Lafcadio Hearn and Walter Dening

概要

論文の詳細を見る
Though Hearn's first contact with Walter Dening took place while Hearn was living in Kumamoto, the story of their friendship really begins in Matsue. In Matsue Hearn had depended greatly on his head-teacher and best friend, Nishida Sentaro, who worked constantly to smooth Hearn's path in every aspect of life that he could- linguistic, pedagogic, and even domestic. It is no wonder then that when Hearn began to teach at the Fifth Higher School in Kumamoto, he deeply felt Nishida's absence. Despite the sporadic kindness of certain colleagues, it seemed there was no one like Nishida who could, or would, take the time and trouble to make the new foreign member of staff comfortable with the ways of the school or Kumamoto City. Though Hearn was initially delighted at being the only foreign teacher, he soon began to feel isolated and lonely for contact with like-minded foreigners. Evidence of his need for such contact is the substantial increase in personal correspondence during the Kumamoto years (1891-1894) - not only in the number and length of his letters, but in the variety of addressees as well. To Basil Hall Chamberlain, his first foreign friend in Japan and faithful advisor from the Matsue days, Hearn added Nishida and then Chamberlain's close friend, W. B. Mason, as regular correspondents.
熊本大学の論文
2003-11-28