Futabatei Shimei (二葉亭 四迷, February 28, 1864 - May 10, 1909) was a Japanese author, translator, and literary critic. Born Hasegawa Tatsunosuke in Edo (now Tokyo), Futabatei's works are in the realist style popular in the mid- to late-19th century. His work Ukigumo (Floating Clouds, 1887) is widely hailed as Japan's first modern novel.

After dropping out of the Russian language department at the Tokyo School of Foreign Languages (東京外国語学校), Futabatei published the literary criticism Shōsetsu Sōron at the encouragement of the critic and author Tsubouchi Shōyō in 1886. Futabatei's first novel Ukigumo was never finished, but its realist style strongly influenced fellow authors in his day. Futabatei was accomplished in Russian and translated the work of Ivan Turgenev and other Russian realists into Japanese.

Futabatei died of tuberculosis on the Bay of Bengal while returning from Russia as a special correspondent for the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. He was cremated and buried in Singapore.

The origin of his pen name is in the curse his father said when told by his son that he aspired to study literature: Kutabatte shimee (くたばってしめぇ), "Drop dead!"

Works

criticism

• Shōsetsu Sōron (1886)

novel

• Ukigumo (1887)
• Sono Omokage (1906)
• Heibon (1907)

See also

• Tsubouchi Shoyo
• Russian literature

External links

• e-texts of Shimei's works (http://www.aozora.gr.jp/index_pages/person6.html#sakuhin_list_1) at Aozora bunko
• Shimei's grave in Singapore's Japanese Cemetery (http://preetamrai.com/weblog/archives/2004/11/14/futabatei-shimei-japanese-author-and-translator/)