國民文庫刊行會の三つの翻訳叢書について

抄録

In 1911, the Meiji Emperor set up a kind of academy. One of the schemes the academy established was to translate European classics into Japanese. The academy was soon abolished, and the translation-scheme failed. But one private publishing company, called Kokuminbunko-kankokai (the Publishing Society for People's Library of Literature) enterprised the same plan and managed to found three Libraries : Taiseimeichobunko (the Library of European Classics), Taiseikindaimeichobunko (the Library of European Modern Classics) and Sekaimeisakutaikan (the Library of World Classics).
The translators of the three Libraries mainly consisted of the members of a coterie magazine called “Bungakukai” (the Literary Circle) and the graduates of Tokyo Imperial University called “Akamon [the Red Gate] -school”. The two groups are well known for their contribution to the introduction of English literature to Japan. Therefore, the three Libraries introduced by the society can be regarded as the fruits of their study of English literature.
How did the two groups join? The magazine called “Geien” (the Athenaeum) and the editor Kocho Baba played an important role in merging the two groups. Kocho Baba was a member of “Bungaku-Kai”. Several years after the magazine was discontinued, Kocho and Bin Ueda, another member of the magazine, founded a new periodical called “Geien”. Sohei Morita and Choko Ikuta, who were students of Tokyo University and often visited Kocho, were asked to write for the periodical. That is how the two groups joined to write for “Geien”.
Then, who connected the two groups with the translation project of the society? It seems to have been Shukotsu Togawa, another member of “Bungakukai”. Ogai Mori's diary says that the first person who asked Ogai to publish his translations of short stories as one of Taiseimeichobunko was Shukotsu Togawa. It was also Shukotsu who recommended Tokuboku Hirata to Kyusaku Tsuruta, the owner of the publishing company.
The Libraries are very interesting because they show what books were read and appreciated by Japanese literary men in the Meiji era. To show how interesting the libraries are, one example is mentioned; the connection between the works of the Libraries and Soseki Natsume, a great novelist and scholar in English literature. Toyoichiro Nogami, one of Soseki's students, translatedGulliver' s TravelsandPrideandPrejudicefor Sekaimeisakutaikan. He chose the two novels because Soseki praised them as masterpieces and strongly recommended him to read them. Another of Soseki's students, Masaki Minakawa, translated George Meredith'sThe ShavingofShagpat. He translated it because his other teacher, Lafcadio Hearn, recommended it to him and he was very impressed by the novel. He asked Soseki to help publish it, but Soseki died before he could find a publisher for him. However, Toyoichiro Nogami used his influence to have it published as a volume in the Library because he knew Soseki also thought quite highly of the novel. Therefore, we can say that Soseki influenced his students in their choice of novels for the Libraries.
I believe this one example is enough to tell us that the three Libraries of World Literature published by the society are worthy of attention.