著者

佐藤 孝己

出版者

日本比較文学会

雑誌

比較文学 (ISSN:04408039)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.6, pp.30-39, 1963

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<p> For some twenty years since the Restoration of Japan (the Meiji Ishin),Japanese showed crazy enthusiasm toward English. Even after that it has been taught at most schools as the first foreign language. Surveying the literature and translations of Hawthorne in Japan, I found that the English Instruction since the Meiji Ishin played the part of medium to introduce Hawthorne.</p><p> In the Meiji Era American textbooks were used at schools. Among them were Wilson, Sanders' Union, Longman, New National and Swinton, Readers. Some of them gave several pieces of Hawthorne's Stories, which were necessarily taken from his juvenile books. They were "Benjamin West" taken from <i>Biographical Stories for Children</i> (<i>New National Readers</i> V), "The Pine-Tree Shillings" from <i>The Whole History of Grandfather's Chair</i> (<i>Sanders' Union Readers</i> IV),"Ben Franklin's Wharf" from <i>Biographical Stories for Children</i> (<i>Swinton's Fourth Reader</i>) and "Oliver Cromwell", from <i>Biographical Stories for Children</i>, "Worth Her Weight in Silver" from <i>The Whole History of Grandfather's Chair</i>. (<i>Swinton's Fifth Reader</i>).</p><p> The condition urged the publication of other stories of Hawthorne in his juvenile books as supplementary readings. Hawthorne's juvenile books have their own merits. Each of the stories seems to be told in a casual way but it implicates something important to life. Therefore, teachers and pupils were apt to read the moral part of Hawthorne's works, even in reading <i>Twice-Told Tales</i>.</p><p> Now I will show the list of his short stories in the order of frequency in translation.</p><p> 1 "David Swan"</p><p> 2 "The Ambitious Guest"</p><p> 2 "The Great Stone Face"</p><p> 4 "Doctor Heidegger's Experiment"</p><p> 4 "The Vision of the Fountain"</p><p> 6 "A Rill from the Town Pump"</p><p> 6 "The Minister's Black Veil"</p><p> 8 "Fancy's Show Box"</p><p> In surveying Hawthorne in Japan we should never forget Peter Parley's <i>Universal History</i>. Nowadays it is widely recognized that Hawthorne wrote the book with the help of his sister Elizabeth. The book was one of the historical books that commanded a wide audience for the first half of the Meiji Era. In this case we notice again that the book was introduced to many boys and girls through the medium of schools.</p>