HAGIWARA SAKUTARO

born Nov. 1, 1886, Maebashi, Japan died May 11, 1942, Tokyo Japanese poet whose attempt to express his perceptions directly in concrete, often unpretty images, rather than in amorphous descriptions, represented a revolutionary trend in Japanese literature. Hagiwara began to write while still in high school. He was deeply influenced by the new style of the poet Yosano Akiko, whose Midaregami (Tangled Hair) appeared in 1901. He left high school without graduating and went to Tokyo to work on the poetry magazine of the established poet Kitahara Hakushu. Hagiwara's own style developed slowly; support from his father relieved him of financial worries and enabled him to work at his own pace. In 1916 he started his own magazine and in 1917 brought out his first book of poetry, Tsuki ni hoeru (Barking at the Moon). His difficult style was not immediately understood, although one of the leaders of the Japanese literary world, the novelist Mori Ogai, was impressed by his mode of expression. Atarashiki yokujo (1922; New Desires) expressed Hagiwara's sensual philosophy in poetic aphorisms. A collection of Hagiwara's poetry, translated as Face at the Bottom of the World and Other Poems, appeared in 1969.