Linked by person
The people who appear in "What People Were Up To" matched by name against the people who appear in the prefaces and afterwords of books published just after the defeat. On the left, what that person was doing on a given day; on the right, what that person wrote in a book. 23 people appear in both.
What they were doing
May 30, 1875 A public speaking event was held at Keiō Gijuku. The speakers spoke, the audience listened. No one applauded, so Fukuzawa Yukichi pointed out: "The proper way to do things at a speech is to clap and acclaim the speaker when he is done." The compliant students duly applauded and cheered at the end of each speech.Keiō Gijuku Gakuhō [Keiō Gijuku Academic Report], (22), Keiō Gijuku Gakuhō Hakkōjo, December 1899 ［NDL］
What they wrote
Books written about them Fukuzawa Yukichi Monogatari [The Story of Fukuzawa Yukichi], by Kakimoto Kiyoo, Shinsensha, Shōwa 21 (1946)From my own experience, I wanted to have you young people know at leas…
What they were doing
February 20, 1898 In the afternoon, he took a walk with Inaba. He visited Makise, and in the evening called on Koyanagi and Matsumoto. He wrote letters to Tokuda and Sakaki, sat in Zen meditation from nine until midnight, and went to bed.Nishida Kitarō, Sunshin Nikki [Diary of Sunshin], Ittōen Tōeisha, 1985.4 ［NDL］
What they wrote
Books their name appears in Kōya: Kankin Kashū [Wilderness: Prison Poetry Collection], by Takei Sojin, Hakuundō, Shōwa 21 (1946)AppendixThis brief essay belongs to the category of an extremely crude…
What they were doing
March 16, 1898 There was an algebra exam he had been preparing for since three days prior. Midway through, the air turned suddenly warm; he was still in his quilted jacket and got a headache. In the evening he visited Oka and they talked and laughed. That night the school held a lecture event with various instructors, but he did not go. When he got into bed, a couple of mosquitoes were buzzing around and gave him trouble.Abe Yoshishige et al., eds., Terada Torahiko Zenshū: Bungakuhen [Complete Works of Terada Torahiko: Literary Volume], vol. 12, Iwanami Shoten, 1936–1938 ［NDL］
What they wrote
Books their name appears in Tōkyō Teikoku Daigaku Jishin Kenkyūjo Ihō Dai-14-gō Dai-1-satsu [Bulletin of the Earthquake Research Institute, Tokyo Imperial University, No. 14, Part 1] Tōkyō Teikoku Daigaku Jishin Kenkyūjo Tōkyō Teikoku Daigaku Jishin Kenkyūjo Shōwa 21 (1946) 1946There is a brief biography of Terada Torahiko.
What they were doing
June 3, 1904 Today at school Kirishima and the others pushed a ticket to Yokohama on him. He had no intention of going to Yokohama in the first place, but between the cries of "what kind of friend are you" and the pleading, he ended up buying it from them. After leaving the grimy classroom and getting home, he resolved to return the ticket to Kirishima—but he had not gotten much studying done today, and what on earth was wrong with his willpower.Ōta Masao, Kinoshita Mokutarō Nikki [Diary of Kinoshita Mokutarō], vol. 1 (Diary 1, 1901–1909), Iwanami Shoten, 1979 ［NDL］
What they wrote
Books they wrote Sōnan Zakkō [Sōnan Miscellany], by Kinoshita Mokutarō (1885–1945), Tōkyō Shuppan, Shōwa 21 (1946)Compiler's AfterwordThe manuscript of this book escaped war damag…
What they were doing
May 28, 1908 He had married the landlord's daughter and was now studying at Fujiya in Shimotsutsuka, Toyotama-gun. He intended to become a writer, but yesterday and today he felt cold and could not muster any motivation. Studying was tedious, so he thought about calling his friend in Komagome over. He could also go to Komagome himself, but he had lived there before and found it dull. Besides, it was far and too much trouble. His friend might be reluctant to come to Fujiya, not knowing the area—but if invited he might take it into his head to come. So he sent a postcard. His friend came to visit later.Kasai Zenzō Zenshū [Complete Works of Kasai Zenzō], vol. 5, Kaizōsha, 1928–1930 The record for this day
What they wrote
Books their name appears in Shōsetsu Izen [Before the Novel]: An Essay Collection, by Ishizaka Yōjirō (1900–1986), Kyōritsu Shobō, Shōwa 21 (1946)Notes on Kasai Zenzō.
