NATURE ESSAYS IN ENGLISH LITERATURE

NATURE ESSAYS IN ENGLISH LITERATURE:

Their introduction and appreciation in Japan with special reference to Richard Jefferies

By Koichiro Fujiwara

From old times, we Japanese have always been nature lovers. There has been a close compatible relationship between nature and our every day life: the song of birds, the fluttering of butterflies from flower to flower in spring, the chirping of cicada in summer and of crickets in autumn form a part of our seasonal landscape in our minds, and our delicate sentiment towards it forms an integral part of our mentality. We notice there are many places in our classic literature of old time where nature is described - there are many passages describing changes of the seasons and referring to flowers and plants as well as insects, especially the cricket, the chirps of which in autumn is very familiar to the Japanese ear, arousing in the Japanese heart a somewhat lonesome emotion. Examples are in the Pillow Book of Seishōnagon, written circa 1000, an English translation of which is included in Penguin Classics, and The Tale of Genji, written circa 1007, by Lady Murasaki, which was translated into English by such translators as Arthur Waley (Dover Thrift edition), Edward Seidensticker (Everyman’s Library), and recently by Royall Tyler (Penguin Classics).



Later in the period down to the Edo-era (1603-1868) we find many Waka, or Tanka, a 31-syllable Japanese ode, and Haiku, a 17-syllabled Japanese verse, in which plants, animals and insects are described as a season words of the poems, as well as those famous classic works of travel sketches Oku-no-Hosomichi, or Narrow Road to the Interior, written 1694 by Matsuo-Bashō, and published 1702, translated into English by Sam Hamill (Random House, 2000), and terse prose-poem Uzura-Goromo written during the period from 1785 to 1823 by Yokoi-Yayú.

After the Meiji Restoration in the year of 1868, Japan introduced western culture and civilization in a torrent. As for the English nature essay writers, the first mention of Izzak Walton and his work The Compleat Angler in literature is found in the “Encyclopedic Series of Handbooks” issued in four volumes by Maruzen Co., publication of which was initiated by the Japanese Ministry of Education of which the first book was published May, 1877; actually, this “Encyclopedic Series of Handbooks” was the translation into Japanese of Chamber’s Information for the People, a Popular Encyclopedia published in 1851.

It is worthy of note that Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), who came to Japan for the first time in the year of 1890, eventually becoming naturalized Japanese, and who is well known among Japanese in his Japanese name of Koizumi-Yakumo, described Japanese nature sketches in his many writings in English that introduced things Japanese to the western world. He was especially fascinated with the charm of Japanese insects in the season of summer and autumn when we have the chance to enjoy observing them and hearing their singing, and he gave detailed descriptions of the ecology, legend, and poetry pertaining to them in his books*. He married a Japanese lady and died in 1904. He was buried in a Japanese cemetery.

N.B.

It is to be noted that major part of Japan lies in temperate zone with southern islands in subtropical zone and, therefore, abounds more with insects in both of kinds and numbers than England.

Those sketches in writing by Hearn on such Japanese insects as butterflies, cicadas, dragonflies, ants, flies, grasshoppers, crickets, and Kusa-Hibari or Cyrtoxiphus ritsemae etc. were later compiled in one volume entitled Insect Literature (published by Hokuseido in 1921) with notes by Masanobu Ōtani, Professor in Fourth High School, Japan who was one of Hearn’s pupils at the junior high school in Matsue city. In 1926 a small book entitled Insects and Greek Poetry, by Hearn, which consists of 20 pages and is limited to 550 copies, was published by William Edwin Rudge, New York. It was the first to appear in book form and its contents were originally delivered in his class of English Literature at Tokyo University during his tenure of office as a foreign instructor from 1829 to 1903, having previously appeared as an article in Atlantic Monthly, May 1913. In September 1988 a book collecting Hearn’s essays on insects was newly compiled and translated into Japanese under the title of Butterfly Fantasies by Sumio Nagasawa, a member of Entomological Society of Japan, and was published by Tsukiji-Shokan to commemorate centenary of Hearn’s coming to Japan.

