（Futabatei Shimei）
＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
Even when it comes to the pen names of familiar authors, literary figures, composers, and other such people, many of us probably don’t know the origins of their names.
The handle name for this blog, “historia,” comes from my love of history. You might say, “Who would be interested in that?”, but I like it because it’s simple.
Today, I’d like to introduce the origins of some interesting pen names.
1. Those derived from historical events or Chinese words
(1) Natsume Soseki (real name: Natsume Kinnosuke):夏目漱石
As many people may know, the pen name of Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) is famous and comes from a Chinese historical story.
“Chinseki soryu(枕石漱流)” is a term used to describe a secluded lifestyle in which one uses a stone as a pillow and rinses one’s mouth with clear streams(「石を枕に、清流で口を漱（すす）ぐ」), but someone mistakenly pronounced it “Sōseki chinryu(漱石枕流).”
This means that the saying goes, “Rinse one’s mouth with a stone and use a stream as a pillow(「石で口を漱ぎ、清流を枕にする」).” A friend pointed out the mistake, but because he was a “stubborn loser,” he evaded the mistake by saying, “Rinse my mouth with a stone to brush my teeth, and use a stream as a pillow to wash my ears(「石に漱ぐのは歯を磨くため、流れに枕するのは耳を洗うためだ」),” and did not correct the mistake.
So “Sōseki chinryu” came to mean “a stubborn person with a strong tendency to refuse to lose.”
Nowadays, everyone thinks that the pen name “Soseki” is a perfect fit for Natsume Soseki’s personality, meaning “a stubborn person with a strong tendency to refuse to lose,” but it was originally one of Masaoka Shiki’s pen names. Soseki liked the pen name so much that he asked to use it as his own.
(2) Masaoka Shiki (real name: Masaoka Tsunenori, childhood name was Tokoronosuke, later changed to “Noboru”):正岡子規
Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902) adopted the pen name “Shiki” when he was 22 years old and developed tuberculosis and began coughing up blood. “Shiki” is the name of the cuckoo, which is said to be “the cuckoo that sings and coughs up blood.”
There are various kanji characters for the cuckoo, such as “時鳥、不如帰、霍公鳥、杜鵑、and 沓手鳥,” and Masaoka Shiki also had many pen names. There were 54 different names, including “獺祭書屋主人(Dassai Shooku Shujin), 竹の里人(Take no Satobito), 香雲(Kouun), 地風升(Chifumasu), 野球(Noboru), and 越智処之助(Ochi Tokoro nosuke),” and “漱石(Soseki)” was one of them.
(3) Higuchi Ichiyo (real name: Higuchi Natsu):樋口一葉
The origin of Higuchi Ichiyo’s pen name (1872-1896) was a reference to the story of Bodhidharma, who traveled from India to China in a boat made of a single reed leaf and whose arms and legs rotted after nine years of Zen meditation(「一枚の葦の葉の舟に乗ってインドから中国に渡り、面壁九年の座禅で手足が腐ってしまった達磨大師の故事」).
Apparently, she sometimes used humorous pen names like “浅香のぬま子（Asaka no Numako）” and “春日野しか子（Kasugano Shikako）” in her newspaper novels, but they sound like the names of comic writers and I am disillusioned by them.
Between December 1894 and February 1896, just before her death at the young age of 24, Ichiyo published a succession of masterpieces, including “大つごもり(Otsugomori),” “たけくらべ(Takekurabe),” “にごりえ(Nigorie),” and “十三夜(The Thirteenth Night).” These are known as the “miraculous 14 months.”
By the way, as an aside, Ichiyo was apparently once proposed to by Natsume Soseki’s eldest brother, Daisuke. This was because Ichiyo’s father, Noriyoshi, was a Tokyo prefectural government official when his superior was Soseki’s father, Kohyoe Naokatsu. However, Naokatsu was not pleased with Noriyoshi’s frequent requests for loans from Naokatsu, who called the engagement off, saying, “He has asked me for loans so many times just because we were superior and subordinate, so I don’t know what he will ask of me if we become relatives.”
2. Pen names derived from puns
(1) Futabatei Shimei (real name: Hasegawa Tatsunosuke):二葉亭四迷
According to “Confessions of Half My Life,” the origin of the pen name of Futabatei Shimei (1864-1909) was his own self-deprecating feelings toward his debut work, “Ukigumo,” especially in response to the fact that he had “borrowed the name of Shoyo Tsubouchi to publish his work,” telling himself to “go to hell（くたばって仕舞（め）え）.”
Shortly after graduating from Senshu College (now Senshu University) in 1885, he began to visit the home of Shoyo Tsubouchi, and at his recommendation, he published “An Overview of Novels” in the Central Academic Journal. At the time, his pen name was “冷々亭主人（Reireitei Shujin）.”
At first, I couldn’t even publish it under my own name, and by borrowing Tsubouchi’s name, I was finally able to convince bookstores, so instead of fixing it, I made Tsubouchi do dishonest things for my own profit. In other words, I was practically using him.
Not only that, it is also an injustice to the readers…it is akin to selling dog meat by pretending to be sheep, or to put it bluntly, a fraud.
This was a terrible dilemma. It was a clash between the practical and the ideal. I couldn’t solve this dilemma intellectually, but at the same time, the need to earn a living was becoming more and more pressing, so I had no choice but to write “Ukigumo” and earn money.
