his lifetime and body of work were, Kajii left a modest footprint on Japan's culture. His story "Lemon" being a staple of textbooks, many a high schooler emulated its protagonist's act of leaving a lemon in a department store<REF>"&nbsp;I read an article about Maruzen closing its business in yesterday's Asahi Journal Evening Edition. It claims that many people are leaving lemons in the department store, just like the main character in Motojiro Kajii's short story titled LEMON. Coincidentally, I learned that many people are buying LEMON from the bookstore inside Maruzen. LEMON is featured in school textbooks; there aren't many Japanese who don't know the story. I am fond of the story myself. I learned the name Maruzen for the first time through LEMON. To be perfectly honest... I left a lemon in Maruzen when I was a high school student. My friend did the same. It must have been a nuisance for the people who worked there.&nbsp;" – ] (creator of the ] video games for ]), in the </REF><REF>"&nbsp;On October 10th Maruzen will close their Kyoto shop which is associated with this novel Lemon. After they announced their closure, store staff found lemons on the books. They had lemons before a few times in a year, but this year they have found 11 lemons already.&nbsp;" – Mari Kanazawa (notable Tokyo blogger), in the </REF>. And his opening sentence {{Nihongo|"&nbsp;''Dead bodies are buried under the cherry trees!''&nbsp;"|桜の樹の下には屍体が埋まっている！|Sakura no ki no shita ni wa shitai ga umatte iru!}} is often quoted by Japanese people<REF NAME="loveletter"></REF> about the cherry-blossoms-watching custom of ].


==Biography== ==Biography==
===(1901-1924) Early life and education===


===Childhood and education (1901–1924)===
Motojirō Kajii was born in ] in 1901. He attended grade school in Tokyo from 1909-1911, middle school in Toba from 1911-1914, and high school in Osaka from 1914-1919. In September 1919, Kajii entered ]'s famous ] (Kyoto-Sanko, a ]); while a student there, he was diagnosed with pulmonary ] in 1920.
Kajii was born in ] in 1901. He attended primary school in Tokyo from 1910 to 1911, middle school in Toba from 1911 to 1913, and ] from 1914 to 1919. In September 1919, Kajii entered ]'s ] (Kyoto-Sanko, a ]), where his roommate was ].<ref name="Honma">{{cite web|last1=Honma|first1=Satoru|title=飯島正先生とその蔵書|url=http://www.wul.waseda.ac.jp/Libraries/fumi/38/38-2.html|website=Fumikura|publisher=Waseda University|access-date=29 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430045418/http://www.wul.waseda.ac.jp/Libraries/fumi/38/38-2.html|archive-date=April 30, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> While a student there in 1920, he was diagnosed with pulmonary ].


===(1924-1928) Launching his literary career=== ===Early literary career (1924–1928)===
In 1924, Kajii entered ], where he studied ]. Shortly, he planned for publish a literary coterie magazine {{Nihongo|''Aozora''|]||"Blue Sky"}}, with his friends from high school.


In 1925, {{Nihongo|''Remon''|]||"]"}} was published in ''Aozora'' first issue.
In 1924, Kajii entered the ] (where he majored in ]); there, he helped his old high school friends found a literary coterie magazine, ''Aozora'' (青空; "Blue Skies").


After relinquished a graduation, Kajii had been stayed in {{Nihongo|''Yugasima''|]||"Yugasima ]"}} on the ] between 1927 and 1928, hoping to recuperate. During that time, he visited the writer ], whom he befriended. The two writers would play ] together<ref>(op. cit.) Kajii & Kodama de Larroche, ''Le citron'', p. 13</ref> several times a week.
In 1925, he published the short story "The Lemon" in ''Aozora''.


After ''Aozora'' ceased publication in 1927, Kajii's works appeared in {{Nihongo|''Bungei Toshi''|文藝都市||"The Literary City"}}, another literary coterie magazine.
From 1927 to 1928, Kajii spent several times in ] on the ] for his health. At this time, he visited the famous writer ] and they became friends, playing ] together<REF>(op. cit.) Kajii & Kodama de Larroche, ''Le citron'', p. 13</REF> several times a week.


===Late career and death (1928–1932)===
After ''Aozora'' stopped publishing in 1927, he wrote in ''Bungei Toshi'' (文芸都市; "The Literary City"), another literary coterie magazine.
In September 1928, Kajii returned to ], where he spent a period of convalescence at home.