As Hearn’s writings are popular in Japan and widely read by many Japanese, and being reprinted many times, his book exhibiting his tendency to love nature would surely have considerable influence over Japanese readers and contribute something to the mentality of Japanese toward nature.

In the Taisho era (1912-1926) which followed the Meiji era, the study of English literature in Japan made a remarkable advance in both aspects of scholarly annotation and deep appreciation of each literary work. The authentic series of English literature which included some titles in American literature also, consisting of 60 titles in 74 volumes, with annotation by the notable scholars at that time came to publication by Kenkyu-sha, a Japanese representative publishing company specializing in the publication of books on English and American Literature as well as philological study of English.

In this environment some of English nature essays or writings were introduced and the works of such writers as Izaak Walton, Gilbert White, Richard Jefferies, and W. H. Hudson came to either be read or studied and partial translation into Japanese appeared in the periodicals.

For instance let us see how The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton was introduced and appreciated in Japan. The first partial translation of Part One with annotations and, where necessary, referring to the summary of the whole work, appeared in series in the issues run through 15 June 1923 to 15 March 1924 (Vol.50, No.6) of Eigo-Seinen (The Rising Generation), a highest quality magazine for the teachers and students specializing in the study of English and English literature which was issued twice a month at that time*. The contributor was Taketomo-Torao, who was also known by his pen name of Taketomo- Sōfu, and who was the Professor in English at Tokyo Higher Normal School at that time. The translation ended unfinished at the end of chapter four.

N.B.

This magazine (The Rising Generation) was established in the year of 1898 and is still going today, having been continually issued without break even in War time. This academic magazine is now issued monthly by Kenkyu-sha.

The authentic edition to include the whole of Part One of The Compleat Angler with introduction and annotations by Okakura-Yoshisaburo*, the Chief Professor in English at Tokyo Higher Normal School at that time, and younger brother of Okakura-Tenshin, famous as the author of The Book of Tea, was published in May 1926 as one of the titles in Kenkyusha English Classics series of which he was one of the two editors-in-chief. At almost the same time, a Japanese translation by Iida- Michihiko appeared in the periodical entitled Tsuri-no-Kenkyu (or the Study of Fishing), in 24 series in its issues of 15 January, 1926 through October 1928. This translation by Iida also ended unfinished as the periodical was discontinued.

N.B.

Okakura-Yashisaburo was one of the eminent scholars in the field of teaching English in Japan. He wrote two books in English, viz. The Japanese Spirits with an introduction by George Meredith (London, Archibald Constable, 1905) and The Life and Thought of Japan (London, J.M. Dent & Sons, 1913.)

The first complete translation of whole of Part One of The Compleat Angler, based on the 5th edition of 1676, was done by Hirata-Kiichi, who is well known by his pen name of Hirata- Tokuboku, and was published October, 1936, followed by those translations by Tanijima - Hikosaburo (published by Shunjyu-sha, May, 1939), Shimojima-Muraji (Gen’gen-sha, October 1954), Kinoshita-Yuji (Hasegawa-shobo, December 1957), Ozawa- Jyu’saku (translation of selected chapters : Chikuma-shobo, November 1963) and Tatematsu-Wahei (Shogakkan, August, 1996). The first complete translation to include Part Two by Charles Cotton was done by Mori- Hideto in 1970. The first edition of Mori’s translation was published by Torami-shobo, later its popular edition was published by Kadokawa-shoten in December 1974; his translation is also based on the 5th edition. The translation of Part One from the original first edition was done by Sugise - Yu and published by Kansai-no-Tsuri-sha in 1977. The entire translation to include Part One by Izaak Walton, Part Two by Charles Cotton, and Part Three by Robert Venables was done by another Iida, viz. Iida- Misao fro. the original 5th edition, and published in two volumes by Heibon-sha in 1997 as one of the titles of its Library Series. It is to be added that the translation of Part Two only was done by Shimota-Toshinori and published by Fly-no-Zasshisha in July, 1998. The other editions being out of print or out of stock at the publishers, it seems that the translation by Mori and Iida-Misao is now most widely read in Japan respectively.

