[Joseonggwan's Global Humanities Journey] Japanese Love for Yun Dong-ju... It Began with a Librarian at the Japanese National Diet Library

Ibuki Go, Ibaragi Noriko... Decisive Contributions to Promoting Yoon Dong-ju
Baekseok's Munwoo, Noridake Katsuo Expressed Longing Through Poetry

Sometimes in the morning, I listen to SBS FM radio’s “Beautiful This Morning with Kim Chang-wan.” This program is commonly abbreviated as “Achimchang.” Regular listeners of “Achimchang” know that the singer, actor, and poet DJ Kim Chang-wan is famous for writing his own opening scripts. Whether it’s snowing or raining, he goes to the radio station early in the morning and painstakingly writes his script. The first sentence of the opening on Sunday, April 9, started like this.

“Not long ago, in the early evening, while it was still bright outside, I was reading a poem by Ibaraki Noriko. When I looked up, it was completely dark. I wondered where I had been, but I was so absorbed in the poem that when I came out, my room looked completely unfamiliar…”

I couldn’t believe my ears. DJ Kim Chang-wan of “Achimchang” was invoking the Japanese poet Ibaraki Noriko.

Japanese poet Ibaragi Noriko. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju Pyeongjeon

Ibuki Go and Ibaraki Noriko

I came to know the poet Ibaraki Noriko (茨木 のり子, 1926?2006) while researching Yun Dong-ju (1917?1945). Yun Dong-ju is loved by many Japanese people more than we might think. There are several groups in Japan, including Tokyo and Kyoto where Yun Dong-ju attended university, that commemorate the poet. Every year on his death anniversary (February 6), memorial gatherings are held in places like Tokyo and Kyoto.

Table of Contents of Munhak Sasang December 1977 Issue. Covered under the title "Decisive Materials for Solving the Literary History of the 1940s." Photo by Munhak Sasangsa

How did the Japanese come to know Yun Dong-ju? Two people who made a decisive contribution to introducing Yun Dong-ju to Japan were Ibuki Go (伊吹鄕) and Ibaraki Noriko.

Ibuki Go was a librarian at the National Diet Library of Japan. He was an alumnus of Doshisha University in Kyoto, which Yun Dong-ju also attended. The poet Jeong Ji-yong was also a graduate of Doshisha University. While researching Korean writers who graduated from Doshisha University, Ibuki became interested in Yun Dong-ju. Out of curiosity, he examined materials related to Yun Dong-ju held at the National Diet Library and discovered a remarkable record: “The Korean student nationalist group incident in Kyoto.” In 1977, Ibuki secretly copied this top-secret document and mailed it to the poet’s younger brother, Professor Yun Il-ju of Sungkyunkwan University in Korea. When Professor Yun Il-ju published this material in the December issue of , it was the first time the circumstances of Yun Dong-ju’s arrest and death in prison were revealed.

Yun Dong-ju's monument on the campus of Doshisha University in Kyoto. The Japanese translation of "Seosi" is by Ibuki Ko. Photo by Seonggwan Cho

Ibuki’s role did not end there. He studied Korean and in 1984 translated the poet’s posthumous poetry collection into Japanese. The “Preface” inscribed on Yun Dong-ju’s monuments in Kyoto, including the Doshisha University campus, was all translated by Ibuki.

The Japanese edition of moved cultured Japanese readers. Among them was Ibaraki Noriko. Ibaraki was one of the leading poets in postwar Japanese literature. Influenced by her mother’s interest in Korean ceramics, she developed an interest in Korean culture and taught herself Korean. Having studied Yun Dong-ju, Ibaraki published an essay titled “Yun Dong-ju” in 1990. This essay was included in Japanese high school textbooks under the title “Wind, Stars, and Poetry,” further introducing Yun Dong-ju to Japan.

Noriko Ibaraki in her 20s wearing a kimono. Photo by Google

Ibaraki was born in 1926. When she was young, the Japanese archipelago was swept by the militaristic frenzy. Young men shaved their heads and were dragged off to the battlefield. Her poems are a scathing critique of militarism that drove young people to death. While Emperor Hirohito, the ultimate authority responsible for the war, remained silent, she mocked and ridiculed him. I revisit her representative work, “When I Was Most Beautiful.”

