Xu Jingbo
[Editor's Note] There are many interesting towns in Japan that are worth savoring. This is true for Tsuwano. It is located in Shimane Prefecture on the coast of Japan's coast in western Japan. It has a population of only more than 6,000. It has beautiful natural scenery and retains the quaint charm of in the Edo period. At the same time, there are many talents here, and it is a beautiful place. It is as famous as Natsume Soseki and Akutagawa Ryunosuke . It is known as one of the three great writers of modern Japanese literature. It was born here.
This year marks the 550th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. On this occasion, the Pengpai News Private Geography Column invited Fudan University Japan Research Center Professor Xu Jingbo led readers to travel to Japan to understand the historical and cultural origins of China and Japan through the perspective of cultural scholars.
is mainly geographically remote. Most Chinese people rarely get involved in this place. If I hadn't lived in Yamaguchi City for three months, I wouldn't have made a special trip from the metropolis to visit this small mountain town.
One Saturday morning in late summer and early autumn, I rode my bicycle to Yamaguchi City Railway Station, took a train with only one car (called a tram in Japan) from Yamaguchi, and after more than an hour's journey, I arrived at Tsuwano.
Tsuwano is located at the southwest end of Shimae Prefecture, which is relatively close to Yamaguchi Prefecture, but the surrounding area is somewhat deserted. Within a radius of thirty or forty kilometers, there is almost no decent town. On the way, half of the way was covered with mountains and steep cliffs and dense forests made the light in the car much darker. Although half of them were rice fields and streams, they were still sparsely populated. Maybe it was still early, and there were only a few people getting off the bus with me. After leaving the station, the streets with unique styles were almost empty except for the cars that occasionally drove by.
But what I want is exactly what it feels like.
Silent Tsukono Street Xu Jingbo Picture
Tsukono was established in 1889. Its development started from the Castle Town in 1295, and then flourished in the Edo period. Because of its remote location, the war was prevented from being stormed, and most of the Edo-era houses were preserved intact. The entire town is narrow and long, located at the bottom of the valley, and a river called "Tsugiwano River" runs through the block. The so-called blocks are two streets along the river, but they are very affectionate. The houses are almost all pink walls and black tiles, which are a bit similar to the houses in Jiangnan, but they are repaired a little too neatly. There are tall telephone poles standing along the street, which inevitably reduces the old charm. The lintel of the house is engraved with words such as "Huaquan Wine Made" and "Yi Nagaki Miya Store", which preserves the store layout of the Edo era in the past. At the entrance, there are mostly curtains that can be lifted from both sides. The shop number is written in white on the background of the navy blue, which is called "warm flake" in Japanese, and some lanterns are hung under the eaves, which makes it more romantic.
Town Office (the original Japanese text is "town office", which is equivalent to the Chinese town government, but the Japanese word government generally only refers to the central government. Local prefectures and counties and cities and villages are both called autonomous bodies. Here we will translate it as a relatively old-school town office). The area around the entire neighborhood is the essence of the entire neighborhood. But don't think that the town hall is a luxurious building. As is common here, the town hall here is set up in an old house, with pure wood building without any color, and is simple and tidy. It was originally a residence of the upper samurai in the Edo period, but now it has been properly protected and reasonably utilized. There is no office work on Saturday, but the door is still open and people can enter and exit freely. The rich trees in the yard remind people that the history of this old house has been at least for centuries.
Similar to this old house, there are many places such as "Duohu Family Watch Door" and "Aged Career Hall" on the street. The nursing home was first built in 1786. After it was burned in 1853, it was moved to its current location the following year. It was an official school opened by local vassal lords during the Edo period. It teaches the Four Books and Five Classics and Zhu Zixue. It still has the sword art temple and library of the past, but it has now been changed to a folk museum.The photos I took were built in 1971. Later, the building was demolished and rebuilt and completed in 2019. I think the architecture of the Edo period has the legacy of the Song Dynasty in China, and it is more attractive without the style of flying eaves and tiles.
The local vassal school "retirement center" in the Edo period, Western Zhou received education here in the early years. Xu Jingbo Picture
Interestingly, beside these quaint houses, under the lush trees, there is actually a Gothic steeplechase. Although it is not large in scale, it is quite eye-catching. This church was built in 1931. What is unusual is that the house is tatami , and you must take off your shoes when entering the door. After all, this place is inland in Japan, and foreign things have to be transformed into Japan when they arrive here.
The old church in Tsukono Xu Jingbo Picture
The finishing touch is a canal built along the pink wall. The canal is a bit unscenery, but it is actually the streams on the mountain into the city. It is purely flowing clear living water. Sand and gravel are laid underneath, and aquatic plants are planted. Dozens of colorful koi are planted in the water, and swimming freely in the water. A section of the area here has buried wires underground, so it feels a bit old and pale.