Hirata-Tokuboku (Kiichi Hirata) wrote for the August 1919 issue of literary magazine Teikoku Bungaku an introductory essay entitled On The Compleat Angler; this article was later included in his book entitled Eibungaku-Inshōki (or Impressions on Some works in English Literature) published January 1924 and he confessed in the postscript of the book that he wrote the essay with reference to the book review by Holbrook Jackson on The Compleat Angler edited with introduction by Marston which was published during World War 1. He also wrote a follow-up to this essay entitled Impressions After Reading the Book showing his deep appreciation of The Compleat Angler, after finishing his translation of the book (Part One) around end of 1935. This writing of his was included in his book entitled Eibungaku-Tenbyou (or An Appreciation on Some Works in English Literature) published in September 1936, which was an enlarged edition of Eibungaku-Inshoki. Critical biography of Izaak Walton was written by Togawa-Shukotsu which was published in October 1935 by Kenkyu-sha as one of the titles in its men of letters series.

Togawa- Shukotsu was a scholar on English literature and was the professor in English at Keio University. Hirata-Tokuboku was also a distinguished authority on English literature in Japan. Both of them were well known men of letters in their youth as the regular contributors to the literary magazine entitled Bungakkai (Literary World) issued for the period from Jan. 1893 to Jan. 1898, which is famous for its role in Japanese romanticism movement in the Meiji era.

*****

The following is a bibliography on Gilbert White in Japan listed in chronological order.

(1) Taketomo-Sōfu: “Gilbert White” August 1928. Contribution article to the Magazine Shisou (or Thought) published by Iwanami-Shoten.; later collected in his book Eibungaku-Ronkō (or A Study of English Literature: 1930) and Essays by Sōfu (1943) respectively.

(2) Togawa-Shukotsu: The Natural History of Selborne translation of selected chapters with annotation. October 1932- September 1933, Eigo-Seinen (The Rising Generation) Vol.68-69.

(3) Togawa-Shukotsu: On Young Tortoise in The Natural History of Selborne October 1933-March 1934, Eigo-Seinen (The Rising Generation) Vol.70.

(4) The Natural History of Selborne with Introduction and annotation by Ichikawa-Sanki published September1940 by Kenkyu-sha as one of the titles in its English Classics series; reprinted August 1943.

(5) Uchida-Seinosuke: “Gilbert White” included in the chapter of Bird Literature in his book entitled Birds published February, 1942 by Sōgensha as one of the titles in its Library series. The Enlarged 3rd edition of this book was published after the war in August 1949. Other names included in the chapter of Bird Literature are Sir Thomas Browne, John James Audubon, Philip Henry Gosse, Richard Jefferies, W. H. Hudson, Cherry Kearton, and Edward Grey.

(6) The Natural History of Selborne : complete translation first appeared in Japan by Yamauchi-Yoshio who finished his translation in October 1943 but it was published in the year of 1948 in two volumes by Yōtokusha due to the difficulty of publishing at war time. Later years his translation was republished by other publishing companies, viz. in 1976 by Shuppan-sha in one volume edition, and in 1992 by Kodan-sha as one of the titles in its Gakujyutsu-Bunko (intellectual pocket edition) series.

(7) The Natural History of Selborne: complete translation by Jyugaku-Bunsho. Published in 1949 by Iwanami-shoten in two volumes as one of the titles in its pocket library series.

(8) The Natural History of Selborne : complete translation by Nishitani-Taizo. First appeared in book form which was not for sale in 1958, then published in October 1961 by Hakuyu-sha. This translation of his was republished in beautiful binding by Yasaka-shobo in 1992.

(9) Okuda-Natsuko:British Birds and English Literaturecontained in the book entitled Birds and Literature published by Taishukan in 1982. Mrs. Okuda was the professor in English at Japan Women’s University. In giving survey guidance of the kinds of wild birds and of their habits she often refers to Gilbert White, Richard Jefferies, and W. H. Hudson and gives explanation quoting appropriate passages from respective author’s books.

(10) Okuda-Natsuko:Birds watching walk in English literature contained in the supplementary volume No. 1 to the book entitled Wild Birds Literary Calendar published by Shogakkan in 1985. This writing of her was collected in her book entitled English language, American language, and Bird’s language published March, 1990 by Chukyo-shuppan. In this writing she wrote about White’s Village: Selborne and Wild Birds in Selborne in commemoration of her visiting Selborne in June 1983.