When I was most beautiful / The streets crumbled down / And unexpectedly / I could see the blue sky // When I was most beautiful / Many people around me died / In factories, at sea, on nameless islands / So I lost the chance to dress up // When I was most beautiful / No one gave me a kind gift / Men only knew how to salute / Leaving only pure gazes, they all left…

Why did the Japanese Ibuki and Ibaraki become fans of Yun Dong-ju and voluntarily act as his promoters? It was because they were moved by Yun Dong-ju’s noble character and pure poetic spirit.

Noridake Katsuo in his youth. Photo by Siin Baekseok

Poet Noridake Katsuo

In the final installment of my genius series, , besides Yun Dong-ju, I also covered the poet Baek Seok (白石, 1912?1996). A Japanese person also appears in the life of Baek Seok, who lived like a wanderer without settling in one place.

Baek Seok worked twice as a reporter for the Chosun Ilbo and taught English at Hamheung Youngsaeng High School before moving to Manchuria. He worked as an interpreter in Manchukuo and briefly farmed. Eventually, he settled at the Andong Customs Office, facing Sinuiju. Andong Customs was a gateway that had to be passed to enter Manchuria via the Yalu River. Fluent in English and Russian, Baek Seok served as an interpreter at the customs office.

During Baek Seok’s time in Andong, the Japanese poet Noridake Katsuo appeared. Noridake debuted in the Shinshun Literary Contest in Japan with a novel and first encountered Baek Seok’s poetry through the collection , translated by Kim So-un, becoming a fan. Noridake arrived in Korea in 1927 and worked at the Pyonganbuk-do provincial office in Sinuiju. During his time in Sinuiju, he participated in literary clubs with Korean literary youths.

Noridake got to know Baek Seok during his second posting in Korea in 1941, when Baek Seok was working at Andong Customs. Without language barriers, the two quickly became literary friends. Baek Seok in Andong and Noridake in Sinuiju often visited each other’s homes. Noridake published an essay collection titled in 1942, in which he mentioned Baek Seok several times. Baek Seok once visited Noridake’s home and gifted him a poem written in Japanese.

I am drunk / Drunk on old Scottish whiskey / Drunk on sorrow / Drunk on the thought of becoming happy and also unhappy / Drunk on the futility of life tonight

Their relationship ended with Japan’s defeat. Noridake, who returned to Japan, knew that Baek Seok had stayed in his hometown instead of going south to South Korea. He kept track of Baek Seok’s status through North Korean newspapers. From the mid-1960s, Baek Seok’s name no longer appeared in North Korean media. Noridake was anxious, fearing something might have happened to the poet. Despite extensive inquiries, he could not find any news about Baek Seok. He published “Green Onion (?)” in a Japanese literary magazine. The title was inspired by a memory of meeting Baek Seok carrying green onions from the kitchen when he visited Baek Seok’s home in Sinuiju. This poem expressed his longing for Baek Seok.

Baek Seok draped in green onions / The poet with the surname Baek and the name Seok / I too have draped green onions at fifty-five / The great poet Baek Seok, the unknown me / Twenty years have already passed / Friend, Baek Seok, are you alive? / The Korean poet named Baek Seok

Returning to Ibaraki, let us read his essay “Yun Dong-ju,” which greatly contributed to introducing Yun Dong-ju to Japan.

“The clear and pure poetic style that could only be written in one’s twenties is enough to captivate young hearts. The longer one lives, the more shameful life becomes, making it impossible to write like this. It is a privilege of poets who die young, a purity that seems to freeze youth and innocence as they are, enchanting future readers without fail. Whenever one opens his poetry collection, a pleasant fragrance like daffodils always wafts out…” (‘A Woman’s Words,’ translated by Sung Hye-kyung)

The Ibaraki Noriko poetry collection that Kim Chang-wan read was published by Starbooks. The publisher added this subtitle when releasing the collection.

“A Poet Who Loved Korea, the Korean Language, and Yun Dong-ju”