Sensing his impending death, friends including the poet ] and Ryūzō Yodono decided to publish his first book, a collection of his short stories titled ''Lemon'' in 1931.
===(1928-1932) Late career and death===


In 1932, he wrote his first novella, titled {{Nihongo|''Nonki na kanja''|のんきな患者||"The Easygoing Patient"}}. Its publication in '']'', which had commissioned the work, was Kajii's first in the commercial magazine.
In September 1928, Kajii returned to ] and rested at home.


On March 24, 1932, Kajii died of tuberculosis at age 31.
In 1931, his friends the famous poet ] and Ryūzō Yodono, sensing his death near, decided to publish his first book {{nihongo|''Lemon''|檸檬|Remon}}, a collection of his short stories.


==Bibliography==
In 1932, he wrote his first novella {{nihongo|"The Carefree Patient"|のんきな患者|Nonki na kanja}} for '']'' (中央公論), his first appearance in the commercial magazine, who had commissioned it.


===Works available in English translation===
But in ] ], tuberculosis took his life at age 31.


'''Monographs'''
==Bibliography==
* ''The Youth of Things: Life and Death in the Age of Kajii Motojiro'' (2014) - ed. Stephen Dodd ({{ISBN|978-0824838409}})
===Japanese===
* ''Lemon'' (2009) - trans. Chinatsu Komori and Kenneth Traynor ({{ISBN|978-0982438411}})
'''Anthologies'''
* "Mating" in ''The Shōwa Anthology'' (1984) - eds. Van C. Gessel and Tomone Matsumoto ({{ISBN|978-4770017086}})
* "Lemon" in ''The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories'' (1997) - ed. Theodore W. Goossen ({{ISBN|978-0199583195}})
* "Mire" in ''Tokyo Stories: A Literary Stroll'' (2002) - ed. Lawrence Rogers ({{ISBN|978-0520217881}})
* "Lemon" in ''The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature, Vol. 1'' (2005) - eds. J. Thomas Rimer and Van C. Gessel ({{ISBN|978-0231118613}})
* "The Lemon," "The Ascension of K, or His Death by Drowning," and "Feelings Atop a Cliff" in ''Modanizumu; Modernist Fiction from Japan, 1913-1938'' - ed. William Jefferson Tyler ({{ISBN|978-0824832421}})
* "Scenes of the Mind" in ''Three-Dimensional Reading: Stories of Time and Space in Japanese Modernist Fiction, 1911-1932'' - ed. Angela Yiu ({{ISBN|978-0824838010}})
'''Literary magazines'''
* "Beneath the Cherry Trees" tr. ] in ''The Japan P.E.N. News'' (1964)
* "A Musical Derangement" tr. Stephen Wechselblatt in ''New Orleans Review'' (1983)
* "The Ascension/Drowning of K" and "Lemon" with introduction "Translating Kajii Motojiro" tr. ] in '']'' (1996)
* "Under the Cherry Blossoms" tr. Bonnie Huie in ''The ]'' (2014)
'''Scholarly works'''
* ''Kajii Motojiro: An Anthology of Short Stories Translated into English'' (1977)
* ''Three Stories of Kajii Motojiro: A Study and Translation'' (1978)
* ''The Private World of Kajii Motojiro'' (1982)
* ''The Translator as Reader and Writer: English Versions of Japanese Short Fiction by Kajii Motojiro'' (1982)
'''Miscellaneous amateur translations on Internet (see external links below).'''


'''Translations into other languages {{As of|2007|lc=on}}'''
; Stories in magazines