(11) Okumoto-Daisaburo : “Gilbert White : His life as a young man in seclusion” contained in his essay book entitled Hon-wo-Makurani (On the pleasure of reading pillow books) published 1985 by Shuei-sha.

(12) The Natural History of Selborne : Translation from selected chapters by Niidzuma-Akio with introduction and brief annotation; published in 1997 by Shogakkan.

As you see from the above documentary records, the first introduction and partial translation of The Natural History of Selborne appeared in the early thirtys, but it was after the World War 2 that all of the three complete translations were published. However, it is to be noted that actually each translator either already finished or devoted himself to the translation during war time (1941 - 1945), though their translations were published after the war. The translation by Yamauchi and Jyugaku was respectively done by referring to the annotated edition by Ichikawa, which shows how Ichikawa’s annotation edition was useful and helpful to the translators. The introduction by Ichikawa consists of 72 pages and in it he gave exhaustive account of White’s family, relatives, and pedigree, the village of Selborne, his life, his appearance and personality, books written by him, especially about The Natural History of Selborne including its style and language, chronological personal history, and a list of reference books. Above all, his detailed explanation on the style of The Natural History of Selborne and grammatical explanation on its language would be precious to those succeeding scholars, translators, and readers. Ichikawa (1886-1970) was the most distinguished scholar in English philology and was Lit.D Professor-in-Chief, English literature course, Dept. of Literature at Tokyo University, and himself was a natural history lover since his boyhood.

The translation by Jyugaku in the Iwanami’s pocket library series has a preface by Edmund Blunden dated May, 1948 at the frontispiece of the book one. A part of his translation appeared serially in the periodical entitled Dōbutsu-Bungaku (Animal Literature) during the war. The life of Nishitani-Taizō (1885-1957), one of the three translators, was somewhat similar to that of White himself. He was entirely fascinated with the charm of The Natural History of Selborne when, by chance, he first read the book in his youth and at once he made up his mind to translate it into Japanese throughout his life. He went abroad for study in America and England for two years from January 1923 to January 1925; in London it is said that he collected through the antiquarian bookstores there 91 editions of The Natural History of Selborne out of 130 editions that was known and already published by that time. He did not marry throughout his life and retired to his native country and devoted himself only to the work of translation of The Natural History of Selborne, which he accomplished few days before his death.



Uchida-Seinosuke (1884-1975) was a recognized authority on Japanese ornithology who was President of the Ornithological Society of Japan. Besides the books of his special work, he wrote many refined essays on birds which contributed to popularization of correct knowledge of birds and importance of protecting them from reckless hunting.

*****

The following is a bibliography on Richard Jefferies in Japan listed in chronological order.


(1) The Story of My Heart with introduction in 15 pages and notes by E. E. Speight published by Iwanami-shoten in 1921; annotated edition with biographical notes and the list of Jefferies’ works referring to few of reference books. This edition was republished by Kenkyu-sha in 1949 as its New English Texts Series and afterward in 1954 as one of the titles in its Pocket English Series, which was reprinted many times in later years.



(2) Approximately same time, circa 1921, it is reported that The Story of My Heart was read in the class of Takagaki-Matsuo who took his post as the professor in English at Rikkyo University (Saints Paul’s University, Tokyo) shortly after his returning home from study abroad at The University of Chicago. ( See the contribution article entitled Reminiscence of Prof. Takagaki by Honjyo-Keisuke to The 70 year’s of “Study of English” published by Kenkyu-sha, April 1975.)



(3) “The Meadow Thoughts”: translation of a piece of nature essay from Jefferies’ book The Life of the Fields (1884) by Taketomo-Sōfu with introduction and notes ; published in October 1927 by Shibun-shoin.



(4) In the chapter named Essay and Criticism contained in his book entitled Essa and Essayists which was published in 1927 by Hokubunkan, Taketomo-Sōfu gave concise explanation on the characteristics of Richard Jefferies’ nature essays by quoting the passage at the beginning of a piece of his nature essay “Mind under Water.”