So, speaking from my own ideals, I became a reckless, reckless person, and made money, but I realized that I was a heartless, unlovable, worthless person. In the depths of my anguish, I let out a cry of my own accord: “I wish I could die(くたばって仕舞しめえ)!” (Futabatei Shimei)
There are many speculations going around about my pen name, but the truth is as I have just told you.
It is a false myth that these words were insults hurled at him by his father, who had no understanding of literature.
(2) Naoki Sanjugo (real name: Uemura Souichi):直木三十五
Naoki Sanjugo (1891-1934) is known mostly for the literary award named after him, the Naoki Prize, but he is not well known as a novelist and does not seem to be very highly regarded.
“Naoki（直木）” is a combination of the “Ue（植）” part of his real name, Uemura（植村）, and “35（三十五）” is based on his age. His writing career began at the age of 31, when he wrote a monthly commentary for the Jiji Shimpo under the pen name “Naoki Sanjuichi（直木三十一）.” After that, he changed his name to “32（三十二）” and “33（三十三）” on each of his birthdays.
On his 34th birthday, he wrote his name as “Naoki Sanjushi(直木三十四)”, but his editor misunderstood and changed it to “Naoki Sanjusan(直木三十三)”, and he continued to use it for a while without correcting it.
However, it was said that “Sanjusan(三十三)” did not look good, and it could also be read as “Sanzan(散々),” and he disliked being called “Misozo(味噌蔵),” so he changed his name to “Naoki Sanjugo.”
He never changed his name after that, apparently because he hated the idea of ”the best strategy is to run away(三十六計逃げるに如かず),” but it is also said that Kikuchi Kan warned him, “It’s enough, stop changing your pen name as you get older.”
Like many Osakans, he had a mischievous spirit and liked to joke around and have fun.
(3) Asada Tetsuya (real name: Irokawa Takehiro ):阿佐田哲也
Asada Tetsuya (1929-1989) was a famous mahjong novelist and mahjong player, known for works such as “Mahjong Wanderings.”
He apparently chose this pen name after staying up all night playing mahjong (a so-called “all-night mahjong”) and inadvertently exclaiming, “It’s morning! I’ve been up all night!(「朝だ(asada)！徹夜だ(tetsuyada)！」)”
He also wrote novels such as “Divorce” under the pen name “Irokawa Budai.”
3. Names that imitate foreigners
(1) Edogawa Ranpo (real name: Hirai Taro):江戸川乱歩
Edogawa Ranpo (1894-1965) is a famous mystery writer known for works such as “The Phantom Thief Twenty Faces” and “The Boy Detectives Club,” but this pen name is a parody of the American novelist Edgar Allan Poe, known as the “father of the detective novel.”
(2) Asamatsu Ken (real name: Matsui Katsuhiro):朝松健
The pen name of the horror novelist Asamatsu Ken (1956- ) is a play on the name of the British horror novelist Arthur Machen.
(3) Yorii Takahiro (real name: not disclosed):依井貴裕
The pen name of mystery writer Yorii Takahiro (1964- ) is a play on the initials of American mystery writer Ellery Queen, “E.Q.” (iikyu). When you read “Yorii Takahiro(依井貴裕)” in on-reading (however, the on-reading of “井” is “sei”, but let’s just ignore that), it becomes “iikyu.”
(4) Hisaishi Joe (real name: Fujisawa Mamoru):久石譲
The pen name of composer Hisaishi Joe (1950-) is a play on the American composer Quincy Jones.
This is because “Hisaishi（久石）” can also be read as “Kuishi.”
4. A gender-neutral or anti-gender name to camouflage the fact that a woman is a woman (a man is a man)
(1) An example of a woman using a masculine or anti-gender name
① Amako Soubei (real name: Katane Noriko):尼子騒兵衛
Amako Soubei (1958- ) is a manga artist from Amagasaki City. Her most famous work is “Rantaro, the Failed Ninja.”
② Sato Fumiya (real name: Sato Fumiko):さとうふみや
Sato Fumiya (1965-) is a manga artist from Omiya City, Saitama Prefecture. Her most famous work is “The Kindaichi Case Files.”
③ Takamura Kaoru (real name: not disclosed):髙村薫
Takamura Kaoru (1953-) is a novelist from Osaka City. His most famous work is “Fly with Gold in Your Arms.”
④ Oima Yoshitoki (real name: not disclosed):大今良時
Oima Yoshitoki (1989-) is a manga artist from Ogaki City. Her most famous work is “Mardock Scramble.”
(2) Examples of men using feminine or gender-neutral names
①Kitamura Kaoru (real name: Miyamoto Kazuo):北村薫
Kitamura Kaoru (1949- ) is a novelist and mystery writer from Sugito Town, Kitakatsuragi District, Saitama Prefecture. His most famous work is “The Flying Horse.”
② Uchiyama Aki (real name: Noguchi Masayuki ):内山亜紀
Aki Uchiyama (1953-) is a manga artist from Itabashi Ward, Tokyo. He has written many lolicon manga.
③ Yoshimizu Kagami (real name: not disclosed):美水かがみ
Yoshimizu Kagami (1977-) is a manga artist from Satte City, Saitama Prefecture. His most famous work is “Lucky Star.”
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