England where Soseki (1867-1916) landed with the purpose of studying English was at the start of the new century. The world of thought then had fresh and dominant idealistic trend， and Plato with other classical authors in English versions was popular among the rising readers. Plato’s dialogues found in Soseki’s library are: The Republic and Selections of Scott Library. With this cultural background and his personal relations in mind we can extract Soseki’s idealistic element，especially his Platonism from his works. His earlier works of magnitude, I am a Cat, Bocchan, Kusamakura may be properly grouped together as Justice Trilogy，because in them there are many traces of Soseki’s eager pursuit of Platonic idea of justice，namely the state of harmony among reason，emotion and will. So-called Love Trilogy and Egoism Trilogy are to be regarded as the results of Soseki’s continued effort to establish harmony among the three functions of man’s soul both in his life and works.

　Soseki’s short story “The Tower of London” (1905) is a curious mixture of the record of his visit to that great historical monument and the gruesome fantasies associated with human agonies suffered by many victims confined there. The author，going round that ancient building just as Dante went through the “Inferno”, literally sees dreadful things performed —such as the murder of the infants of Edward IV and the execution of Lady Jane Grey.

　In the note to his own work，Soseki admits that he is indebted to Shakespeare’s Richard III and Ainsworth’s Tower of London. But the detailed investigation reveals that he has got some of his ideas from W.R. Dick’s Short Sketch of the Beauchamp Tower，a kind of guidebook which Soseki bought in the Tower. From these works Soseki picked up various passages related with the visitor’s regular route of the Tower, irrespective of the original stories or plots，and changed these passages into very impressive scenes or images. He also took up the historical paintings of Delaroche and re-expressed the scenes in his own words. Then he assimilated these images or scenes into his own context, producing a kind of surrealistic effect. Especially noteworthy is his ingenious use of the devices similar to the techniques of cinema, such as “fade-in”,“fade-out”, “close-up”,“montage”,etc.

　It is through these unique devices that Soseki succeeded in creating a peculiar world of his own, consisting of the report of his personal experience and of the representation of the nightmarish scenes connected with the history of the Tower.

　“Eikyo” and “Gyujin”， published in 1942， are both based on Chinese classics. “Eikyo” is the story of Prince Kaigai’s life including his exile. The protagonist Soko，who was compelled to realize the few remaining days of his life, does nothing but try to indulge in as many pleasures as possible before the dark prophecy of his future is fulfilled. －We can see the strong influence of Walter Pater’s estheticism in Soko’s way of life.

　On the other hand，in “Gyujin” which depicts the life of Minister Shykusou Hyō there is the influence of Kafka’s existentialism. His irrational death is probably the first one in Japanese literature. After all these two works by Nakajima may be regarded as unique in the history of Japanese literature.

　ジョナサン・スウィフトが『ガリバー旅行記』を書く準備のために、旅行に関する本を調べたこと、そしてそのような本が彼の蔵書の中にあったということはよく知られているが、彼の日本の扱い方については、あまり研究がなされていない。ガリバーの最初の三つの航海のいずれにおいても言及されているが、日本は、第三回目の航海では、異国風の名前をもった想像上の国の中の一つの実在の国として、意味ありげに扱われている。われわれは、リリパット(小人国)、ブロブディングナグ(大人国)、フウィヌム国渡航記も、日本に関する著作からヒントを得ているということを示すつもりだが、この論文においてわれわれの関心の中心となるのは、「ラピュタ、バルニバービ、ラグナグ、グラブダブドリップおよび日本渡航記」である。

　第一部ではラガード・アカデミーの自動文字盤をエンゲルバート・ケンプファーの『日本誌』に印刷された十七世紀の仮名の表によって解明したい。ガリバーの文字盤には日本の仮名文字が使われていることがわかる。

　第二部では、スウィフトが、実際の日本旅行についての歴史的材料を用いることによって、彼の冒険の中に見られるいくつかのもっとも想像力豊かな要素だけでなく、特にガリバーの性格づけの指針を得ているという証拠を示したい。