What they were doing
September 8, 1908 Takahama Kyoshi, staying at a hot-spring inn, had three bowls of rice for breakfast with miso soup, blanched greens, and daikon pickles. He spent the morning reading and writing at a leisurely pace. Lunch was three bowls again—with chawanmushi, simmered fish, and rice-bran pickles. In the afternoon he went for a walk but was chased by a bumblebee and fled back to the inn; he then enjoyed a collection of Shiki's haiku. He tried to recite the Noh piece "Ashikari" but gave up halfway through—he'd had enough. Dinner was four bowls with sashimi, braised eggplant, and pickled eggplant; he took an evening walk, had a hot spring bath, and went to sleep.Takahama Kyoshi, Kikōbun / Haibun [Travel Writing and Haiku Prose], Kaizōsha, 1937 The record for this day
What they wrote
Books their name appears in Renku Taigai [An Outline of Linked Verse], by Itō Gessō (1899–1946), Hōbundō, Shōwa 21 (1946)Afterword. This book has unexpectedly become the posthumous work of Mr…
What they were doing
March 14, 1911 Hospitalized with chronic peritonitis; since yesterday he had been making the walk to the toilet himself. The green buds on the trees, the swelling cherry blossoms, the breeze against his cheek—he felt spring arriving, and it made him sad. When he told the doctor he wanted to be discharged soon, the doctor told him to hold out a little longer. Today he took his first bath in twenty days, but it must have been too much—a fever came on.Ishikawa Masao, ed., Ishikawa Takuboku Nikki [Diary of Ishikawa Takuboku], vol. 3, Fujimori Shoten, 1982 ［NDL］
What they wrote
Books written about them Takuboku to Kokyōbito [Takuboku and the People of His Hometown], by Saitō Saburō (1895–1960), Kōbunsha, Shōwa 21 (1946)The war has left us many lessons, but the most pressing problem among …
What they were doing
March 30, 1912 He had been neglecting his diary for more than a month. Without noticing, the cherry blossoms had come. When the blossoms opened, it rained. Last year they had barely opened before being scattered by the wind. This year they looked likely to fade before they even fell. The sky was overcast all over now; the wind was damp and cold.Tsuda Sōkichi Zenshū [Complete Works of Tsuda Sōkichi], vol. 26, Iwanami Shoten, 1988 ［NDL］
What they wrote
Books they wrote Rongo to Kōshi no Shisō [The Analects and the Thought of Confucius], by Tsuda Sōkichi (1873–1961), Iwanami Shoten, Shōwa 21 (1946)Since I have for some time striven to use Chinese characters as little…
Books their name appears in Meiji Ishin [The Meiji Restoration]: The Origins of Modern Japan, by Hani Gorō (1901–1983), Iwanami Shoten, Shōwa 21 (1946)As this piece, written in 1940 and serialized in the pages of Chūō Kōr…
What they were doing
January 6, 1914 Iwano Hōmei skipped writing in his diary.Iwano Hōmei, Hōmei Zenshū [Complete Works of Hōmei], vol. 12, Kokumin Tosho, 1921–22 ［NDL］
What they wrote
Books their name appears in Kekkon [Marriage]: A Record of the Love of Young Days, by Andō Shizuo, Minato Shobō, Shōwa 21 (1946)My ClassicThis is, indeed, my classic. It slept on for ten years. Thes…
What they were doing
January 10, 1918 An exhibition of horse toys was held at the Children's Playground in honor of the Year of the Horse. The horse toys on display were contributed by Iwaya Sazanami. Iwaya had been born in a Year of the Horse and was famous as a collector of horse toys.Murao Setsuzō, ed., Nihon Jidō Kenkyū Shiryō [Japanese Children's Research Materials], vol. 26-3, Gangu San [Toys, Part 3], [Murao Setsuzō], [date unknown] ［NDL］
What they wrote