(5) Kobinata-Teijiro : “Nature worship by Richard Jefferies”: contained in his major book English Literature (book three : Modern Ages) published in June 1929 by Bunken-shoin. (pp.546-552)



(6) The Story of My Heart edited by Kashiwagura-Shunzō with notes and brief life of Jefferies, Sekibun-do Press, 1933



(7) Togawa-Shukotsu: “Wild Birds in Southern County”: contributed to the monthly magazine Yachō (Wild Birds) in three series (April (initial number) to June, 1933)

This is the translation of Chapter 16 of Jefferies’ original book Wild Life in Southern County (1879)



(8) Togawa-Shukotsu : Kotori-no-Eibungaku (Birds in English Literature) published June, 1936 by Yamamoto-shoten as one of the titles in its pocket library series ; this book contained translation by Togawa of the nature essays on the birds from the books by Richard Jefferies, W. H. Hudson, and Viscount (Edward) Grey as shown below.



Richard Jefferies : Wild Birds in Southern County : See item No. (7) above.

W. H. Hudson : Jay, and Kingfisher

Viscount Grey : Essays from Fallodon Papers (1926)



(9) Under the Acorns and Other Sketches : edition for school text published circa 1938 by Daito-shobo, Tokyo. The present writer has not seen this book yet, but included in the list of the books in the advertisement of the publisher at the end of the other title published by the same publisher.



(10) The Story of My Heart : complete translation by Shidzu-Jyugaku published April 1939 by Iwanami-shoten as one of the titles of its pocket library series.



(11) Horiguchi-Mamoru :“R. Jefferies and W. H. Hudson”; contribution to the magazine Dōbutsu-Bungaku (Animal Literature) No. 7, Vol.66 issued June 1940



(12) Uchida-Seinosuke :“Richard Jefferies” included in the chapter of Bird Literature in his book entitled Birds published February, 1942 by Sōgen-sha as one of the titles in its Library series. The author skillfully wrote about Jefferies’ life and his writings.



(13) The Story of My Heart : complete translation by Kawamura-Izumi published March 1948 by Yōtoku-sha with introduction.



(14) The Open Air : complete translation by Itakura-Katsutada published October, 1951 by Iwanami-shoten as one of the titles of its pocket library series*.



N.B. Iwanami-shoten (Iwanami publishing Co.) is one of the Japanese representative publishing companies who is famous for the publishing of academic books over a wide range of subjects from literature to science. Iwanami is also well known through publication of its pocket library series which specializes in classic fields and another series of its paperback which deal with every aspect of present-day cultures. Iwanami’s pocket library series was started in the year of 1927 and was modeled on that of German Reclams Universal-Bibliothek founded in 1867. Since then, about 2,700 titles in 5,000 volumes of books were published as pocket library series by the time of 1997, when it celebrated 70th anniversary of its foundation. The titles in the pocket library series have been steadily increasing since 1997.



(15) The Story of My Heart : edition for school text with introduction and notes by Yamazaki-Susumu published June, 1953 by Osaka-kyōiku-tosho.



(16) Rural England : A selection of nature essays from Richard Jefferies compiled with introduction and notes by Nodzu-Fumio published October 1970 by Kenkyu-sha as one of the titles of its Pocket English Series. Seven nature essays are collected in this book. They are “Out of Doors in February”, “Hours of Spring”, “The Pageant of Summer”, “A Brook”, “Meadow Thoughts”, “Nutty Autumn”, and “Thoughts on the Downs.”



(17) Kashiwagura-Shunzo :“Reflections on Richard Jefferies in comparison with W. H. Hudson”; contribution to the monthly periodical Gakutō * (VOL.71, No.9) issued September, 1974. Kashwagura was the professor in English literature, Dept. of Literature at Hokkaido University who was the authority on the study of W. H. Hudson.



N.B.

Gakutō is the monthly periodical issued by Maruzen Co., Tokyo. It was established in the year 1893 and is still going today with a short break in publication at the time of great earthquake in the year 1923 and during and after World War 2 (reissued in 1951).



(18) Okuda-Natsuko :“British Birds and English Literature”contained in the book entitled Birds and Literature published by Taishukan in 1982. The author refers to Richard Jefferies as to the expression of the song of chaffinch.



