著者

加藤 秀俊

出版者

放送大学

雑誌

放送教育開発センター研究紀要 (ISSN:09152210)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.5, pp.1-16, 1991

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Kunio Yanagita, the founder of Japanese folklore studies, was extremely impressed and excited to learn that Kumagusu Minakata demonstrated his wide knowledge of comparative folklore and oral traditions throughout the world. Minakata spent more than ten years at the British Museum, and his writings were quite new to young Yanagita. Eventually, Yanagita wrote his letter of admiration to Minakata, and asked many questions. The correspondence between the two scholars began in the spring of 1909 and continued until 1912 when they came to disagreement and misunderstanding on the issues of mountain inhabitants in Japan. However, during those four years, they wrote each other almost every week. The letters are often voluminous. Especially, Minakata was a great correspondent, and his letters were usually more than 50 pages at a time. With his encouragement, Yanagita finally decided to devote his life to the study of folklore in Japan. Being a naturalist, Minakata was very keen on nature conservancy in his home town in Wakayama prefecture, and Yanagita did not hesitate to give him help from the central government in Tokyo. This essay is a content analysis of the letters of both parties, and it may reveal a neglected aspect of Japanese intellectual history of early 20th century.