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KUBOTA MANTARO 久保田万太郎
Mantarō Kubota, Kubota Mantaroo
Kubota Mantarō, 11 November 1889 - 6 May 1963)
was a Japanese author, playwright and Japanese poet.
Kubota was born in the plebian Asakusa district of Tokyo, to a clothing merchant family. He became interested in stage plays at an early age, largely through the influence of his grandmother, who also provided financial support for him to attend college. While still a student at Keio University in 1911, he made his literary debut with the short novel Asagao ("Morning Glory", 朝顔) and a stage play Yugi ("Game", 末枯), both of which appeared in the university's journal. Starting from 1919, Kubota taught courses in literature at Keio University.
He went on to write many full-length novels, including Tsuyushiba ("Dew on the Grass"), and Shundei ("Spring Thaw"), which depicted the joys and sorrows and traditional lifestyle of ordinary people in working-class neighborhoods in old pre-war Tokyo.
In the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, his home in the Nippori district of Tokyo burned down, and he relocated to nearby Tabuchi, where he made the acquaintance of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.
In 1926, along with the novelist Masao Kume, he joined the Tokyo Central Broadcasting Station (now NHK), and later headed the drama and music department. He greatly contributed to the development of radio broadcast drama in its early stages.
In 1937, together with Kunio Kishida and Toyoo Iwata, Kubota created the Bungakuza theater company and became a leading figure in the modern theater circles in Japan.
Kubota lived in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture from 1945-1955. He first moved there when an air raid destroyed his Tokyo home. During those ten years, he made the acquaintance with many of the Kamakura literati as chairman of the Kamakura P.E.N. Club.
In the field of haiku poetry, Kubota came to edit the haiku magazine, Shunto. Although haiku remained merely a hobby, as he was more interested in novels and plays, Kubota published several haiku collections.
Kubota died on 6 May 1963 at the age of 73, of food poisoning, after eating an akagai clam at a party held by Ryuzaburo Umehara.
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"Haiku is concerned with nature and humans."
Kubota Mantaro
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梅雨明けや さて 女坂 男坂
tsuyu ake ya sate onnna-saka otoko-saka
end of the rainy season -
well, the slope for women
the slope for men
Women's slope (onna-zaka) 女坂
おもふさま降りてあがりし祭りかな
omou sama futte agarishi matsuri kana
as it goes ...
a bit of rain, a bit of shine
the festival
Festival (matsuri 祭り)
牡蠣船にもちこむわかればなしかな
kakibune ni mochikomu wakarebanashi kana
talk of separation -
brought all the way to the
oyster ship
Oyster (kaki 牡蠣)
湯豆腐やいのちのはてのうすあかり
yudoofu ya inochi no hate no usuakari
hot tofu -
at the end of my days,
a faint light
Kubota lost his first wife and his son commited suicide.
Hot tofu (yudoofu 湯豆腐)
奉公にゆく誰彼やばい廻し
hookoo ni yuku darekare ya bai mawashi
someone is leaving
to become an apprentice -
spinning tops
Autumn games and kigo
吉原のある日露けきとんぼかな
Yoshiwara no aru hi tsuyukeki tonbo kana
in Yoshiwara
all wet with dew
a dragonfly
Yoshiwara, pleasure quarters of Old Edo
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紫のさまで濃からず花菖蒲
murasaki no sama de kokarazu hana ayame
purple just like that
and not too strong -
this iris
Iris (ayame, shoobu, kakitsubata, airisu)
All haiku translated by Gabi Greve
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Japanese Reference
久保田万太郎 （ くぼたまんたろう ）.
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Related words
***** Introducing Japanese Haiku Poets
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