徳富蘇峰とアメリカ人の交流 : 書簡を手がかりに
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概要
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Tokutomi Soho(1863-1957) is one of the most popular journalists in modern Japan. During the Pacific War, he insisted that the Japanese had to fight and destroy America with a firm conviction of sure victory. Such a view had a great influence on the people; therefore, Soho is still well-known as an anti-American opinion leader today. However, he had been rather pro-American in the first half of his life. There remain quite a few letters between Soho and his American acquaintances. We can know his other feelings about the U.S. through this correspondence. This paper sets out to investigate the exchange between Soho and three Americans in the Meiji era: Edwin L. Godkin, Charles E. Norton, and George Kennan. Although a large number of researchers have studied Soho's thoughts and actions, little is known about his contact with Americans. Therefore, I would like to examine their friendships and consider their influence on Soho's view of America. First, Edwin L. Godkin (1831-1902) was a magazine and newspaper writer. As an editor-in-chief, he founded the New York Nation in 1865. The Nation, which discussed the political and economic issues of the day, was supported by many intellectual readers, such as James Bryce and the young Woodrow Wilson. In the New York Evening Post and its weekly edition, the Nation, Godkin insisted on liberalism and anti-imperialism. Soho, who had subscribed to the Nation in his youth, had accepted its ideas and later founded the magazine named Kokumin no tomo(The Nation's Friend). Thinking back to his youth, he wrote Godkin a letter dated 1893, which is now stored at Harvard University's Houghton Library. This letter shows Soho's deep respect and affection for Godkin. In those days it seemed to Soho that Godkin acted as a role model for journalism and self-realization. Second, Charles E. Norton (1827-1908) was a scholar of European art in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Furthermore, having a lot of experience in journalism, he played an active part in helping Godkin to start the Nation. In 1897, when Norton was a professor of art history at Harvard, Soho visited his house in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They were impressed with each other; Soho appreciated the respectable Puritanism behind Norton, while, Norton found Soho a man of refined taste. From that time, both men exchanged several letters, the most important of which are stored at theTokutomi Soho Memorial Museum in Ninomiya, Kanagawa Prefecture. The letters from Norton saythat he was very disappointed with the Spanish-American War of 1898. He thought that the war betrayed American ideals and expedited its expansionism. Using the same argument, Soho blamed American diplomacy in his later years. He respected Norton as an embodiment of a forgotten puritanical and idealistic America. Third, George Kennan (1845-1924) was a journalist and Russian specialist. Investigating the Siberian exile system from the 1880's to the 90's, Kennan saw first-hand the wretched conditions of political exiles. After that, supporting the Russian revolutionary movement, he engaged in a war of words against the Tsarist Government. In 1904, when the Russo-Japanese War broke out, he served as a war correspondent for the Outlook magazine in Japan. His articles cheered Japan as a defender of modern civilization, and in contrast, denounced Russia as a barbaric invader. Kennan's papers, which are in the Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, show that Soho met Kennan in Japan and promised to take him to see Matsukata Masayoshi, who was one of Japan's most influential elder statesmen. In addition, Soho's subordinate provided information for Kennan's writing. On the other hand, Soho corrected an error in Kennan's article about the Hibiya Incendiary Affair in 1905. From the viewpoint of Soho, Kennan seemed to be a favorable pro-Japanese American and valuable in the struggle against Tsarist Russia. In conclusion, these three Americans were close to Soho's heart. They were the mirrors reflecting his favorable image of America. After the Russo-Japanese War, Soho came to dislike America in response to the development of the Anti-Japanese Movement in California. Nevertheless, his heartwarming memories of his American acquaintances never vanished. He expressed his affection for the U.S. even just before the Pacific War, though it was only slight. We can see that his love of America was derived from his experiences with these Americans.
- 2002-11-30