* French: ''Le citron'' (1987, 1996) – partial translation of ''Remon'' (stories #1,8,9,10,11,13,16,18)
# {{nihongo|"The Lemon"|檸檬|Remon}} - January 1925
* Russian: ''Limon'' (2004) – full translation of ''Remon'' (stories #1–18)
# {{nihongo|"In a Castle Town"|城のある町にて|Shiro no aru machi nite}}
* German: ''Bildrolle der Finsternis'' (2023) – partial translation of ''Remon'' (stories #1,2,10,11,15,18,20)
# {{nihongo|"Mire"|泥濘|Deinei}} - 1925
# {{nihongo|"On the Road"|路上|Rojō}}
# {{nihongo|"The Past"|過古|Kako}}
# {{nihongo|"After a Snowfall"|雪後|Setsugo}}
# {{nihongo|"An Inner Landscape"|ある心の風景|Aru kokoro no fūkei}}
# {{nihongo|"The Ascension of K, or K's Drowning"|Kの昇天 - 或はKの溺死|K no shōten, aruiwa K no dekishi}} - October 1926
# {{nihongo|"Winter Days"|冬の日|Fuyu no hi}} - April 1927
# {{nihongo|"Under the Cherry Trees"|櫻の樹の下には|Sakura no ki no shita ni wa}} - December 1927
# {{nihongo|"Instrumental Hallucinations"|器樂的幻覺|Kigakuteki-genkaku}} - December 1927
# {{nihongo|"Azure"|蒼穹|Sōkyū}}
# {{nihongo|"Story of the Bamboo Water Pipe"|筧の話|Kakei no hanashi}} - December 1927
# {{nihongo|"Winter Flies" / "A Fly in Winter"|冬の蠅|Fuyu no hae}} - 1928
# {{nihongo|"The Feeling on the Bluff"|ある崖上の感情|Aru gake-ue no kanjō}} - July 1928
# {{nihongo|"Caress"|愛撫|Aibu}} - June 1930
# {{nihongo|"Scroll of Darkness"|闇の繪巻|Yami no emaki}} - 1930
# {{nihongo|"Mating"|交尾|Kōbi}} - January 1931
# {{nihongo|"The Carefree Patient"|のんきな患者|Nonki na kanja}} - 1932, novella


===List of works in original Japanese===
(Not listed are unpublished or unfinished stories, printed later in ''Complete Works''.)
'''Stories in magazines'''
# {{Nihongo|"Keikichi"|奎吉||"Keikichi"}} - May 1923
# {{Nihongo|"Mujun no yōna shinjitsu"|矛盾の様な真実||"The Truth like a Contradiction"}} - July 1923
# {{Nihongo|''Remon''|]||"]"}} – January 1925
# {{Nihongo|"Shiro no aru machi nite"|]||"In a Castle Town"}} - February 1925
# {{Nihongo|"Deinei"|泥濘||"Mire"}} - July 1925
# {{Nihongo|"Rojō"|路上||"On the Road"}} - October 1925
# {{Nihongo|"Tochi no hana"|橡の花||"]"}} - November 1925
# {{Nihongo|"Kako"|過古||"In the Past", "The Past"}} - January 1926
# {{Nihongo|"Setsugo"|雪後||"After the Snow"}} - June 1926
# {{Nihongo|"] Dai-yon tanpen-shū ''Shinjū'' wo shudai to seru variation"|]||"a Variation of Motif to {{Nihongo|"]"|]||"Love Suicides"}}, 4th Collection of ]'s Short stories"}} - July 1926
# {{Nihongo|"Aru kokoro no fūkei"|]||"A Landscape of the Soul", "Landscapes of the Heart"}} - August 1926
# {{Nihongo|"K no shōten – aruiwa K no dekishi"|]||"The Ascension of K, or K's Drowning", "The Ascension/Drowning of K"}} - October 1926
# {{Nihongo|''Fuyu no hi''|]||"Winter Days"}} - February, April 1927
# {{Nihongo|"Sōkyū"|]|"Blue Sky"}} - March 1928
# {{Nihongo|"Kakei no hanashi"|筧の話||"The Bamboo Pipe", "The Story of the Bamboo Pipe"}} – April 1928
# {{Nihongo|"Kigakuteki-genkaku"|]||"Instrumental Hallucinations", "A Musical Derangement", "Instrumental Illusions"}} – May 1928
# {{Nihongo|"Fuyu no hae"|]||"Flies of Winter", "Winter Flies"}} – May 1928
# {{Nihongo|"Aru gake-ue no kanjō"|]||"Feelings Atop a Cliff", "Certain Feelings on a Cliff Top"}} – July 1928
# {{Nihongo|''Sakura no ki no shita ni wa''|]||"Beneath the Cherry Trees", "Under the Cherry Trees"}} – December 1928
# {{Nihongo|"Aibu"|]||"Caress"}} – June 1930
# {{Nihongo|"Yami no emaki"|]||"The Scroll of Darkness", "Scroll of Darkness"}} – September 1930
# {{Nihongo|"Kōbi"|]||"Mating"}} – January 1931
# {{Nihongo|''Nonnki na kanja''|]||"The Easygoing Patient", "The Carefree Patient"}} – January 1932, novella