Books they wrote Sazanami sekai otogibanashi 5 (Kerai sanbiki) [Sazanami's World Fairy Tales 5 (Three Retainers)] Iwaya Sazanami. Iwaya Eiji (Ed.). Kabushiki Kaisha Seikatsusha. Shōwa 21 (1946)Upon Revising to the New Kana OrthographyAt a time when our Japan is a…
What they were doing
September 21, 1919 Kubota Mantarō, Nanbu Shūtarō, Sasaki Mosaku, and Jones came to visit. In the evening Kubota alone went home, and the remaining group went to Sarashina for soba. A mosquito had gotten into the warm sake; Jones joked, "Please strain this sake through a mosquito net."Akutagawa Ryūnosuke Zenshū [Complete Works of Akutagawa Ryūnosuke], vol. 11 (Travel Writing and Diaries), Iwanami Shoten, 1955 ［NDL］
What they wrote
Books they wrote Haru no Yo [A Spring Night]: and Others, by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke (1892–1927), Ondorisha, Shōwa 21 (1946)Now, as for the proofreading, there are probably many places where I m…
What they were doing
February 19, 1924 He decided to start recording his temperature from today. Morning: 36.6°C. Afternoon: 36.4°C. Before bed: 36.2°C. The weather was warm but turned to rain. Yesterday, when he undressed at the doctor's office, he apparently caught a cold—he had a headache and felt unwell. In the afternoon it was cloudy, so he took a walk. By the 26th he had grown bored of taking his temperature, and on the 27th he stopped.Murō Saisei Zenshū [Complete Works of Murō Saisei], Bekkan, Dai-1 [Supplementary Volume 1], Shinchōsha, 1966 ［NDL］
What they wrote
Books they wrote Shinano Sanchū [Deep in the Shinano Mountains], by Murō Saisei (1889–1962), Zenkoku Shobō, Shōwa 21 (1946)November, Shōwa 19 —reaching to September, 20.
Books they wrote Zansetsu [Lingering Snow] Murō Saisei (1889–1962). Shimizu Shobō. Shōwa 21 (1946)Memories of Hagiwara Sakutarō.
What they were doing
March 28, 1926 He had stopped keeping a diary five months ago. But he had decided to start his bird diary again. For some time now he had been collecting dialect names from around the country and amusing himself by comparing what sparrows were called in different regions. He found it endlessly fascinating and could not help bringing it up whenever someone visited. The sparrows in the garden would disappear whenever a great tit arrived. The social dynamics between the two species were not clear to him—not intimate, not unfriendly either. Each treated the other as though it existed but did not matter. Small birds seemed to have no concept of fellow-feeling.Teihon Yanagita Kunio Shū [Definitive Edition: Collected Works of Yanagita Kunio], vol. 3, Chikuma Shobō, 1981 The record for this day
What they wrote
Books they wrote Senzo no Hanashi [The Story of Our Ancestors], by Yanagita Kunio (1875–1962), Chikuma Shobō, Shōwa 21 (1946)Author's PrefaceThis year, in early April of Shōwa 20, I took up …
Books their name appears in Renku Taigai [An Outline of Linked Verse], by Itō Gessō (1899–1946), Hōbundō, Shōwa 21 (1946)Afterword. This book has unexpectedly become the posthumous work of Mr…
What they were doing
October 3, 1935 He got up at ten and sunbathed. He wrote a review of a novel, sent it off on the three o'clock post, then went for a look at Nishiyama hot spring; on the way back he took a shortcut. Back at the inn he had a bath and read. In the evening the innkeeper came by for a chat.Yamamoto Yōrō, ed., Echigo / Sado no Tabiji [Travels in Echigo and Sado], Bunka Shuppankyoku, 1982 ［NDL］
What they wrote
Books their name appears in Bungei techō [Literary Notebook] Miyauchi Kanya (1912-1983) Bungakusaisha Shōwa 21 (1946)Kuwabara Itaru. An episode with Kawabata Yasunari.
