UEDA AKINARI (1734-1809): SCHOLAR, POET, WHITER OF FICTION by Blake Morgan Young B.A., University of Alberta, 1966 M.A., University of British Columbia, 1969 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of Asian Studies We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA February, 1976 (c) Bit J :o r.or.;:s"! Youn-":, l°7o In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements f( an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree tha the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of /i>,,an Sti<<Itt± The University of British Columbia 2075 Wesbrook Place Vancouver, Canada V6T 1W5 Date 3o lh,;). )"/ 76 ABSTRACT Ueda Akinari was born in Osaka in 1734 to an unwed mother but, adopted by a prosperous merchant who lived nearby, he grew up in well- to-do circumstances in the commercial center of eighteenth-century Japan* His temperament inclined him toward literature and scholarship, but the more utilitarian values of the merchant class in which he was raised led to an inner conflict that he resolved, if at all, only during the last few years of his life* When his adoptive father died in 1761 he dutifully took over the family business, but continued his literary activities on the side, and when the shop was destroyed by fire in 1771 he made no attempt to rebuild it* For the next few years he trained as a physician, and began his own medical practice in 1776* This new occupation was more compatible with his literary avocations, but in 1787 a combination of failing health and dissatisfaction with his work drove him to retire and devote his full time to study and writing* In spite of poverty,.failing eyesight, worsening health, and a nagging conscience over doing nothing productive, he continued this way of life until his death in Kyoto in 1809. His reputation today rests almost entirely on Ugetsu monogatari. a collection of ghostly tales that he published in 1776, just shortly after becoming a physician* Although it represents only a fraction of his total output, it has so outshone all his other writings that few people associate his name with anything else, and the average person tends to think of him as an inveterate romantic, obsessed with magic and the occult* This study is an attempt to broaden that view; to create a portrait of the total man based on his own statements and the -ii- comments of those who knew him, and to show the nature and variety of his major works* Akinari first broke into literary circles In his late teens, writ• ing haiku poetry. In his early thirties he produced two collections of humorous stories about the townsman class, which sold well when they appeared and are now generally regarded as the last significant utefly^-pijlflfrfl to be written. Gradually, however, he was steered away from popular literature toward more serious pursuits. Uaetsu was his attempt to recreate the beauty of Japanese classical literature in contemporary fiction. After completing it he concentrated on studying the old masterpieces and writing commentaries on them. He had tried his hand at waka verse early in his career, and after moving to Kyoto in 1793 he became quite active in the capital's poetry circles for a time. He also practiced the art of preparing tea, and fashioned tea vessels of his own design. Having a strict and moralistic outlook, he deplored frivolity and hypocrisy, but saw that the world was full of such vices. Unable to compromise his principles, he constantly felt alienated from society, enjoying the companionship of just a few close friends. Far from be• ing a dreamer, he was meticulously rationalistic, insisting on evidence for all of his conclusions* Resolute in his own convictions, he en• gaged in a prolonged dispute with Motoori Norinaga, perhaps the fore• most scholar of the day, condemning the man's indifference to logic* His views on society and the meaning of life were expressed in both satirical sketches and straightforward statements. In Harusame mono- gatarl. his last major work, he used the medium of fiction to sum up -iii- hls views on ancient Japanese history, scholarship, literature, reli• gion, ethics, morality, and the nature of man* In his writings, as in his personal life, he stood alone, proudly independent* He drew in• spiration from many sources, but refused to adhere to any one teacher or school, and though he has influenced generations of younger writers, there are none who can be called his disciples* In a country where people traditionally find their identity within their peer group, Aki- nari to the end zealously remained an individual. -iv- TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract. ••••••••••••••••.1 Abbreviations. .v Introduction* •• *1 I. Aklnari'e Birth and Early Life 4 II. The Beginnings of a Literary Career..... I........31 III* Kashima-mura ........70 IV. TJgetsu monogatari 86 V* The Scholar-Physician of Osaka 125 VI* The Quail's Abode .........169 VII. Kyoto.. 197 VIII. The Final Years * 222 Bibliography 275 -V- ABBREVIATIONS The following' abbreviations are used in footnote references and in the bibliography* ' HJAS—-Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies J AS—Journal of Asian Studies JK--Josh^al kofofrun, i ^ KBKKK—Kokubungaku kalshaku to kyozai no kenkyu ||) JC:^ ^ £. KK—Kokugo kokubun 1^1 & $ £_ KKB—Kokugo to kokubungaku gT$^ £ |^Xf KKK—Kokubungaku kalshaku to kansho fy^f $f jfiZ'ttyk^ KZ--Kokueakuin zasshi $ f • ft # !& MN—Monumenta Hibponica MB—Hlhon bungakn $ NKBT—Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei &/h& $ K%f^h INTRODUCTION He was the outstanding popular author in Japan between the Genroku and Bunka-Bunsei Eras, but he was not merely a link in the chain from Saikaku to Bakin. He was a dedicated student of the Japanese classics, yet he does not really fit into the scholarly pedigree from Keichu to Hirata Ateutane. He strove for excellence in poetry writing, but his work does not belong to any particular school. Whatever the pursuit, he maintained his independence, refusing to be bound by traditions. He stands alone and unique in all of his intellectual and literary en• deavors. His personal life was much the same. Though it spanned the retrenchment of the Kyoho Reform, the laxness and extravagance of the Tanuma administration, and the new/ retrenchment of the Kansei Reform, his writings show little evidence that he felt affected by the politi• cal and economic events of his time, or was even aware of them. Through it all, he refused to follow the trends in society but tried to live according to his own precepts. He never attained the recognition he sought as a scholar and poet, but he inadvertently achieved fame because of a collection of nine short stories. He was outspokenly rationalistic, and intolerant of those who were not, yet he was also quite superstitious~and again in• tolerant of those who scoffed. He suffered from an inferiority com• plex, but he did not hesitate to challenge Japan's leading intellects. He scorned wealth and material possessions for himself, but experienced acute feelings of guilt at being unable to provide such things for his family. He was known as a misanthropic recluse, yet he loved his wife, was fond of children, and often stayed up all night talking to friends. His parents' Identity Is uncertain, and he left no descendents; he was born in an Osaka brothel and died penniless, thinking himself a failure, yet his name had already become widely known during his lifetime and has survived the more than century and a.half since his death. If, as Westerners have long maintained, Japan is a nation of con• tradictions, then Ueda Akinari was a true product of his homeland. He has been widely misunderstood even by his fellow countrymen. But the contradictions in his life must be recognized and accepted, for they are all true aspects of the total man. When I first set out to prepare this biography my intention was to focus my attention on Akinari's life story, with only passing refer• ence to his writings. However, as the task progressed, I became con• vinced that it was neither desirable nor, in the long run, possible to consider a writer apart from his works. At the same time I realized that commenting in detail upon all of his works would not only become an endless task, but would ultimately overshadow the biographical em• phasis of this study. The compromise solution was to be selective, and that is what I have done. To a degree my choice has been arbi• trary. The works discussed are those which I myself liked, and which I personally considered most interesting and relevant to a Western audience. I have virtually ignored some of his major scholarly works, feeling that they were not very meaningful apart from study of the Japanese classics that they explicate, while his literary works can be enjoyed on their own merits. Another point that I came to realize is that much of the mlsunder- -3- standing about Aklnarl has been lack of sound evidence. I had resolved to dig down to the facts and meticulously separate verifiable truth from speculation. Often, however, I found that I could do no more than identify conjecture as such.