(Unpublished or unfinished works included in ''Complete Works'' are not listed above.)
; Books


'''Books'''
* {{nihongo|''Lemon''|檸檬|Remon}} - May 1931, collection (stories #1-18)
* {{Nihongo|''Remon''|]||"]"}} – May 1931, collection (stories #1–18)
*: ''-- posthumously --'' *: ''-- posthumously --''
* {{nihongo|''Kajii Motojirō Complete Works, Vol. 1''|梶井基次郎全集. 第1卷|Kajii Motojirō zenshū. Dai 1-kan}} - 1947 (ed. Takao Nakatani) Kyoto: Kōtō Shoin * {{Nihongo|''Kajii Motojirō zenshū (Jōge-kan)''|梶井基次郎全集 (上・下巻)||''Kajii Motojirō Complete Works, Vol.1 and 2''}} – 1934 (ed. Takao Nakatani, Ryūzō Yodono) Rokuhō Shoin
* {{nihongo|''Kajii Motojirō Complete Works, Vol. 2''|梶井基次郎全集. 第2卷|Kajii Motojirō zenshū. Dai 2-kan}} - 1948 (ed. Takao Nakatani) Kyoto: Kōtō Shoin * {{Nihongo|''Kajii Motojirō zenshū (Dai 1-kan)''|梶井基次郎全集 (第1卷)||''Kajii Motojirō Complete Works, Vol. 1''}} – 1947 (ed. Ryūzō Yodono) Kyoto: Kōtō Shoin
* {{Nihongo|''Kajii Motojirō zenshū (Dai 2-kan)''|梶井基次郎全集 (第2卷)||''Kajii Motojirō Complete Works, Vol. 2''}} – 1948 (ed. Ryūzō Yodono) Kyoto: Kōtō Shoin
* {{nihongo|"Letters of a Young Poet"|若き詩人の手紙|Wakaki shijin no tegami}} - 1955, selected correspondence (ed. Takao Nakatani)
* {{Nihongo|"Wakaki shijin no tegami"|若き詩人の手紙||"Letters of a Young Poet"}} – 1955, selected correspondence. 1955 (ed. Ryūzō Yodono) ]
* {{nihongo|''Kajii Motojirō Complete Works, Vol. 3''|梶井基次郎全集. 第3卷|Kajii Motojirō zenshū. Dai 3-kan}} - 1959 (ed. Takao Nakatani) Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō
* {{nihongo|''Kajii Motojirō Complete Works, Vol. 4''|梶井基次郎全集. 第4卷|Kajii Motojirō zenshū. Dai 4-kan}} - 2000 (ed. Sadami Suzuki) Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō * {{Nihongo|''Kettei-ban Kajii Motojirō zenshū (Zen 3-kan)''|決定版 梶井基次郎全集 (全3卷)||''Kajii Motojirō Complete Works Definitive edition, Vol. 1-3''}} – 1959 (ed. Ryūzō Yodono, Takao Nakatani) Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō. Reprinted in 1966.
* {{Nihongo|''Kajii Motojirō zenshū (Zen 3-kan＋Bekkan)''|梶井基次郎全集 (全3卷＋別巻)||''Kajii Motojirō Complete Works, Vol. 1-3 and supplementary''}} – 1999-2000 (ed. Sadami Suzuki) Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō


===Translations=== ==See also==
{{Portal|Novels|Japan}}

* ]
; English translations {{As of|2007|lc=on}}
* ]

No dedicated book, but some short stories scattered:

* In scholar papers, such as:
** ''Kajii Motojiro: an anthology of short stories translated into English'' (1977)
** ''Three stories of Kajii Motojiro: a study and translation'' (1978)
** ''The Private World of Kajii Motojiro'' (1982)
** ''The Translator as Reader and Writer: English versions of Japanese short fiction by Kajii Motojiro'' (1982)
* In magazines, such as:
** "Translating Kajii Motojiro - includes translation of two stories 'The Ascension/drowning of K' and 'The lemon'" in ''The Literary Review'' (1996)
* In anthologies, such as:
** "Mating" in ''The Shōwa Anthology'' (1984)
** "Lemon" in ''The Oxford book of Japanese short stories'' (1997)
** "Mire" in ''Tokyo stories: a literary stroll'' (2002)
** "Lemon" in ''The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature, Vol. 1'' (2005)
* In web pages, amateur translations on Internet (see external links below).