What they were doing
March 24, 1936 Cloudy. He saw patients in the morning. Three new cases came in, and on top of that more than ten people connected to publishing showed up—too much. In the afternoon he napped; his stomach was also off. In the evening he ate eel at Dōgenzaka. That made three days of eel in a row. His son Shigeta was sitting the second day of entrance exams for Hokkaido University.Saitō Mokichi Zenshū [Complete Works of Saitō Mokichi], vol. 30 (Diaries 2), Iwanami Shoten, 1974 ［NDL］
What they wrote
Books they wrote Asa no Hotaru: Jisen Kashū [Morning Fireflies: A Self-Selected Poetry Collection], by Saitō Mokichi (1882–1953), Kaizōsha, Shōwa 21 (1946)AfterwordThis book had its publication suspended for a time during the…
Books they wrote Dōba Sanbō Yawa Dai-4 [Night Talks at Dōba Sanbō, No. 4] Saitō Mokichi (1882-1953) Yakumo Shoten Shōwa 21 (1946) 1946AfterwordI intended to continue these night talks for a long time yet,…
Books they wrote Senryū [Senryū]: A Poetry Collection, by Saitō Mokichi (1882–1953), Yakumo Shoten, Shōwa 21 (1946)AfterwordSince Professor Saitō has for the moment moved to the provinc…
What they were doing
August 4, 1939 Tokugawa Musei visited his hometown in Iwami Province, Shimane, for the first time in forty-two years. He paid his respects at his ancestors' graves and looked at the house where he was born. It was a simple house. He found it strange to think he had been born there. At one point, Shimazaki Tōson had apparently lived in this house. He went to see Sesshū's Inkstone-Washing Well. It was a well of clear water bubbling up ceaselessly, with many beautiful heike crabs. That evening a welcome party was held at the Shimadaya inn, and Tokugawa was treated to sweetfish from the Takatsu River. The locals insisted it was the finest sweetfish in Japan, and Tokugawa agreed. Biting into the salt-grilled fish head-first, the fragrance was exquisite and the flavor incomparably rich.Tokugawa Musei, Waga Ya no Kakochō [The Family Register of My House], Banrikaku, 1942 The record for this day
What they wrote
Books they wrote Ryūryoku Kakōroku [Willows Green, Flowers Red], by Tokugawa Musei (1894–1971), Evening Star-sha, Shōwa 21 (1946)ForewordThe characters "Willows Green, Flowers Red"—the will…
Books their name appears in Nonki Tetsugaku [Easygoing Philosophy], by Ishida Kazumatsu (1902–1956), Taigensha, Shōwa 21 (1946)Preface — Feudal ways have seeped remarkably deep into the flesh and b…
What they were doing
December 11, 1942 He had been shut away in Hakone working, but returned to Tokyo. The previous night he had not gone to sleep until three in the morning and felt exhausted all day. He went to the hospital after eleven; the illness was improving, and the important thing now, he was told, was to rebuild his strength. Then he had two hours to kill before his next appointment and spent them walking continuously through Hibiya Park. At two in the afternoon he met Tsurumi Yūsuke and Kanai Kiyoshi and consulted them about money matters. He was home by four; the rickshaw fare had been eighty sen—a considerable outlay. He thought about Marxism, then toasted bread on the charcoal brazier and ate it as a late-night snack. Delicious. He wanted to go to sleep, but started reading "Lassalle" in Shakaishisōka Hyōden [Biographies of Social Thinkers] and couldn't stop. He finished it in the sitting room; his mind was still buzzing, so he and his wife talked about Tokyo in the Meiji era, and in the end did not get to sleep until eleven.Shakai Shisō Kenkyūkai, ed., Kawai Eijirō Zenshū [Complete Works of Kawai Eijirō], vol. 23, Shakai Shisōsha, 1991 The record for this day
