Toson Shimazaki’s Self-exploration From Hakai

Toson Shimazaki is a well-known writer in Japan.His creative career runs through the Meiji,Taisho and Showa periods.Toson Shimazaki in each period,has become a representative figure in Japanese literary circles,and his works have also caused a sensation in the society again and again.Toson Shimazaki’s works are inseparable from his life and experience.He takes himself and his life as materials and presents it to readers through literary works.Therefore,from Toson Shimazaki’s works,we can not only see his thoughts and exploration of life,but also see his helplessness and compromise to the society and era in which he lives.In the early days,Toson Shimazaki was influenced by Christian humanistic thoughts and appeared on the Japanese literary world as a romantic poet.His early works were full of youthfulness and expectations for freedom.After experiencing the hardships of life,he has gradually transformed from poetry creation to a novel field which could better express his inner feelings.The advent of Hakai marked the successful transformation of Toson Shimazaki from poetry to novel.Although Hakai is based on tribal people,the whole work is more inclined to the psychological description of the protagonist Ushimatsu,expressing Ushimatsu’s inner distress and struggle.Toson Shimazaki’s description of Ugly’s inner changes is actually expressing his inner pain and struggle.All kinds of characters in Iiyama Elementary School in Hakai and the various characters that have intersections with Ugumatsu are all reflections of Toson Shimazaki’s real life.Through Hakai,Toson Shimazaki expressed his inner repression,his helplessness towards the remnants of feudal society,and his confusion to the life.Through " Hakai",Toson Shimazaki showed his struggles and contradictions,which are the expression of his self-exploration through his works.Hakai is the beginning of Toson Shimazaki’s self-inquiry consciousness,and the subsequent Haru,Ie,and Shinsei are the continuation of the self-inquiry spirit in Hakai.Therefore,this article takes Hakai as a starting point to explore Toson Shimazaki’s unremitting pursuit of self-inquiry.This not only allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the characteristics and significance of Toson Shimazaki’s self-inquiry,but also a deeper understanding to Toson Shimazaki’s literary thoughts and the reasons for the shift.What’s more,it can further deepen the understanding of the formation,development,and evolution of modern Japanese literature.