(19) Mori-no-nakade : Full translation by Negishi-Akira of the book entitled Under the Acorns - A Selection of Nature Essays by Richard Jefferies – published in 1982 by Horizon - Cholerton. The collection of nature essays contained in this book includes “Under the Acorns”, “The Green Corn”, “On the Downs”, “The Breeze on Beachy Head”,“Nature and Books”,“A Brook”,“A London Trout”, “Wild Flowers”, “The Sun and the Brook”,“The July Grass”.





As you can see from the above documentary records, the introduction of Richard Jefferies into Japan can be divided into two categories: one as the author of The Story of My Heart (two different full translations, and three different reprint editions) and the other as one of the writers of nature essays in English literature. The Story of My Heart listed as item No.(1) in the above bibliography, which is a reprint edition published in Japan, is the earliest literature within the range of my search, while this edition has the value of its own to the Japanese readers as E.E. Speight, the editor, left us useful guidance in his introduction which analyzed and pointed out the characteristics of the style of Jefferies’ writing and summarized his view on this book, which would surely be helpful to the younger generations of Japan, especially for the students.



His guidance and analysis are stated as follows;



“There are great reasons why this book of Richard Jefferies should be widely made known among the younger generations of Japan. ---- It is more than easy for the dangers of city life to be completely ignored in blind submission to circumstances,― not merely the perils of psychological deterioration for present and future generations, but that more terrible incarceration and subdual of the soul which ends in a dumb and pitiful clinging to the mortality of things, in the extinction of all desire for spiritual ascension. No books, no doctrine, no degree of merely mechanical contrivance can alleviate such conditions; still less the complacent herding of the masses. For a man must learn to be alone before he can realize himself in the larger life of which we are coming to have some dim foresight.”



“The idea of communication with Nature as the source of higher conceptions and nobler resignation is one that of course refuses to enter into any formal scheme of education. The Story of My Heart is a living witness to the need and value of such relations with Nature, and it is ceaselessly reinforced by the other writings of Richard Jefferies, notably in this passage from the Dewy Morn : ---”



“The Story of My Heart is an earnest attempt at the portrayal of a self deeper than that swayed and harassed by the conditions of life, which were full of pain for Jefferies. It is a picture of a soul seeking the light with a passionate seeking, a sun-worshipper abandoning learning and all but the simplest and most primitive forms of ritual. But because of the trammels of the life about him, because of the need of earning leisure for his prolific indolence, Jefferies often developed moods of harshness, which, with inherited tendencies, led to inconsistencies in his attitude to existence.”



“He was apparently unable to live two separate lives, as Jakob Boehme could, the one, by which he was to become immortal, entirely unsuspected by his fellows. The result is that here and there we have attitudes which are unworthy of his nobler conceptions, and our sympathy is not infrequently alienated by his obstinate dogmatism.”



“But we should do injustice to Richard Jefferies and to ourselves if we failed to find the compensation for his rejection of beliefs which according to him have served their purpose and should henceforth be superseded. The fact is that Jefferies is an adherent of that religious faith which is held by countless among mankind without any formulation or ritual other than those which are intuitively expressed a faith which, happily enough, after long centuries of divergence, at last merges with the Eastern conception of the Dance of Life,---”



“It is the greater faith beyond all dogma of all those who, Christian, Buddhist, or whatso they be, live and strive for the increase of joy and vitality as their thankoffering to the Eternal Spirit.”



“Many foreign books which are used in class in Japanese school lose by slow process of piecemeal reading. The Story of My Heart is not of that kind: a hasty perusal would never convey more than a small part of its value and import. The sentences, however simple, are often the result of the most intense emotion; they have meant for Jefferies more than the far more difficult pages of The Egoist meant for Meredith or The Dawn of Britain meant for Charles Doughty. The book will liberate many thoughts for students: it will cause them to look upon their own experiences in a rarer and more revelatory light: and it will suggest expression for many an emotion vainly struggling into words. But, as in all good books, there are two points to be careful about. One is to preserve one’s own balance of mind so that a clear distinction be made between the essential and the adventitious.”



