更新日：2010年7月5日

Kubota Mantaro

Novelist, playwright, and haiku poet, Kubota Mantaro was born in Tokyo in 1889. In junior high school he was already composing haiku, and while at Keio University he made his literary debut with the novel "Asagao" (Morning Glory) and a stage play "Yugi" (Game), both of which appeared in Mita Bungaku, the literary journal of the university’s Department of Literature. From that time on, he authored many novels, among them, "Uragare" (Die Back), "Shundei" (Spring Thaw), and "Shiseijin" (Townspeople), in which he depicted the folksy atmosphere and traditional lifestyle of the shopping and entertainment districts of old Tokyo.

Starting in 1919 and continuing for seven years, Kubota taught undergraduate courses in literature at Keio University. In 1926, along with the novelist Kume Masao, he joined the Tokyo Central Broadcasting Station (now NHK) on a contract basis, and later headed the drama and music department. During this period he greatly contributed to the promotion of broadcast drama. In 1932, when the Tsukiji-za theater company was founded, he even turned his hand to directing performances there. In 1937, together with Kishida Kunio and Iwata Toyoo, Kubota created the Bungakuza theater company and became a leading figure in the drama circles of the day.

In the field of haiku poetry, Kubota studied under Okamoto Shohin and Matsune Toyojo, and later came to edit the haiku magazine, Shunto. Even though the composition of haiku was merely a hobby and his main focus was writing novels and plays, Kubota published several haiku collections: "Michishiba" (Wayside Grass), "Momochidori," and "Ryugusho." He died in 1963 at the age of 73.

Kubota’s connection with Kamakura began in 1945 when an air raid destroyed his Tokyo home and a friend helped him find a house in Zaimokuza, where he lived until 1955 when he returned to Tokyo. During those ten years, he expanded his acquaintance with many of the Kamakura literati through his position as chairman of the Kamakura Pen Club. A stone tablet inscribed with one of his haiku poems stands within the grounds of Zuisenji Temple.