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Tatsuhiko Shibusawa

しぶさわ たつひこ

Shibusawa Tatsuhiko

Aliases: 澁澤龍彦 / 渋沢龍彦
Pen Names: Shibukawa Ryūji（Pen name used for early translations and fiction）, Rankyōtarō（Used for certain short pieces）, Tasso S.（Used in English-language contexts and some publications）, Tonju-an（Art name adopted in later life）, Musei Dōjin（Art name adopted in late life (linked to loss of voice)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1928-05-08 （Kuruma-chō, Shiba Ward, Tokyo City, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan (now Takanawa, Minato, Tokyo)）
Died
1987-08-05 （Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan (Tokyo Jikeikai Medical University Hospital)） age 59
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese, French
Residence History
Kuruma-chō, Shiba Ward, Tokyo City (birthplace) → Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture (childhood) → Nakazato, Takinogawa, Tokyo City (raised) → Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato, Tokyo (later life, hospitalized)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Translator, Critic, Scholar of French literature
Active Years
1954-1987
Affiliations
Coterie magazine 'Genre' (Jānru), Iwanami Shoten (freelance proofreader), Hakusuisha (publisher of his early translation)
Influenced By
André Breton, Jean Cocteau, Marquis de Sade, Georges Bataille, Michel Foucault
Influenced
Simon Yotsuya, Daijirō Morohoshi, Hiroshi Noda, Tadanori Yokoo, Tatsumi Hijikata (butoh dancer/choreographer)

Education

University of Tokyo, Faculty of Letters
Faculty of Letters / Department of French Literature
Degree: 文学士
Period: 1950-1953
Year of Graduation: 1953
Country: Japan
Graduation thesis: 'The Modernity of the Marquis de Sade'
University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology (Master's program)
Graduate School of Letters / French Literature
Period: 1953-1954（修士課程在籍、肺結核で中断）
Country: Japan
Enrolled in a master's program; studies were interrupted by pulmonary tuberculosis

Awards

Izumi Kyōka Literary Prize
1981
Work: Karakusa Monogatari (Karakusa Tales)
Organization: Izumi Kyōka Literary Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Literary Prize
1988
Work: Takaoka Shinnō Kōkaiki (Voyage of Prince Takaoka)
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun / Yomiuri Literary Prize Committee
Result: 受賞（遺作・没後受賞）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Karakusa Monogatari (Karakusa Tales)

1981 Short story collection

A late short story collection containing fantastical and sometimes humorous tales.

fantasyhumornostalgia

Takaoka Shinnō Kōkaiki (Voyage of Prince Takaoka)

1987 Novel (posthumous publication)

A long novel completed late in life; a fantastical tale of a voyage, published posthumously and prize-winning.

voyagefantasyroyaltymyth

Inurowa Toshi (The Cynopolis / Dog-Wolf City)

1962 Short story collection

An early short story collection featuring works marked by fantastical and cruel beauty.

fantasyaesthetic of crueltyurban imagery

The Philosophy of Hedonism

1965 Essay / Criticism

A critical work containing essays on eroticism and the pursuit of pleasure.

eroticismphilosophycultural criticism

Eroticism

1967 Criticism / Translation

An edited/translated volume on eroticism that influenced Japanese reception of the subject.

erostranslationliterary scholarship

Fantastic Natural History

1979 Essays / Criticism

An essay collection combining fantastic imagination with a museum-like, natural-historical viewpoint; some editions include plates.

cabinet of curiositiesfantasyart history

Bibliography

  • The Revival of Sade: Pioneer of Freedom and Rebellious Thought
  • Notebook of Black Magic
  • The Holy Conception
  • The Cynopolis (Dog-Wolf City)
  • Notebook of Poisons
  • Tales of the World's Wicked Women
  • Cosmographia Fantastica: A Dream's Chronicle
  • The Life of the Marquis de Sade: How the Prison Writer Was Born
  • The Philosophy of Hedonism: Seeking the Modern Purpose of Life
  • Anatomy of Eros: From Legend to Psychology
  • Notebook of Secret Societies
  • Portraits of Heresy
  • Homo Eroticus
  • From the Gallery of Phantoms
  • Cabinet of Strange and Marvelous People
  • Golden Age
  • Episodes of Women
  • On Beloved (and Biased) Writers
  • A Literary History with Demons: Mystics and Mad Poets
  • Breasts of Europe
  • A Room of Dreams
  • Preface to Doll-Love
  • World Inside a Walnut
  • Shells and Skulls
  • Portraits of the Fantastic
  • Mosaic of Travels
  • Emblematics of Thought
  • Icons of the Cave
  • Perspective of Memory
  • Fantastic Natural History
  • Castle and Prison
  • The Sun King and the Moon King
  • Travel Companions (Correspondence with Seiichi Horiuchi)
  • The Hollow Boat
  • My Pliny
  • Strolling with Flora

Adaptations

  • Bungo Stray Dogs: DEAD APPLE (2018 film) – a character modeled on Tatsuhiko Shibusawa appears

Translations by Author

  • Jean Cocteau (translated works)
  • Marquis de Sade (translated works)
  • Georges Bataille (translated works)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
cabinet-of-curiosities, encyclopedic prosescholarly, essayistic approachfantastical and aesthetic (decadent) expression
Recurring Motifs
eroticismfantasy and dreamstoys and dollsprisons and castlesrare books and private libraries

Health

  • Pulmonary tuberculosis
    1950年代（修士課程在籍中に発病）
    Interrupted graduate studies and curtailed early employment/research prospects
  • Hypopharyngeal cancer (laryngectomy / loss of voice)
    1986-1987
    Underwent laryngectomy in 1986 and lost his voice but continued writing; died in 1987 from a ruptured carotid aneurysm.

Legacy

He introduced contentious Western writers such as the Marquis de Sade and surrealists to Japan, significantly influencing studies of eroticism and fantastic literature. As a translator and critic he made lasting contributions, created a distinctive fantasy world in his fiction, and continues to be the subject of exhibitions and scholarly research.

Museums

  • Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature (has hosted retrospectives on Shibusawa) Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan (venue for exhibitions/retrospectives)
  • Setagaya Literary Museum (hosted posthumous retrospectives) Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan (exhibition venue)
  • Sendai Literature Museum (related exhibitions) Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan (exhibition venue)

Academic Societies

  • Society of Fantasy Literature

In Popular Culture

  • Bungo Stray Dogs (character based on Shibusawa appears; featured in the film 'DEAD APPLE')
  • Modeled as a character in a short work by Daijirō Morohoshi
  • Portraits and homage works by artists such as Tadanori Yokoo

Quotes

  • When I sign my name, I would never write it as '竜彦' (the simplified form).
    Source: Autobiographical chronology / essay (recorded remark)
  • Only 70,000 yen — they are making a mockery of people. I thought I might get about three years in prison.
    Source: Remarks to the press after the obscenity trial (1969)

Trivia

  • Birth name was Tatsuo Shibusawa.
  • Anecdote: as an infant he was said to have been held by Eiichi Shibusawa.
  • In later life he kept a female rabbit named 'Ucha'.
  • In 1969 his conviction for distribution/possession of obscene material was finalized; he was fined 70,000 yen.
  • He had his vocal cords removed in 1986 and lost his voice but continued to write.