更新日：2010年7月5日

Horiguchi Daigaku

The poet Horiguchi Daigaku was born in Tokyo in 1892. He joined Shinshisha (The New Poetry Society) in 1909 and while studying tankapoetry in the style advocated by the society, he also began to write other verse, encouraged by Yosano Tekkan and his wife Akiko, who had founded the society. In 1910, Horiguchi entered the literature department of Keio University and began to contribute his verse to Mita Bungaku (Mita Literature), the university's journal, and Subaru (The Pleiades), Shinshisha's magazine.

In 1911, he left Keio to accompany his father, a diplomat, to Mexico. This was followed by postings to Belgium, Spain and Brazil, that were to last a total of 14 years. During this time, he learnt French and became interested in the novels and poetry of the French writers, especially the Symbolists. Being of a rather weak constitution, Horiguchi gave up the idea of becoming a diplomat and devoted his time to writing verse and translating French works. In 1919 he published his first anthology of verse, Gekko to Pierrot (Moonlight and Pierrot), and a book of waka verse, Pan no fue (Pan pipes). On returning to Japan in 1925, he brought out a collection of translated poems Gekka no ichigun, which became the talking point in literary circles. In the following years he created two poetry magazines, Pantheon and Orpheon.

Horiguchi added a new page to modern Japanese poetry, with his elegant, glowing verse that combined the flexibility of Japanese style with hints of the beautiful resonance of the French language. He was also highly regarded as a translator of French verse, with his mature rendering of Paul Morand's Ouvert la nuit (Yo hiraku; Night opens), as well as the poetry of Paul Verlaine, Guillaume Apollinaire and Jean Cocteau.

Horiguchi spent the summer of 1932 in Hase and also frequented his father's summer home in Yuigahama. He died in 1981 at the age of 89, and his ashes are buried in Kamakura Rei-en.