The canal of koi swimming on the street Xu Jingbo Picture
Although the street scene is intoxicating, it is not where I will eventually visit. Tsuwano's reputation is also due to the fact that there were two famous cultural people in the Meiji period. One was the Western Zhou Dynasty (1829-1897), which was famous for its enlightenment thinkers in the early days, and the other was the Great Bunhausen Ouwai (1862-1922), which shone in the history of modern Japanese literature.
There are probably not many people who remember him today in the Western Zhou Dynasty. The Western Zhou Dynasty was originally from an old-style doctor family. He had studied in the "Labor and Nursing House" mentioned above. Later, he left his closed hometown and came to Edo (replaced into Tokyo in 1869), studied hard in English. In 1856, he entered the vassal school opened by the shogunate. The Fanshu Institute was located in 1855, shortly after the country was opened in Japan. It was somewhat similar to the Tongwenguan opened in 1862 in the late Qing Dynasty. It was later renamed the Foreign Book Institute and later became Kaicheng School. It was one of the parent bodies of the founding of the University of Tokyo in 1877. In 1862, the Western Zhou Dynasty went to study in the Netherlands with others to study philosophy and law, and was considered an early Japanese person who opened his eyes in the West. After returning to China in 1865, he first served as a professor at Kaisei School (then called Kaisei Institute). The following year, he also served as the political consultant of the last general of the Edo Shogunate Tokugawa Keiki .
In the early days of Japan, the Western Zhou Dynasty was famous for its enlightenment thinker. Wikipedia Picture
At that time, the Western Zhou Dynasty was famous for advocating Western learning. Together with Fukuzawa Yukiki, he participated in the enlightenment community initiated by Mori Yuri , which had studied in the United Kingdom and the United States. He wrote works such as "Hundred and New Theory" and "Enlightenment of Knowledge". He opened a window to the Japanese in the early Meiji period and translated the word "philosophy" in Western language into the new Chinese word "philosophy", which was later widely used in the East Asian world.
But the Western Zhou Dynasty was fundamentally a very conservative person. He supported the autocratic emperor system and opposed the freedom and civil rights movement that flourished later under the agitation of the Enlightenment thought. Later, the "Soldiers' Admonition" and "Soldiers' Imperial Remarks" that had a huge negative impact in modern Japan were drafted by him.
The long river of history is surging, and a hundred years are fleeting, and the merits and demerits of thousands of years have gradually become blurred in people's memories. Today, in Tianjin, there is still a former residence of his. Holding the map and following the map, I walked through a secluded alley, crossed a simple wooden bridge on the Tsuno River, and turned into a small path. I could see that there was a thatched roof at the foot of the mountain, isolated by the river, and I was the only one around me. This is where I have lived in the Western Zhou Dynasty for 21 years. Apart from a stone tablet, I can only hear the rustling wind coming from the woods, and the surroundings are cold.
The former residence of the Western Zhou Dynasty Xu Jingbo Picture
Compared with the Western Zhou Dynasty, Senou is more popular outside. Although it is not a luxurious mansion, it has a more refined courtyard with a brown tiled roof on the yak walls.There is a woman who is a little older in the house. As a volunteer, she enthusiastically explained to the visitors about Mori Ouwai's deeds when she was a teenager. Those who come to the house can invest a few coins according to their wishes.
I squatted down to chat with the woman. I learned that she was a local and came here to serve visitors completely voluntarily. She was very happy that she had produced such a great writer in her hometown. As we approach the old residence, a memorial hall outside the Sengu was built, which is a two-story building with a glass wall, which seems to be too modern, and there are many old things displayed inside that are worth viewing. In the history of modern Japanese literature, Mori Ouwa is a brilliant existence that stands with Natsume Soseki. Almost all Japanese literature history call him and Natsume Soseki the "two gems" in modern Japanese literature.
Songou's old house. Naogen County Tourism Official Website Photo
1862, Mori Ou Wai was born in this house. His father was an imperial physician of the local vassal lord. Such a family was probably considered middle-level or above at that time. Interestingly, Mori Ouwai is not actually a professional writer. His official career is a military doctor. He is a regular medical major. He also went to Germany to study hygiene. After returning to China, he has been working in the army and has been promoted to the director of the military doctor and the director of the military department. He has written many medical works. However, what is remembered more is his achievements in the ideological and literary circles.
Mori Ouwa Memorial Hall Touke County Tourism Official Website Photo
During his study in Germany, Mori Ouwa came into contact with European literature, philosophy and art. He was one of the first people to translate poems from Goethe, Shelley , Byron and other poems to Japan. His foreign poetry collection "Yu Mo Ying" (launched in 1889) is considered to be the mother fetus in which Japanese new style poetry was born. He was also one of the first pioneers to introduce various European literary theories to Japan. The novel " Dancer " is his famous work in creation. Later, he tried various subjects and made outstanding achievements. Although there are few long and blockbusters, it has a huge impact on his contemporaries and future generations. The novel "Geese" and others are still regarded as classics by people, and some have been brought to the screen many times.