; Foreign translations {{As of|2007|lc=on}}

* French: ''Le citron'' (1987, 1996) - partial translation of ''Remon'' (stories #1,8,9,10,11,13,16,18)
* Russian: ''Limon'' (2004) - full translation of ''Remon'' (stories #1-18)

===Quotes===

* "&nbsp;Dead bodies are buried under the cherry trees! You have to believe it. Otherwise, you couldn't possibly explain the beauty of the cherry blossoms. I was restless, lately, because I couldn't believe in this beauty. But I have now finally understood: dead bodies are buried under the cherry trees! You have to believe it.&nbsp;"
*: – Motojirō Kajii, opening of "Under the Cherry Trees" (a popular<REF NAME="loveletter" /> Japanese quote, especially the first sentence)


==References== ==References==
; Sources consulted '''Sources consulted'''
<!--PLEASE LIST HERE THE MAIN BOOKS, MAGAZINES, OR REPUTABLE ONLINE SITES USED AS PRIMARY SOURCES FOR WRITING THE BULK OF THIS ARTICLE. AND USE TOPICAL ‹REF› .. ‹/REF› FOR CONTEXTUAL NOTES SOURCING SPECIAL DETAILS OR CONTROVERSIAL POINTS. THANKS. --> <!--PLEASE LIST HERE THE MAIN BOOKS, MAGAZINES, OR REPUTABLE ONLINE SITES USED AS PRIMARY SOURCES FOR WRITING THE BULK OF THIS ARTICLE. AND USE TOPICAL ‹REF› .. ‹/REF› FOR CONTEXTUAL NOTES SOURCING SPECIAL DETAILS OR CONTROVERSIAL POINTS. THANKS. -->


* KAJII, Motojiro (stories); KODAMA DE LARROCHE, Christine (translation, introduction). 1996. <U>''Le citron : nouvelles''</U> (second partial French translation of ''Remon''). Picquier poche. Arles, France: P. Picquier. ISBN 978-2-87730-277-7: pp. 7-22 (short biography). * Kajii, Motojiro (stories); Kodoma de Larroche, Christine (translation, introduction). 1996. ''Le citron : nouvelles'' (second partial French translation of ''Remon''). Picquier poche. Arles, France: P. Picquier. {{ISBN|978-2-87730-277-7}}: pp.&nbsp;7–22 (short biography).
* Matsuoka, Tatsuya. 2005. "An Encounter with Kajii Motojiro" (English version of his {{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}). JLLP (Japanese Literature Publishing Project). Tokyo, Japan: Japanese Literature Publishing and Promotion Center (Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan). Internet page ( at ]).


'''Endnotes'''
* MATSUOKA, Tatsuya. 2005. <U>"An Encounter with Kajii Motojiro"</U> (English version of his ). JLLP (Japanese Literature Publishing Project). Tokyo, Japan: Japanese Literature Publishing and Promotion Center (Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan). Internet page ( at ]).


{{Reflist}}
; Endnotes

{{reflist}}

==See also==
* ]
* ]


==External links== ==External links==
; General '''General reference'''
* at Griffe - World's Literature * at Griffe – World's Literature
*

* {{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} – the basis for "In a Castle Town"
; Reviews
* (mp3)
* in ''Bohème Magazine'' (July 2004)
*


'''Translations available online (includes amateur translations)'''
; Amateur translations<!--ALPHABETICALLY BY STORY TITLE, EXCLUDING "THE"--> (original texts are public domain)
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Motojirō Kajii}}
* {{Librivox author |id=3096}}
* (tr. Tony Gonzalez) * (tr. Tony Gonzalez)
* (tr. Morgan Giles)
* (tr. Ursula Owen)
* (tr. Morgan Giles)
* and (tr. Ursula Owen)
* plus (tr. C Seu) * (tr. Ursula Owen)
* and (tr. Ursula Owen)
* plus (tr. C Seu)
* (tr. Stephen Wechselblatt) in ''New Orleans Review'' (Summer/Fall 1983 Issue)
* (tr. Bonnie Huie) at ''The ]''
* (tr. Alexander Specht)
'''Reviews'''
* in ''Bohème Magazine'' (July 2004)


{{Authority control}}
; Misc
* - the basis for "In a Castle Town"
* (mp3)
*


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Latest revision as of 23:12, 29 May 2024

Japanese writer (1901–1932)

