YOSHII ISAMU

(1886–1960)

   Yoshii Isamu was a tanka poet and playwright. He dropped out of Waseda University to contribute to Myojo (Venus), the literary journal of the growing Tokyo Shinshisha (Tokyo New Poetry Society), which he subsequently joined and affiliated with Mori Ogai, Ueda Bin, and Kitahara Hakushu. He later left the society and joined with Romanticist Kitahara to form the Pan no kai (Society of Pan). In 1909, Yoshii broke away and, with the help of Mori, founded the literary journal Subaru (Pleiades). In the ensuing decade, he published the poetry anthologies Sakehogai (Revelry, 1910), Gion kashu (Gion Verses, 1915), and Tokyo koto shu (Collection from the Tokyo Red-Light District, 1916), which helped solidify his status as a major tanka poet. Thereafter, he contributed to the shingeki (new theater) movement by publishing plays in Subaru. He also wrote scripts for programs that were performed on the radio in the 1920s.

   See also MODERN THEATER; THEATER REFORM.