What they wrote
Books they wrote Gakusei to kagaku [Students and Science] Kawai Eijirō (ed.) Nihon Hyōronsha Shōwa 21 (1946)First edition in Shōwa 14. That it still holds true even after the war…
What they were doing
October 26, 1943 A clear morning. Today Mrs. Hatakeda was supposed to stay overnight at his house with her son. But night came and Mrs. Hatakeda did not arrive. The squid he had gone to some trouble to obtain would just have to be made into a simmered dish and eaten. He had a tooth problem so he could not eat much of it.Kawakami Hajime Zenshū [Complete Works of Kawakami Hajime], vol. 23, Iwanami Shoten, 1983 ［NDL］
What they wrote
Books they wrote Kawakami-sensei kara no Tegami [Letters from Professor Kawakami], by Kawakami Hajime and Sugawara Masato, Kōkensha, Shōwa 21 (1946)Preface. "All things whatsoever have an end; the war too will som…
Books they wrote Omoide [Recollections]: The Fragments Section, Selected Excerpts, by Kawakami Hajime (1879–1946), Nihon Minshushugi Bunka Renmei, Shōwa 21 (1946)There is a scribble.
Books they wrote Tabibito [The Traveler]: A Poetry Collection of Kawakami Hajime, by Kawakami Hajime (1879–1946), Kōfūkan, Shōwa 21 (1946)To Kobayashi YōkoThe only person's name I have ever chosen, besid…
Books they wrote Zassōshū Sono 2 [Weed Collection, Part 2] Kawakami Hajime (1879-1946) Taigadō [hoka] Shōwa 21 (1946) 1946Reminiscent stories about Kawakami Hajime. Content that leaves an impr…
Books their name appears in Kyōto Teidai Keizaigakubu saiken mondai [The Rebuilding of the Kyoto Imperial University Faculty of Economics] Ōtani Masataka Zenshin Shobō Shōwa 21 (1946)What, then, are the sentiments of the six professors on the right? Exa…
What they were doing
March 26, 1944 Awata came to retrieve the hat he had left behind. He had forgotten all about them—those bulbs he had bought from some old woman who came selling them last May, when he was just recovering from pneumonia; he had covered them with soil and then let the whole thing slip his mind. But the tulips had pushed through the earth and were sprouting. He was glad, and went out to tend the flower bed and build a bamboo fence around it. He watered the tulips. A bright, pleasant day. Spring had arrived, and it was welcome.Kozai Yoshishige Chosakushū [Collected Works of Kozai Yoshishige], vol. 6 (Senchū Nikki [Wartime Diary]), Keisō Shobō, 1967 ［NDL］
What they wrote
Books they wrote Gendai Tetsugaku [Contemporary Philosophy], by Kozai Yoshishige (1901–1990), Mikasa Shobō, Shōwa 21 (1946)Preface to the New Edition. This book, written nine years ago, I send …
What they were doing
July 13, 1945 He boarded a train to Numazu. Glancing at someone eating a bento, he saw soybeans, kaoliang, and dark rice, with miso as the side dish. Human meals were beginning to resemble animal fodder. People carrying large bundles were conspicuous too—fleeing Tokyo, perhaps. There was one good thing, though. At Odawara, a captain boarded. A young officer who noticed tried to offer his seat, but the captain refused it. He stood all the way to Numazu. In these days when moral standards had fallen so low, seeing an officer of such upright bearing was a good fortune.Murobushi Kōshin, Ichinichi Ichinichi [Day by Day], Daishi Shobō, 1947 ［NDL］
What they wrote
Books they wrote Jiyū [Freedom], by Murofuse Kōshin (1892–1970), Kōtsū Kyōryokukai, Shōwa 21 (1946)Preface to the ReissueTen years ago, I have come to be able to bring o…