　ケンプファーとウイリアム・アダムズという二人の十七世紀の日本旅行者から、一人の人物を引き出してみると、ガリバーに非常に近い人物となる。われわれが合成によってつくり出したガリバーは、英語を話す船乗りで、彼は「オランダ人」となり、海や見知らぬ土地で長い年月痛ましい経験をし、最後に日本へとたどり着く。尋問を受けた後、江戸へ連行され、数々の経験を重ねた後「国王」に西洋の事情を報告するものとなり大砲や船の作り方を教えて重用され、遂には日本の衣服や風習、さらには結婚生活にも慣れ、英国に戻る気持を完全になくしてしまう。

　ケンプファーとパーチャスは、すぐれた「馬」の島と同様に、小人国や「ヤフー」を思わせる人間の島についての報告のよりどころともなっている。彼らの記録には、ガリバーの旅行記と合致する、都市の形態や大きさ、ガラス製品に対する反応、政府の政策といった、数多くの類似点が見られるのである。(佐々木肇・訳)

　Sōseki Natsumé (1867-1916) was a great novelist in the 20th century Japan, practically contemporaneous with Joseph Conrad (1857-1924). His views on Conrad’s early stories and sea novels are found in his essays, notebooks and marginal notes, and two of his novels show some evidences of the influences of Conrad.

　According to Soseki’s notebook， he read “Typhoon” presumably in spring or summer in 1906, and made a comment in it; “Literature of man’s will— cf. Typhoon”. And he wrote The 210th Day (i.e. the stormy day of typhoon), a story of will, in September of the same year. Its plot resembles that of “Typhoon”， the heroes facing a storm bravely, though not at sea but on the mountain. Also Soseki’s descriptions of the storm and scenes remind us strongly of Conrad’s.

　Soseki’s The Miner written in 1908 also resembles, in the theme and construction， Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”. Between them, there are remarkable parallels in the pilgrimage of the narrator into the heart of darkness.

　Yet, what is really more significant may be that Soseki and Conrad had much in common in their personality, problem of ego, dualistic view of the world, and way how to live. Though in the later years, their ways as writers were different.

　It may safely be said that nursery rhymes, which in the United States are commonly called “Mother Goose songs,” have penetrated extensively into the daily and cultural life of the people of the English-speaking countries and have become almost an indispensable part of their life.

　Nursery rhymes are as often quoted in English literary works as the Bible and Shakespeare’s works — especially in juvenile literature and sometimes also in mystery stories. Lewis Carroll and Agatha Christie effectively quoted nursery rhymes on various occasions.

　It is uncertain when nursery rhymes were first introduced into Japan. They were introduced into this country as quietly as they have been handed down from generation to generation in the English-speaking countries.

　　According to my research, several illustrated books entitled “Mother Goose，” including The Real Mother Goose， were first introduced into this country as Christmas gifts， as indicated in the December 1918 issue of the GAKUTO， a Maruzen publication. As far as the Maruzen Bookshop is concerned， “Mother Goose” books were imported here for the first time in late 1918.

　Mr Keiichi Hirano infers in his Mother Goose No Uta (1972) that the oldest Japanese translation of nursery rhymes was done by Hakushu Kitahara in the January 1920 issue of the Akai Tori. Mrs. Ann Herring, however, insists that five rhymes had been translated earlier by Yumeji Takehisa in the Utai Dokei (Chime Clock) in 1919. I discovered translations of additional two rhymes in this book.

　The first work in this country on nursery rhymes was published by Hakushu Kitahara in 1921, with 130 rhymes translated into Japanese. His Mother Goose should be highly valued although it does contain several mistranslations.

　The Sekai Doyo Shu (Anthology of Children’s Songs in the World) done by Yaso Saijo and Masaru Mizutani in 1924 includes 116 nursery rhymes. Meanwhile, Michitomo Matsubara translated 248 rhymes in his Mother Goose Kodomo No Uta (Mother Goose Songs for Children) in 1925.

　Since then various translations of nursery rhymes have been published here, and they have won general popularity.

　Incidentally, in many respects Japanese nursery songs are similar to English nursery rhymes. For instance, children talk to crows, snails and other animals. This might show that children’s mentality is the same all over the world.