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Lieutenant-General Mori Rintaro (森林太郎, February 17, 1862 – July 8, 1922), known by his pen name Mori Ogai(), was a Japanese Army Surgeon general, translator, novelist, poet and father to Mori Mari. He obtained his medical license at a very young age and introduced translated German literary works to the Japanese public. Mori Ogai also was considered the first to successfully express the art of western poetry into Japanese. He wrote many works and created many writing styles.The Wild Geese (1911–13) was considered his major work. After his death, he was considered one of the leading writers that modernized Japanese Literature.

Early career

After graduation, Mori enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Army as a medical officer, hoping to specialize in military medicine and hygiene. He was commissioned as a deputy surgeon (lieutenant) in 1882.

Mori was sent by the army to study in Germany (Leipzig, Dresden, Munich, and Berlin) from 1884–1888. During this time, he also developed an interest in European literature. As a matter of trivia, Mori Ōgai is the first Japanese known to have ridden on the Orient Express.

One of his major accomplishments was his ability to create works using a style of "translation" that he obtained from his experience in European culture.

Upon his return to Japan, he was promoted to surgeon first class (captain) in May 1885; after graduating from the Army War College in 1888, he was promoted to senior surgeon, second class (lieutenant colonel) in October 1889. Now a high-ranking army doctor, he pushed for a more scientific approach to medical research, even publishing a medical journal out of his own funds.

Meanwhile, he also attempted to revitalize modern Japanese literature and published his own literary journal (Shigarami sōshi, 1889–1894) and his own book of poetry (Omokage, 1889). In his writings, he was an "anti-realist", asserting that literature should reflect the emotional and spiritual domain. The short story "The Dancing Girl" (舞姫, Maihime, 1890) described an affair between a Japanese man and a German woman.

In May 1893, Mori was promoted to senior surgeon, first class (colonel). In 1899, he married Akamatsu Toshiko, daughter of Admiral Akamatsu Noriyoshi, a close friend of Nishi Amane. He divorced her the following year under acrimonious circumstances that irreparably ended his friendship with Nishi.

Later career

At the start of the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, Medical Superintendent Mori was sent to Manchuria and, the following year, to Taiwan. In February 1899, he was appointed head of the Army Medical Corps with the rank of surgeon major-general and was based in Kokura, Kyūshū. His transfer was because of his responses to fellow doctors and his criticism about their fields of research in the Japanese Medical Journal he was editor of. In 1902, he was reassigned to Tokyo and was attached to a division in the Russo-Japanese War, based out of Hiroshima.

In 1907, Mori was promoted to Surgeon General of the Army (lieutenant general), the highest post within the Japanese Army Medical Corps, and became head of the Imperial Fine Arts Academy, which is now the Japan Art Academy. Also in the same year, he also became chairman of the BRC(Beriberi Research Council) and headed their first major research case. Mori Ogai discovered the the cause of the beriberi disease and managed to create a foundation to build a remedy, but unfortunately the problem was resolved after his death.

He was appointed director of the Imperial Museum when he retired in 1916. Mori Ogai then died of renal failure and pulmonary tuberculosis six years later, aged 60.

Literary work

Although Mori did little writing from 1892–1902, he continued to edit a literary journal (Mezamashi gusa, 1892–1909). He also produced translations of the works of Goethe, Schiller, Ibsen, Hans Christian Andersen, and Hauptmann.

It was during the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05) that Mori started keeping a poetic diary. After the war, he began holding tanka writing parties that included several noted poets such as Yosano Akiko.

Mori Ogai helped found a new magizine called Subaru (literary magazine) in 1909 with the help of others such as Yosano Akiko and Yosano Tekkan.

His later works can be divided into three separate periods. From 1909–1912, he wrote mostly fiction based on his own experiences. This period includes Vita Sexualis, and his most popular novel, Gan (雁, The Wild Geese, 1911–13), which is set in 1881 Tokyo and was filmed by Shirō Toyoda in 1953 as The Mistress.

In 1909, he released his novel "Vita Sexualis" which was abruptly banned a month later. Authorities deemed his work too sexual and dangerous to public morals. Mori Ogai, during the period he was writing Vita Sexualis, focused on making a statement regarding the current literary trends of modern Japanese literature. He approached the trend on sexuality and individualism by describing them as a link between body and soul. Ogai points out problems concerning the art and literature world in the 19th century in his work. His writing style, depicted from the Meiji government's perspective, derived from naturalism and was implemented with his thoughts that were brought up from writers who focused on the truth.

His later works link his concerns with the Ministry of Education regarding the understanding of "intellectual freedom" and how they police and dictate the potential of literature.

From 1912–1916, he wrote mostly historical stories. Deeply affected by the death of General Nogi Maresuke in 1912, he explored the impulses of self-destruction, self–sacrifice and patriotic sentiment. This period includes Sanshō Dayū (山椒大夫), and Takasebune (高瀬舟).

From 1916-1921, Mori Ogai created biographies of three Edo period doctors.

Selected works

• Maihime (舞姫, The Dancing Girl (1890))
• Utakata no ki (うたかたの記, Foam on the Waves (1890))
• Fumizukai (文づかひ, The Courier (1891))
• Wita sekusuarisu (ヰタ・セクスアリス, Vita Sexualis (1909))
• Seinen (青年, Young Men (1910))
• Gan (雁, The Wild Geese (1911–13))
• Okitsu Yagoemon no isho (興津弥五右衛門の遺書, The Last Testament of Okitsu Yagoemon (1912))
• Sanshō Dayū (山椒大夫, Sanshō the Steward (1915))
• Takasebune (高瀬舟, The Boat on the Takase River (1916))
• Shibue Chūsai (渋江抽斎, Shibue Chusai (1916))
• Izawa Ranken (伊澤蘭軒, Izawa Ranken (1916-17))
• Hojo Katei (北条霞亭, Hojo Katei (1917-18))

External links

• Mori, Ogai | Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures (National Diet Library)
• e-texts of Mori Ōgai 's works at Aozora bunko
• Ogai Mori's grave