Riichi Yokomitsu is recognized as the heart and soul of the "New Sensation School" in Japanese literary circles. However, few people have noticed that in addition to literary creation, he also loves calligraphy and often writes banners. I don't know when he wrote a Chinese poem with simple drawings. The poem said: "The inkstone withered under the cold lamp, and the shadow was as silent as the snow." This poem remained on his desk until his death. Yokomitsu's best friend during his lifetime, Kawabata Yasunari, also loved calligraphy, but he never thought of asking for it when Yokomitsu was alive. After Hengmitsu passed away, Kawabata urgently found Mrs. Hengmitsu and asked for a few calligraphy paintings as a memorial to him. The lady readily agreed and let Kawabata choose as he pleased. Kawabata chose this piece first, and there was also a piece of "Hungry Ants Watching the Waning Moon on the Platform" that Yokomitsu himself liked very much when he was young. The two relics were equally silent.
"A lonely shadow is like a snow", this sentence not only reflects Hengguang's death, but also condenses Hengguang's life, as if it is a portrayal of his life. Yokomitsu's fame in the literary world is far ahead of Kawabata's, but his creative career is far shorter than Kawabata's. After the war, Kawabata continued and became more active in literary creation and wrote a series of striking works. However, Yokomitsu died early in the social chaos and life difficulties after the war, and even his last novel "Traveler's Sorrow" was not completed. It can be completed and become a incomplete legacy. The title of this work itself permeates endless loneliness and helplessness. The unknown journey of two young people in Europe shows the author's loss and hesitation in facing Japan as his hometown and Japan that has committed war crimes.
Hengmitsu was only one year older than Kawabata. However, Kawabata, who looked like a thin crane, was still alive in his seventies, but the tenacious and vigorous Hengmitsu passed away more than 20 years earlier than Kawabata. Perhaps this is because Kawabata is afraid of dying early and is careful in everything he does, while Yokomitsu often harms his body without any scruples. On the literary road, Yokomitsu was attracted by Western trends of thought and devoted himself to introducing them to Japan, while Kawabata always had a deep longing for Japanese classical tradition and was immersed in it. Even their travels were full of wanderings in Europe, while Kawabata was obsessed with the East. However, the belligerent and proactive Yokomitsu and the ambiguous and passive Kawabata transcended the differences in talent and qualifications and became confidants in literature and life. Their exchanges have been legendary in the history of Japanese literature. Yokomitsu's acquaintance with Kawabata was due to the warm introduction of senior writer Hiroshi Kikuchi. One evening, Kikuchi held a banquet at home and invited Hengguang and Kawabata to eat beef hot pot. At that time, both of them were in poverty, and Yokomitsu was even worse off than Kawabata, but he always endured with perseverance and never caused trouble to others easily, unlike Kawabata who borrowed money from everywhere. During the dinner, Hengguang, who had hardly moved his chopsticks, gradually became louder when talking about the idea of ??the novel. As they were talking, he suddenly walked to a display window on the roadside and used the piece of glass as a hospital wall, imitating the way the patient slowly fell against the wall.
This scene left a very deep first impression on Kawabata. He felt a compelling and awe-inspiring atmosphere from Hengguang's intense and powerful conversation. After Hengmitsu left, Kikuchi said to Kawabata: "That is a great man, let's make friends with him." Kawabata specifically recorded this incident in "Literary Autobiography". Later, the two became sworn friends. Hengmitsu took the initiative to recommend Kawabata to other fan magazines, and through various mediation efforts, the Transformation Agency published a complete set of Kawabata's works. For a long time, Kawabata's name always followed Yokomitsu. Kawabata himself said in "Literary Autobiography": "When people mention the Yokomitsu family, they will immediately think of the Kawabata who followed him. This has become a general habit. ... Without Yokomitsu's friendship, this habit would never have been formed. ” All this was a big boost for Kawabata, who was just entering the literary world. Therefore, Kawabata calls Kikuchi and Yokomitsu his two benefactors.
In his youth, Yokomitsu Riichi successively participated in the editing work of magazines such as "Literary Spring and Autumn" and "Literary Times".
However, this unusual initiative failed miserably in terms of commercial distribution, and "One Page of Madness" became the first and last work of the New Sensation Film Alliance, which itself subsequently collapsed. In February 1936, Hengguang went to Europe. Kawabata rushed to the dock to see him off with melancholy. Twelve years after this separation, Kawabata faced the farewell to Hengmitsu. As the New Year approached in 1948, the "hungry ant on the stage" Yokomitsu Riichi passed away in a state of mind "alone in the snow". Facing Hengmitsu's body, Kawabata poured out his heartfelt words in sorrow: "...the mountains and rivers are broken, and I have lost your help. I, who was already suffering in the biting cold wind, almost died in this cold." Kawabata Sentiment The mournful and tear-jerking eulogy has become a famous condolence text in Japan. The article stated that Hengguang "established a literary school, created a literary era, and forged a period of literary history." For Kawabata, Yokomitsu's death brought "the sadness of saying goodbye to friends to the peak" in his life, and he "even thought that everything was over." Today, a stone tablet stands in Iga, Yokomitsu's hometown, with the words "Antai" engraved on it. Perhaps Yokomitsu's lonely soul can find support here.