The Modern Novel

Biography

Shinobu Orikuchi, also known as Chōkū Shaku, was born in 1887 in Nishinari, near Osaka. He took a degree in Japanese literature from Kokugakuin University. He taught Japanese and Chinese literature at high school and then worked as a part-time instructor in Kokugakuin University, becoming a professor in 1922. He was also a professor at other universities. He wrote poetry in the Tanka style and cofounded a magazine of Tanka poetry. When he was fifteen, he had persuaded his father to buy him copy of the Man’yōshū poetry collection and later received a doctorate for his study of it. He also worked as a folklorist and studied Shinto and wrote articles and books on the topic. He is also the author of one completed novel, though he started several others which were never completed. He died in 1953 of stomach cancer.

Other links

Shinobu Orikuchi
Shinobu Orikuchi
Origuchi Shinobu’s Marebitoron in Global Perspective