“The other is to avoid allowing verbal difficulties to induce unjust criticism.“Listening to the sighing of the grass I felt immortality as I felt the beauty of the summer morning, and I thought beyond immortality, of other conditions, more beautiful than existence, higher than immortality.”It would be easy to criticise such a passage as mere inflation, of only a pathological interest, the language of one in a semi-trance. But second thoughts will lead us to sympathise with the writer, for while almost anyone of us may pass for a time, however rarely, into these transcendental regions, we none of us have any other than the words of daily life by which to make known our experience beyond the frontier.”



“The case is quite different when we come to such a passage as the following:“Centuries of thought have failed to reconcile and fit the mind to the universe, which is designless and purposeless, and without idea. I will not endeavour to fit my thought to it any longer; I find and believe myself to be distinct separate; and I will labour in earnest to obtain the highest culture for my self.” This is either perversity or incapacity for the moment to think with the higher process of mind. And so it is that some passages in this book are nobler and nearer the truth than others; there is a hierarchy of thoughts and forms of style which is but natural with a mystic.”



“He was too honest and sincere a writer to strive for effect, and that is why the writings of his inspired moments have the wonder and freshness of Nature itself, while there are passages which are only true to moods of no more than transient interests. That he was largely unconscious of his style is shown by the frequent intrusion of verse rhythms. Verse, we are told, came before prose in the evolution of artistic expression. We have thus one more primitive trait in Jefferies’ psychology in this revelation of his style in a state of transition.--- ”



“As with the style of George Gissing, and to an extent that of Stevenson, the style of Jefferies in this book reflects an invalid nature. It abounds in repetitions, of word and phrase and sentence; there are mixed metaphors; there is much journalese: and there are passages where the style is not equal to the thought. But these matters need not trouble us, for the intense seriousness of the writer carries us over question of style.”



“Jefferies was essentially a poet. The bulk of his work was the raw, garnered materials of poetry, but in The Story of My Heart we have the various‘process of fusion.’And it is our misfortune that we have not as yet found, except in the hearts of them that love them, any joint realm for the poet and philosopher.”



“The fact is that Jefferies is of the company of the mystics. His heart, like Blake’s, was full of futility, and he strove to attain to the release which only the heart contains, to find those greatest truths, ---- ”



“The most remarkable quality exhibited in this book or any of his writings is what I may term his cosmic imagination. It is abnormal of course, and most probably to attributed to the peculiar nature of the physical derangement which finally laid him low, just as the more radiant passages of his earlier books are to be attributed to the sun-nurtured vitality which characterised him before the darker shadows fell about him. ”



“There is his faith, his final conviction, that Life is ours not to continue the blind moving in a circle which for him all human history has been, but to advance in powers of bodily enjoyment and delight of the soul beyond all that has ever been dreamt, to cease the foolish forging of our own chains, to march out to a freedom from all that brings age upon us, so that we may see with the great vision of the heart, and begin the world again with an infinite hope.”





Mr. Speight came to Japan in 1909 as a foreign professor at Fourth High School. After staying there 10 years, he became lecturer at Tokyo High School of Foreign Language in 1920, then moved to the Dept. of Literature, Tokyo University the next year where he worked as a teacher of English composition. He seemed to have a deep interest in Indian philosophy, psychology, or literature (and Chinese philosophy also) and this is evinced in his writing on the analysis of the thought and psychology of Jefferies as set forth in his introduction to The Story of My Heart. It is not certain whether it is owing to this interest that he left Japan after three years of service at Tokyo University for India to take up his new assignment at the University of Hyderabad.



The nature essays by Richard Jefferies were, together with those of W. H. Hudson, read since the middle of the Taisho era among those amateurs, men of letters, and scholars who find pleasure in reading natural history and nature essays. Then entering the Showa era, it is important to note that the Wild Bird Society of Japan was established in March 1934 based on the proposal of Nakanishi-Godō and Taketomo - Sōfu with the support and encouragement of patron members from a wide range of learned circles: ornithology, journalism, literarature and scholarship, art and ethnology. The initial number of its bulletin magazine Yachō or The Wild Birds was issued in May 1934; and besides specialist articles on the ecology and habits of wild birds, there appeared the translations by Togawa-Shukotsu, Hirata-Tokuboku, and Taketomo-Sōfu of selected passages of nature essays from books written by Richard Jefferies, W. H. Hudson, and Viscount Grey. This monthly periodical Yachō has been continuously issued up to today since 1934. Many prefectural branches or subdivisions of the Society have been established all over the country since then, thus playing an important role in contributing to the popularization of bird watching and the knowledge of wild birds.