What they were doing
November 28, 1945 He had been laboring since yesterday on an article about romanization of Japanese. He decided he would finish it by consulting Okakura Yoshizaburō's "Romanization Notes" in his Elementary English Lectures. In the afternoon at school he met Satō Ujikichi and Iwaasa Tokizō and others. His wife Hinae went to Ōtsuka Station to collect a piece of baggage, but it had not yet arrived. Visitors today were: Ōtsuka Shigeru, a relative of Nakano's, and Kimata-kun bringing a Mr. Takahashi from the European writing company; Irie came in the evening. He had been turning things over in his mind, and finally decided to handle the romanization piece by changing the title from "Romanization Notes" to "About Romanization," and to present it as "edited by Fukuhara" from the original by Okakura Yoshizaburō—and leave it at that.Ibuse Masuji et al., eds., Fukuhara Rintarō Zuisō Zenshū [Complete Collected Essays of Fukuhara Rintarō], vol. 8 (Diaries and Letters), Fukutake Shoten, 1982 The record for this day
What they wrote
Books they wrote Bungaku no Sekai [The World of Literature], by Fukuhara Rintarō (1894–1981), Kawade Shobō, Shōwa 21 (1946)AfterwordI have collected pieces written over the past ten years. I in…
What they were doing
April 19, 1946 Yesterday, he went to an acquaintance's house and was treated to homemade whiskey. He had originally gone bearing dried flounder as a gift, with the aim of getting some whiskey, but a friend happened to be there too, and things got lively—he got more drunk than he had in a long time. On the way home he fell on Gyōninzaka hill and hit his head, and after getting home he threw up. He remembers almost nothing. This morning, his daughter-in-law scolded him.Nagayo Yoshirō, Ososugita Nikki: Shūsen no Koro kara [A Diary Too Late: From Around the End of the War], vol. 2, Asahi Shinbunsha, 1954 ［NDL］
What they wrote
Books they wrote Ichi Musōka no Kokuhaku [The Confession of a Dreamer]: Reflection and Hope, by Nagayo Yoshirō (1888–1961), Asahi Shinbunsha, Shōwa 21 (1946)Preface. At the time of the war's end, I, who was at my evacuatio…
What they were doing
August 31, 1962 Lately he had been making a point of eating a proper breakfast. The menu was buttered bread, milk, an egg, bacon, tomato, and cabbage—but it was always the same, so he was going to stop writing it down in the diary. Why had he been writing the same menu out nearly every day until now—he really didn't know himself. Lunch was soba, but the noodles had gone soft and it was unpleasant. The crab in the evening had little meat and was also unpleasant. But the fiddlehead-fern soup and the Suntory small-bottle highball were good. His left leg was also in fine form today, and he managed a bath, so a good day.Yoshino Hideo Zenshū [Complete Works of Yoshino Hideo], vol. 6 (Diaries, vol. 1), Chikuma Shobō, 1970 The record for this day
What they wrote
Books they wrote Furusato [Home]: A Self-Selected Poem Collection of the Zen Master Ryōkan, by Ryōkan (1758–1831) and Yoshino Hideo (1902–1967), Jūichigumi Shuppanbu, Shōwa 21 (1946)One. That I have here printed it just as in my own hand-copied draft i…
The matching is by name. Old-form characters were normalized to new forms for comparison, and people sharing a name but not an identity were removed one by one by eye.
Even so there are misses (people whose pen name differs from their real name, people discussed without being named).
Matching table: data/person_links.json (made by analysis/person_link.py)
Data generated: 2026-08-17