Shiki Masaoka
| Masaoka Shiki | |
|---|---|
Masaoka Shiki
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| Born | October 14, 1867 Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan |
| Died | September 19, 1902 (age 34) Tokyo, Japan |
| Occupation | writer, journalist |
| Parent(s) | Masaoka Tsunenao |
Masaoka Shiki (正岡 子規, October 14, 1867 – September 19, 1902), pen-name of Masaoka Noboru (正岡 升), was a Japanese poet, author, and literary critic in Meiji period Japan. Shiki is regarded as a major figure in the development of modern haiku poetry. He also wrote on reform of tanka poetry.
Some consider Shiki to be one of the four great haiku masters, the others being Matsuo Bashō, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa.
Shiki, or rather Tsunenori (常規) as he was originally named, was born in Matsuyama City in Iyo province (present day Ehime prefecture) to a samurai class family of modest means. As a child, he was called Tokoronosuke (処之助); in adolescence, his name was changed to Noboru (升).
His father, Tsunenao (正岡常尚), was an alcoholic who died when Shiki was five years of age. His mother, Yae, was a daughter of Ōhara Kanzan, a Confucian scholar. Kanzan was the first of Shiki's extra-school tutors; at the age of 7 the boy began reading Mencius under his tutelage. Shiki later confessed to being a less-than-diligent student.
At age 15 Shiki became something of a political radical, attaching himself to the then-waning Freedom and People's Rights Movement and getting himself banned from public speaking by the principal of Matsuyama Middle School, which he was attending. Around this time he developed an interest in moving to Tokyo and did so in 1883.
The young Shiki first attended his hometown Matsuyama Middle School, where Kusama Tokiyoshi, a leader of the discredited Freedom and People's Rights Movement, had recently served as principal. In 1883, a maternal uncle arranged for him to come to Tokyo. Shiki was first enrolled in Kyōritsu Middle School and later matriculated into University Preparatory School. (Daigaku Yobimon) affiliated with Imperial University (Teikoku Daigaku). While studying here, the teenage Shiki enjoyed playing baseball and befriended fellow student Natsume Sōseki, who would go on to become a famous novelist.
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