Toson shimazaki biography of william shakespeare

Japanese writer (1872–1943)

Tōson Shimazaki (島崎 藤村, Shimazaki Tōson, 25 March 1872 – 22 August 1943) was the pen-name of Haruki Shimazaki, a Japanese writer active in the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods of Japan.

He began his career as a Romantic poet, but went on to establish himself as a major proponent of Japanese Naturalism. The historical novel Before the Dawn (1929-1935), about the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate, is his most popular work.

Toson shimazaki biography of william shakespeare

Early life

Shimazaki was born in the old post town of Magome-juku, Nagano Prefecture (now part of Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture), as son of Masaki Shimazaki and his wife Nui. In 1881, he was sent to Tokyo by his father to acquire an education.

Masaki, who showed an increasingly eccentric behaviour and suffered from hallucinations, was interned by his family in a self-built cell and died when Shimazaki was only fourteen. Shimazaki's oldest sister Sono Takase also suffered from mental disorders in her late