Motojirō Kajii
梶井 基次郎
Motojirō at garden of his brother's house in Kawabe District, Hyōgo (January 1931)Motojirō at garden of his brother's house in Kawabe District, Hyōgo (January 1931)
Born(1901-02-17)February 17, 1901
Nishi-ku, Osaka, Japan
DiedMarch 24, 1932(1932-03-24) (aged 31)
Oji-cho, Sumiyoshi-ku (now:Abeno-ku), Osaka
Resting placeMinami-ku (now:Chūō-ku), Osaka
OccupationWriter
LanguageJapanese
Alma materUniversity of Tokyo (withdrew)
Period1925 – 1932
GenreShort story, Prose poetry
Literary movement(I-Novel)
Notable works
  • Lemon (1925)
  • In a Castle Town (1925)
  • Winter Days (1927)
  • Flies of Winter (1928)
  • Beneath the Cherry Trees (1928)
  • The Scroll of Darkness (1930)
  • The Easygoing Patient (1932)

Motojirō Kajii (梶井 基次郎, Kajii Motojirō, also Motojirou Kajii, February 17, 1901 – March 24, 1932) was a Japanese writer in the early Shōwa period known for his poetic short stories. Kajii's works included Remon (檸檬, "Lemon"), "Shiro no aru machi nite" (城のある町にて, "In a Castle Town"). Fuyu no hi (冬の日, "Winter Days") and Sakura no ki no shita ni wa (櫻の樹の下には, "Beneath the Cherry Trees"). His poetic works were praised by fellow writers including Yasunari Kawabata and Yukio Mishima. Today his works are admired for their finely tuned self-observation and descriptive power.

Despite the limited body of work he created during his short lifetime, Kajii has managed to leave a lasting footprint on Japanese culture. "Lemon" is a staple of literature textbooks. According to a report in major daily newspaper Asahi Shimbun, many high school students have emulated the protagonist's defiant act of leaving a lemon in the book section of Maruzen, a department store chain. The opening line of "Under the Cherry Trees" (Dead bodies are buried under the cherry trees!) is popularly quoted in reference to hanami, the Japanese custom of cherry blossom viewing.

Biography

Childhood and education (1901–1924)

Kajii was born in Osaka in 1901. He attended primary school in Tokyo from 1910 to 1911, middle school in Toba from 1911 to 1913, and Osaka Prefectural Kitano High School from 1914 to 1919. In September 1919, Kajii entered Kyoto's Third Higher School (Kyoto-Sanko, a junior college), where his roommate was Tadashi Iijima. While a student there in 1920, he was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Early literary career (1924–1928)

In 1924, Kajii entered Tokyo Imperial University, where he studied English literature. Shortly, he planned for publish a literary coterie magazine Aozora (青空, "Blue Sky"), with his friends from high school.

In 1925, Remon (檸檬, "Lemon") was published in Aozora first issue.

After relinquished a graduation, Kajii had been stayed in Yugasima (湯ヶ島, "Yugasima Onsen") on the Izu Peninsula between 1927 and 1928, hoping to recuperate. During that time, he visited the writer Yasunari Kawabata, whom he befriended. The two writers would play go together several times a week.

After Aozora ceased publication in 1927, Kajii's works appeared in Bungei Toshi (文藝都市, "The Literary City"), another literary coterie magazine.

Late career and death (1928–1932)

In September 1928, Kajii returned to Osaka, where he spent a period of convalescence at home.

Sensing his impending death, friends including the poet Tatsuji Miyoshi and Ryūzō Yodono decided to publish his first book, a collection of his short stories titled Lemon in 1931.

In 1932, he wrote his first novella, titled Nonki na kanja (のんきな患者, "The Easygoing Patient"). Its publication in Chūōkōron, which had commissioned the work, was Kajii's first in the commercial magazine.

On March 24, 1932, Kajii died of tuberculosis at age 31.

