土井晩翠作『ミロのヱーナス』と西欧詩

抄録

　Doi Bansui’s poem ‘Venus de Milo’ which is contained in ‘Tokai Yūshi Gin’ published in 1906 belongs to the genre of the ekphrāsis. Bansui tries to represent in this poem the deep emotion he felt when he viewed this famous work of Greek sculpture. He also intended to introduce to Japanese readers this traditional genre of Occidental literature.

　In this poem Bansui borrows a technique from the French Parnassian poet Leconte de Lisle. In his 'Vénus de Milo’，Leconte de Lisle asserts repeatedly that this Venus does not resemble usually accepted images of Venus: The Venus who fell in love with Adonis etc. Rather, he says that Venus of the Milo is too noble and too full of divine dignity and her other-worldly beauty belongs to the Pythagorean universe. Bansui also denies three times in succession the homogeneity of this goddess with other traditional visions of Venus. But he sees in this Venus a far more gentle goddess and a beauty filled with feminine charms. Thus, in Bansui’s poem the special characteristics of this Venus are not so apparent as in Leconte de Lisle’s. The Parnassian’s poetical technique only contributed to enrich Bansui's poem with gorgeous images.

　On the other hand, Bansui's poem is deeply influenced by Keats's ekphrāsis poem ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’. Its name is written by Bansui in the margin of Leconte de Lisle’s ‘Vénus de Milo’. Both the urn and the Goddess have been buried in the ground for a long time, and they convey to us the feeling of the happy and great days of the former golden age. And this reminds us that our days are full of sorrow and suffering.