Naka Kansuke 中勘助 （1885–1965）, a poet, is noted for his Buddhist poetry. He wrote, “I am strongly attracted by the deeds and teachings of the Buddha and his disciples, their legends and fables. From there, poems related to Buddhism are born” （1951, “Naruko Yuri wo Uete （鳴子百合をうゑて）,” “Koma （こま）,” and “Somebody Worship Me First （誰か第一に我を拝せし）,” his own commentary）.
In 2022, Okano Kiyoshi of Kyushu University revealed that a poem by Naka Kansuke, “The tree is cut down, but the lumberjack does not spare the cool shade （樹木は切り倒されつつも樵夫に涼しき蔭を惜しまぬにあらずや）,” is based on Mahābhārata 12,5528 and Hitopadeśa I.59, and is probably from an old Indian teaching. After confirming the meaning of the act of risking one’s life for others in the poem Suzushiki kage （涼しき蔭, 1937） and its further development in another poem, Yamagatsu to hashibami （山がつとはしばみ, 1948）, both of which contain Naka Kansuke’s commentary, the poem Hannya shingyō （般若心経, 1956）, which was first published in the magazine Shinri （真理）, edited by Tomomatsu Entai 友松円諦（1895–1973）, was inspired by the life of the nun Oishi Junkyō 大石順教. In this paper, I consider Naka Kansuke’s perspective on modern Buddhists and his attitude toward postwar creative writing.
