1862 – 1922

Born in Iwami Province (present-day Shimane Prefecture), his real name was Rintarō Mori. After graduating from the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Medicine, he became a military doctor and studied in Germany for four years from 1884. Upon returning to Japan, he published the translated poetry collection Omokage in Kokumin no Tomo in 1889. That same year, he launched the literary criticism magazine Shigarami Sōshi, beginning his career in literary enlightenment. The following year, he published the novel Maihime (“The Dancing Girl”), depicting the tragic love story between a Japanese student and a German woman. From 1892, he serialized a translation of Sokkyo Shijin . He served in the First Sino-Japanese War and, upon his return, founded the magazine Mesamashi-gusa. In 1904, he took part in the Russo-Japanese War as a military doctor. After launching the literary magazine Subaru, he published works such as Wita sekusuarisu（”Vita Sexualis”）, Seinen (“Young Men”), and Gan (“The Wild Geese”). He also wrote historical novels, including Okitsu Yagoemon no isho（”The Last Testament of Okitsu Yagoemon”）,Abe Ichizoku（”The Abe Clan”）, and Takasebune（”The Boat on the Takase River”）, as well as the biographical work Shibue Chūsai . Mori laid the foundation for modern Japanese literature.