更新日：2010年7月5日

Matsumoto Takashi

Matsumoto Takashi, haiku poet, was born in Tokyo in 1906 into a family of Noh theater players of the Hosho school. He made his stage debut at the age of eight and after finishing elementary school, he devoted himself to honing his skills as a Noh performer. He also showed a keen interest in the Chinese classics, calligraphy and English, and was fond of literature, theater and "rakugo" comic storytelling performances.

While recovering from an illness in 1921, he came across the haiku magazine Hototogisu, which aroused his interest in the 17-syllable verse. Later, he joined Shippo-kai, a haiku group for Noh actors and began to study haiku under the poet and novelist, Takahama Kyoshi. At around the age of 20, Matsumoto abandoned the idea of becoming a Noh player because of poor health and turned to composing haiku verse in earnest. In 1929, he joined the Hototogisu coterie, where he was acknowledged to be of the same caliber as Kawabata Bosha, a much acclaimed haiku poet, who did Matsumoto the honor of referring to him as a "truly gifted prince of the arts."

In 1935, he published MATSUMOTO TAKASHI KUSHU, an anthology of his haiku, followed by other collections, TAKA (Hawk), YUMI (Arrow), and NOMORI (Gamekeeper); in 1946, he launched a magazine, Fue (Flute). Among his other publications are essays collections such as EGO NO HANA (Styrax blossom), and KANAWA (Iron ring). He also wrote a biographical novel about the late 19th century Noh player, Hosho Kuro. Matsumoto died in 1956 at the age of 50.

After spending the summer of 1925 recuperating from an illness in Kamakura, Matsumoto moved here the following year and made his home in Jomyoji until he was forced to evacuate to Iwate Prefecture in 1945. During his Kamakura years, he held haiku gatherings with local residents and composed many verses about Kamakura.