Bibliography

Works available in English translation

Monographs

  • The Youth of Things: Life and Death in the Age of Kajii Motojiro (2014) - ed. Stephen Dodd (ISBN 978-0824838409)
  • Lemon (2009) - trans. Chinatsu Komori and Kenneth Traynor (ISBN 978-0982438411)

Anthologies

  • "Mating" in The Shōwa Anthology (1984) - eds. Van C. Gessel and Tomone Matsumoto (ISBN 978-4770017086)
  • "Lemon" in The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories (1997) - ed. Theodore W. Goossen (ISBN 978-0199583195)
  • "Mire" in Tokyo Stories: A Literary Stroll (2002) - ed. Lawrence Rogers (ISBN 978-0520217881)
  • "Lemon" in The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature, Vol. 1 (2005) - eds. J. Thomas Rimer and Van C. Gessel (ISBN 978-0231118613)
  • "The Lemon," "The Ascension of K, or His Death by Drowning," and "Feelings Atop a Cliff" in Modanizumu; Modernist Fiction from Japan, 1913-1938 - ed. William Jefferson Tyler (ISBN 978-0824832421)
  • "Scenes of the Mind" in Three-Dimensional Reading: Stories of Time and Space in Japanese Modernist Fiction, 1911-1932 - ed. Angela Yiu (ISBN 978-0824838010)

Literary magazines

  • "Beneath the Cherry Trees" tr. John Bester in The Japan P.E.N. News (1964)
  • "A Musical Derangement" tr. Stephen Wechselblatt in New Orleans Review (1983)
  • "The Ascension/Drowning of K" and "Lemon" with introduction "Translating Kajii Motojiro" tr. Alfred Birnbaum in The Literary Review (1996)
  • "Under the Cherry Blossoms" tr. Bonnie Huie in The Brooklyn Rail (2014)

Scholarly works

  • Kajii Motojiro: An Anthology of Short Stories Translated into English (1977)
  • Three Stories of Kajii Motojiro: A Study and Translation (1978)
  • The Private World of Kajii Motojiro (1982)
  • The Translator as Reader and Writer: English Versions of Japanese Short Fiction by Kajii Motojiro (1982)

Miscellaneous amateur translations on Internet (see external links below).

Translations into other languages as of 2007

  • French: Le citron (1987, 1996) – partial translation of Remon (stories #1,8,9,10,11,13,16,18)
  • Russian: Limon (2004) – full translation of Remon (stories #1–18)
  • German: Bildrolle der Finsternis (2023) – partial translation of Remon (stories #1,2,10,11,15,18,20)

List of works in original Japanese

Stories in magazines

  1. "Keikichi" (奎吉, "Keikichi") - May 1923
  2. "Mujun no yōna shinjitsu" (矛盾の様な真実, "The Truth like a Contradiction") - July 1923
  3. Remon (檸檬, "Lemon") – January 1925
  4. "Shiro no aru machi nite" (城のある町にて, "In a Castle Town") - February 1925
  5. "Deinei" (泥濘, "Mire") - July 1925
  6. "Rojō" (路上, "On the Road") - October 1925
  7. "Tochi no hana" (橡の花, "Aesculus") - November 1925
  8. "Kako" (過古, "In the Past", "The Past") - January 1926
  9. "Setsugo" (雪後, "After the Snow") - June 1926
  10. "Kawabata Yasunari Dai-yon tanpen-shū Shinjū wo shudai to seru variation" (川端康成第四短篇集「心中」を主題とせるヴァリエイシヨン, "a Variation of Motif to "Shinjū" (心中, "Love Suicides"), 4th Collection of Yasunari Kawabata's Short stories") - July 1926
  11. "Aru kokoro no fūkei" (ある心の風景, "A Landscape of the Soul", "Landscapes of the Heart") - August 1926
  12. "K no shōten – aruiwa K no dekishi" (Kの昇天 – 或はKの溺死, "The Ascension of K, or K's Drowning", "The Ascension/Drowning of K") - October 1926
  13. Fuyu no hi (冬の日, "Winter Days") - February, April 1927
  14. "Sōkyū" (蒼穹, "Blue Sky") - March 1928
  15. "Kakei no hanashi" (筧の話, "The Bamboo Pipe", "The Story of the Bamboo Pipe") – April 1928
  16. "Kigakuteki-genkaku" (器樂的幻覺, "Instrumental Hallucinations", "A Musical Derangement", "Instrumental Illusions") – May 1928
  17. "Fuyu no hae" (冬の蠅, "Flies of Winter", "Winter Flies") – May 1928
  18. "Aru gake-ue no kanjō" (ある崖上の感情, "Feelings Atop a Cliff", "Certain Feelings on a Cliff Top") – July 1928
  19. Sakura no ki no shita ni wa (櫻の樹の下には, "Beneath the Cherry Trees", "Under the Cherry Trees") – December 1928
  20. "Aibu" (愛撫, "Caress") – June 1930
  21. "Yami no emaki" (闇の繪巻, "The Scroll of Darkness", "Scroll of Darkness") – September 1930
  22. "Kōbi" (交尾, "Mating") – January 1931
  23. Nonnki na kanja (のんきな患者, "The Easygoing Patient", "The Carefree Patient") – January 1932, novella

(Unpublished or unfinished works included in Complete Works are not listed above.)

