Ogai Mori
Early life
Mori was born as Mori Rintarō in
Tsuwano,
Iwami province (present-day
Shimane prefecture). His family were hereditary physicians to the
daimyō of the
Tsuwano Domain. As the eldest son, it was assumed that he would carry on the family tradition; therefore he was sent to attend classes in the
Confucian classics at the domain academy, and took private lessons in
rangaku, and in the
Dutch language.
Mori Ōgai's statue at his birthhouse in
TsuwanoIn 1872, after the
Meiji Restoration and the
abolition of the domains, the Mori family relocated to
Tokyo. Mori stayed at the residence of
Nishi Amane, in order to receive tutoring in the
German language, which was the primary language for medical education at the time. In 1874, he was admitted to the government medical school (the predecessor for
Tokyo Imperial University's Medical School), and graduated in 1881 at the age of 19, the youngest person ever to be awarded a medical license in Japan. It was also during this time that he developed an interest in literature, reading extensively from the late-Edo period popular novels, and taking lessons in
Chinese poetry and literature.
[
edit] Early career
After graduation, Mori enlisted in the
Imperial Japanese Army as a medical officer, hoping to specialize in military medicine and
hygiene.
Mori Ōgai in uniform
Mori was sent by the Army to study in
Germany (
Leipzig,
Dresden,
Munich, and
Berlin) from 1884–1888. During this time, he also developed an interest in
European literature. As a matter of trivia, Mori Ōgai is the first Japanese known to have ridden on the
Orient Express.
Upon his return to Japan, he assumed a high rank as a medical doctor in the Japanese army and pushed for a more scientific approach to medical research, even publishing a
medical journal out of his own funds.
Meanwhile, he also attempted to revitalize modern
Japanese literature and published his own
literary journal (Shigarami sōshi, 1889–1894) and his own book of poetry (Omokage, 1889). In his writings, he was an “anti-realist”, asserting that literature should reflect the emotional and spiritual domain. Maihime (舞姫,
The Dancing Girl (1890)
?), described an affair between a Japanese man and a German woman.
In 1899, Mori married Akamatsu Toshiko, daughter of Admiral
Akamatsu Noriyoshi, a close friend of
Nishi Amane. He divorced her the following year under acrimonious circumstances that irreparably ended his friendship with Nishi.
[
edit] Later career
At the start of the
First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, Mori was sent to
Manchuria and, the following year, to
Taiwan. In 1899, he was appointed head of the Army Medical Corps and was based in
Kokura,
Kyūshū. In 1902, he was reassigned to Tokyo.
During the
Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, he was again sent to Manchuria. He later came under criticism for his stubborn refusal to believe that
beriberi was not an infectious disease but an ailment caused by
thiamine deficiency, despite evidence presented by
Takaki Kanehiro of the
Imperial Japanese Navy. His questionable decisions led to the death of 27,000 Japanese soldiers to beriberi, compared to 47,000 deaths from combat.
In 1907, Mori was promoted to Army
Surgeon-General, the highest post within the Japanese
medical corps. On his retirement in 1916 he was appointed director of the Imperial Museum.
[
edit] Literary career
Although Mori did little writing from 1892–1902, he continued to edit a literary journal (Mezamashi gusa, 1892–1909). He also produced translations of the works of
Goethe,
Schiller,
Ibsen,
Hans Christian Andersen, and
Hauptmann.
It was during the
Russo-Japanese War (1904–05) that Mori started keeping a poetic diary. After the war, he began holding
tanka writing parties that included several noted poets such as
Yosano Akiko.
His later works can be divided into three separate periods. From 1909–1912, he wrote mostly fiction based on his own experiences. This period includes
Vita Sexualis, and his most popular novel, Gan (雁,
The Wild Geese(1911–13)
?), which is set in 1881 Tokyo and was filmed by
Shiro Toyoda in 1953 as
The Mistress.
From 1912–1916, he wrote mostly historical stories. Deeply affected by the
seppuku of General
Nogi Maresuke in 1912, he explored the impulses of self-destruction, self–sacrifice and patriotic sentiment. This period includes Sanshō Dayū (山椒大夫
?), and Takasebune (高瀬舟
?).
From 1916, he turned his attention to biographies of late
Edo period doctors.
[from wikipedia]
Japanese Culture.JP - Tokyo sightseeing tour
Inside of his house.
Entrance of the house
River view form brige inside shrine.
Okage yokocho is shopping street of Japanese traditional style near Ise Shrine.