In the same year the monthly periodical Dōbutsu-Bungaku or Animal Literature was established by Hiraiwa-Yonekichi, editor, which also contributed to the popularization in writings by field naturalists. This periodical was issued until 1947, then was discontinued. The translation of part of The Natural History of Selborne by Jyugaku-Bunshō appeared during the war and the full translation of Henry Williamson’s Salar the Salmon (1935) by Yanami-Naonori appeared in this magazine in series from 1940 to 1942.





The first introduction of W. H. Hudson in literature in Japan was the article entitled W. H. Hudson by Yanagida-Izumi contributed to Gakutō which appeared in two series in its issues of December 1921 and January 1922. Since then, not a few titles of his writings have been translated and critical essays on him have been written; the number and volume of them is much greater than those of Richard Jefferies, so his works are more widely read in Japan than Jefferies’. In his article Yanagida introduced Hudson based on the sentence entitled William Henry Hudson contained in the book by Edward Thomas entitled A Literary Pilgrim in England (1917). I will not go into details of the bibliography pertaining to W. H. Hudson in Japan, but we can easily trace by glancing at such lists how those books of natural history, nature essays in English literature, and other related categories have been introduced in Japan during and after the Meiji era, amidst the introduction of a torrent of western culture and civilization, and gradually accepted by Japanese readers.



Those books that were introduced in Japan, other than the writings by Walton, White, Jeffries, and Hudson, in the scope of English literature, include the complete translations of The Beauties of Nature and The Wonders of the World We Live In (1892) by John Lubbock (Lord Avebury), Malayan Archipelago (1869) by Alfred R. Wallace, and Naturalist on the River Amazon (1863) by Henry Walter Bates; all three translations were published before the war, and new translations by other translators published after the war. The latest edition of Malayan Archipelago by Niidzuma-Akio was published in two volumes in August 1993 by Chikuma-shobo as one of the titles in its pocket library series.



As for the essays in English literature: Essay of Elia by Charles Lamb, for instance, has been widely read in Japan since the Meiji era, while The Private Papers of Henry Rhycroft by George Gissing and Our Village by Mary Russell Mitford have been popular among the Japanese readers, especially among students at High Schools, since pre-war days as works of tranquility that respond to the heartstrings of Japanese readers. The Private Papers of Henry Rhycroft was introduced for the first time by Hirata-Tokuboku in the year 1909, and the translation of the whole Chapter of Spring by Togawa-Shukotsu appeared in a magazine article in the same year. Many reprint editions with annotations by various editors and translations have been published since then. Our Village by Mitford was translated by Murakami-Shikō and published by Yōtoku-sha after the war, viz. in April 1949. Though the writings of Gissing and Mitford are not the kind of work that describes nature itself directly, as seen in the group of works by Walton, White, Jefferies, and Hudson, we recognize there is something in common between the sentences in the writings of the former reflecting the composed, quiet and serene mind of the authors, and those of the latter, that is the attitude towards life under the motto of “Study to be quiet.”



I truly wish those writings by Richard Jefferies be read long into the future in Japan as some of the representative works in the genre of nature essays in English Literature. And in this respect I am pleased to mention that the translation of the book entitled Under the Acorns compiling ten of Jefferies’ nature essays was published recently in Japan, testimony, I presume that there still remain in Japan a certain number of readers who wish to read Jefferies’ nature essays. Amidst our present day life with the progressive urbanization and environmental pollution being aggravated and, as the result of it, facing the reality that we are destroying and losing the nature surrounding us, it is certain that those nature essays in English literature will make our minds tranquil and remind us of value of the nature. I am sure that those nature essays will be read by men long in the future as the classic books to restore the human nature in our minds.