Books

  • Remon (檸檬, "Lemon") – May 1931, collection (stories #1–18)
    -- posthumously --
  • Kajii Motojirō zenshū (Jōge-kan) (梶井基次郎全集 (上・下巻), Kajii Motojirō Complete Works, Vol.1 and 2) – 1934 (ed. Takao Nakatani, Ryūzō Yodono) Rokuhō Shoin
  • Kajii Motojirō zenshū (Dai 1-kan) (梶井基次郎全集 (第1卷), Kajii Motojirō Complete Works, Vol. 1) – 1947 (ed. Ryūzō Yodono) Kyoto: Kōtō Shoin
  • Kajii Motojirō zenshū (Dai 2-kan) (梶井基次郎全集 (第2卷), Kajii Motojirō Complete Works, Vol. 2) – 1948 (ed. Ryūzō Yodono) Kyoto: Kōtō Shoin
  • "Wakaki shijin no tegami" (若き詩人の手紙, "Letters of a Young Poet") – 1955, selected correspondence. 1955 (ed. Ryūzō Yodono) Kadokawa Shoten
  • Kettei-ban Kajii Motojirō zenshū (Zen 3-kan) (決定版 梶井基次郎全集 (全3卷), Kajii Motojirō Complete Works Definitive edition, Vol. 1-3) – 1959 (ed. Ryūzō Yodono, Takao Nakatani) Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō. Reprinted in 1966.
  • Kajii Motojirō zenshū (Zen 3-kan＋Bekkan) (梶井基次郎全集 (全3卷＋別巻), Kajii Motojirō Complete Works, Vol. 1-3 and supplementary) – 1999-2000 (ed. Sadami Suzuki) Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō

See also

References

Sources consulted

  • Kajii, Motojiro (stories); Kodoma de Larroche, Christine (translation, introduction). 1996. Le citron : nouvelles (second partial French translation of Remon). Picquier poche. Arles, France: P. Picquier. ISBN 978-2-87730-277-7: pp. 7–22 (short biography).
  • Matsuoka, Tatsuya. 2005. "An Encounter with Kajii Motojiro" (English version of his Japanese notice). JLLP (Japanese Literature Publishing Project). Tokyo, Japan: Japanese Literature Publishing and Promotion Center (Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan). Internet page (snapshot at WebCite).

Endnotes

  1. I-Novel wasn't an active literary movement per se but an emerging new genre in Japan, informally grouping the first authors who decided to use it.
  2. 新潮日本文学アルバム27 梶井基次郎 [Shincho Japanese literature Album 27 Motojirō Kajii] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. 1985.
  3. ^ " I read an article about Maruzen closing its business in yesterday's Asahi Journal Evening Edition. It claims that many people are leaving lemons in the department store, just like the main character in Motojiro Kajii's short story titled LEMON. Coincidentally, I learned that many people are buying LEMON from the bookstore inside Maruzen. LEMON is featured in school textbooks; there aren't many Japanese who don't know the story. I am fond of the story myself. I learned the name Maruzen for the first time through LEMON. To be perfectly honest... I left a lemon in Maruzen when I was a high school student. My friend did the same. It must have been a nuisance for the people who worked there. " – Hideo Kojima (creator of the Metal Gear Solid video games for Konami), in the "Sunday, 2 October 2005 entry of his English blog". Archived from the original on February 13, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
  4. " On October 10 Maruzen will close their Kyoto shop which is associated with this novel Lemon. After they announced their closure, store staff found lemons on the books. They had lemons before a few times in a year, but this year they have found 11 lemons already. " – Mari Kanazawa (notable Tokyo blogger), in the Monday, October 03, 2005 entry "A lemon on books" of her English blog "Watashi to Tokyo – Me and Tokyo"
  5. "Why is the Cherry Blossom (Sakura) cherished?" Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Honma, Satoru. "飯島正先生とその蔵書". Fumikura. Waseda University. Archived from the original on April 30, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  7. (op. cit.) Kajii & Kodama de Larroche, Le citron, p. 13

External links

General reference

Translations available online (includes amateur translations)

Reviews

Categories: