Dada-san: Japanese poet Chuya Nakahara

Chuya circa 1936.

Despite the fact that Japanese poet Chuya Nakahara was not considered a mainstream poet during his lifetime and that he only had one poetry collection published while he was alive, Yagi no Uta ("Goat Songs" 1934), in a self-financed edition of two hundred copies, he is now a subject of classroom study in Japanese schools.

Chuya was born in Yamaguchi to a distinguished army physician, and his family had high expectations that he would continue in his father's footsteps. Consequently, he was subjected to an extremely rigorous education, which also impeded his ability to experience a typical childhood. Throughout his childhood, Chuya endured severe disciplinary measures. The most common one was being made to stand upright facing the wall. Any sudden move would result in receiving a burn on his heel with a cigarette. 

Early photo of Chuya with his parents.

He was a gifted young boy who was regarded as a child prodigy by certain individuals. Until he reached junior high school, he demonstrated exceptional academic performance. In the wake of his younger brother Tsuguro's passing in 1915, a heartbroken Chuya found solace in the art of poetry. He submitted his first three verses to a women’s magazine and local newspaper in 1920 when he was still in elementary school. Yet, during his junior high years, he started to push back against his father’s rigid rules. The spark of rebellion ignited within him, leading him to abandon his studies, and soon his grades began to plummet. It was also at this time that he began smoking and drinking.

Despite being beaten and made to sleep in a cold barn, Chuya insisted on not attending school. Finally, Chuya’s father admitted his defeat and formally apologized for his “educational policy.” Later, Chuya made his way to Ritsumeikan Middle School in Kyoto, where he encountered the intriguing world of Shinkichi Takahashi’s Dadaist poetry, a fascinating expression from the European avant-garde art movement.  Eventually, the movement became a part of his poetic lifestyle and later earned him the nickname “Dada-san.”

Chuya’s poems are considered somewhat obscure, and confessional. They give a general impression of pain and melancholy, emotions which were a constant throughout his life. Chuya's works were rejected by many publishers, but he found acceptance with the smaller literary magazines. In December 1927, he met composer Saburo Moroi, who later adapted a number of his verses to music.

Chuya and his bride.

In December 1933, he married Takako Ueno, a distant relative. Their first son, Fumiya, was born in October 1934. However, Fumiya passed away two years later from tuberculosis, sending Chuya into a nervous breakdown. He never fully recovered from this, despite the birth of his second son in December 1936. Many of his later poems seem like remembrances and attempts to mitigate this enormous pain.

Chuya was hospitalized in a sanatorium in Chiba in January 1937. In February, he was released and moved to Kamakura, as he could not stand living in the house which contained the memories of Fumiya. He left a number of his works with influential literary critic Hideo Kobayashi and was making plans to return to his hometown of Yamaguchi when he died in October 1937 of tubercular meningitis. He was 30 years old.

Shortly after, his second son died of the same illness.

It is true that while psychological pain can cause all manner of suffering, it can also be an important driver of human creativity. Distress can be functional; we are often moved to create because we need to feel better, to improve the quality of our lives and the lives of people around us.