Prologue (first part)

Take a trip into the world of "The Magic Lantern," a masterpiece by Yokohama-born author Osaragi Jiro!


1971 Osaragi Jiro with his beloved cat: Osaragi Jiro Memorial Museum

For about 1931 years from around 6 (Showa 10), Osaragi Jiro used Room 318 of the Hotel New Grand as his workplace and wrote many of his masterpieces set in Yokohama.

One of them is the novel "Gento," set in Yokohama in 1873 (Meiji 6).
Around this time, when Japan was taking the helm towards modernization with the Meiji Restoration, many people were stripped of their samurai status and became Shizoku, forcing them into hardship lives. The protagonist, Suketaro, lives with his father, a Shizoku, and is anxious and struggles to avoid being left behind by the waves of the new era.
One of the film's charms is that it captures the energy that people and towns exude to survive in a new era, as well as the real atmosphere of this era, where hope and anxiety are mixed together.

Many real-life locations appear in the novel, and as you read it you are enveloped in a strange sensation of fiction and non-fiction, and of Meiji and Reiwa eras intersecting.

This digital stamp rally is divided into two parts. Collect the hidden stamps and visit places related to the work, enjoying a little trip to Yokohama as Suketaro saw it on that day.

Recommended starting point
Around Kannai Station
Time required to reach the goal
50 to 60 minutes

Author Jiro Osaragi (1897-1973)

Osaragi Jiro (real name Nojiri Kiyohiko) was born on October 1897, 30 (Meiji 10) in what is now Hanabusa-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama. He aimed to become a diplomat but was passionate about theater, and decided to become a playwright. He married actress Azuma Hikaru (real name Harada Nobori), whom he met through theater, while studying at Tokyo Imperial University. After graduating from university, he moved to Kamakura and began writing while working as a teacher and a consultant for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 9 (Taisho 1924), the Kurama Tengu series, which he wrote under the pen name Osaragi Jiro to make a living, became popular and he became a full-time writer. Since then, for about 13 years, he has been writing in a wide range of genres, including historical novels, contemporary novels, non-fiction, fairy tales, and plays.

Source
"Osaragi Jiro Selection: Lantern Show" (Michitani 2009)
In cooperation with Unnan City Tourism Association
Osaragi Jiro Memorial Museum (Yokohama Arts and Culture Promotion Foundation)

  • The pronunciation of the words is based on the source and is supplemented with parentheses where appropriate.
  • The quote from the source is"Slanted text"I am.

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