Modern Japanese Bunhausen Wave Wikipedia Picture
But it is such a seemingly completely Europeanized character who actually left behind 224 Chinese poems in his life. In the collection of translated poems "Yu Moying", there are 6 poems that are completely translated in Chinese style. Unlike Natsume Soseki, Mori Osawa often sang with Han poets when he was outside the world, and often published poems in the Han poetry magazine "Taisho Poetry". Although the "Diary of the West Airlines" he wrote in Chinese in his early years was not as exciting as Natsume Soseki's "Trunk Record", it was also fluent and smooth, and it was quite easy to read. Here you might as well quote a paragraph:
" August 31st. Arrived in Hong Kong at 10:00 pm. The lights are uneven. It is getting closer and closer. It is slightly similar to Kobe . It rains suddenly at night, and stays in a boat. It arrives here from Yokohama , about 1,600 nautical miles. I got two miscellaneous poems in the boat. It is not like being busy at home in the boat. I sleep in front of the window and recognize the dawn. The bells clamored me a few times, and I recommend a cup of fragrance. The mountains and seas are wrong. The jade is piled up, recalling the cold kitchen slid alone. A slave swayed his double fans and sent a cool air from my head. In the West Canteen, where the table is, two zippers are hung down and wrapped in white cloth. Each zipper is tied to the slave. If one is tight and the other is relaxed, the zippers will shake, like a fan. The so-called double fans in the poem are. Later, I saw that the Hong Kong Guest House and the hospital for rest also set it up. "
The novel "Dance Girl" is a famous work by Mori Ou in his external creation. Tooke Prefecture Tourism Official Website Picture
or above is a diary on the boat when Mori Ou left Japan by boat through Hong Kong to study in Germany in 1884. Another poem by his later years (1915) "Birthday of Chunshan Husband":
The quiet house is close to the palace city, and the beautiful trees are thick in shade. The life expectancy of the 100-year-old universe is tested, and the rain is famous for the pillars and stones. It is said that the handsome man is full of crowns and dresses, and the beautiful woman is in a gentle mood. Seeing the harmony before this banquet, I forgot that he was fighting overseas.
Tsubasa's husband refers to Yuto Yama Prefecture, who was in charge of the military and political power of Japan during the Meiji period. This poem is a birthday celebration. It uses many Chinese allusions in the poem, which shows that he has a lot of attainments in this area.Senouwai has been in the officialdom almost all his life, and interacting with nobles and nobles is naturally a daily homework. His Chinese poems are somewhat different from Natsume Soseki. Those who express personal emotions cannot be considered mainstream, but are more of them suitable works in the officialdom. Therefore, his Chinese poems have never been highly praised. It can be seen from this that even after the Meiji Restoration of , in Japan where the west wind is becoming increasingly fierce, some literati who study in the West and are known for their new learning still have very deep and solid foundation in Sinology. They still try to use the traditional Chinese poetry and Chinese style to express their inner feelings. Most literati of the Meiji era had such qualities and elegance.
Tsukakono Street View Xu Jingbo Picture
In the small town of Tianjin and Ye, in addition to some historical sites, there are nearly ten quite considerable art galleries and museums. The most famous one is probably Katsushika Hokusai Art Museum. Hokusai is an Ukiyo-e painter who was active in the painting world in the late Edo period. The Chinese are probably no longer unfamiliar with Ukiyo-e. They mainly use urban scenery as the theme, use Oriental lines and sometimes apply bright colors. They were appreciated in Europe in the late 19th century and became famous for their time and became the pride of the Japanese. Hokusai is one of the best painters. This art gallery treasures many of his original works, the most eye-catching one is the print " Fugao Thirty-Six Scenery ". Others include Dusu Art Museum, Tsuwano Art Museum, Tsuwano Town Local Archives, etc. The appearances are all elegant and charming, but unfortunately there is no time to view them one by one.
(Xu Jingbo, born in Shanghai, is a professor and vice chairman of the Japanese Research Center of Fudan University. His research fields are China-Japan cultural relations and comparison of China-Japan culture. His monographs include "Liang Shiqiu: The Restoration of Tradition", "The East Wind Blows from the West - Chinese Culture in Japan", "Interpretation of Japan: The Flow of Civilizations from Ancient and Current", "Feast of Harmony", "Same Region and Foreign Land: Chinese Images by Modern Japanese Writers", "Miracle City Mirror: Shanghai Writing by Modern Japanese (1 16 types including 862-1945), translated 16 types including "Jian Jianlu - Secret Record of Diplomacy in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895", and planned and presided over the translation and publication of Iwahara's new book "Morning and Contemporary History of Japan", and compiled 12 types including "Resonance and Circulation of East Asian Civilizations" and "Research on Japanese History and Culture". Chief Expert of Major Key Research on Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education. He has served as a professor at 7 Japanese universities including Kobe University, Toyo University, , Kyoto University, , etc. )
Editor in charge: Wang Yu
Proofreading: Ding Xiao
