『日本がアジアを目覚めさせた』
語り継ぎたい「２０世紀の奇跡」インド独立への道（ハート出版）
プロビール・ビカシュ・シャーカー著
その３ 第２章 タゴールと岡倉天心
タゴールは１８６１年、イギリス統治下の西ベンガル・カルカッタに生まれ、大東亜戦争開戦直後の１９４１年にこの世を去りました。タゴール家は代々貿易などで成功を収めた裕福な家でした。祖父の代からインドの近代的改革にも熱心に取り組んでいました。タゴール家にはベンガルの詩人、音楽家、文学者、画家、宗教家などが多数招かれていました。
こうした恵まれた環境に育ち、タゴールは近代的な学問とインドの伝統的な教育の両方を学んで育ちました。東洋と西洋の文明の違いと、そのメリット・デメリットは彼の思想の普遍性につながりました。詩人にとどまらない偉大かつ多彩な天才でした。音楽、小説、児童文学、音楽劇、芸術、教育、精神、政治、哲学、自然、宗教、人種、、東洋思想、農民経済、古代インド史、国際交流、学校設立など幅広い知識を持ち、まさに「現代のルネッサンス人」というべき万能の天才でした。
当時の知識人たちとともに、タゴールは自分たちの伝統・文化復興を目指す「ベンガル・ルネッサンス」運動を起こしていました。岡倉天心の２度にわたるインド訪問、そしてインド滞在中に英語で書いて出版した『東洋の理想』はベンガルの若い知識人に大きな影響を与え、ベンガル独立運動に多大な影響を与えたと筆者は述べています。
１９１３年、タゴールはアジア人として初めてノーベル文学賞を受賞しましたが、天心はそれを知ることなく、前年に他界していました。この受賞は日本に大きな衝撃を与え、タゴールは１９１６年に日本に招かれ多くの人々と交流し、また大きな影響を日本に与えることになりました。
１９２４年に訪日した時の講演でタゴールは次のように述べています。
「私は日本から来た一人の偉大な独創的人物に接した時に、真の日本に出会いました。この人は長い間私どもの客となり、そのころのベンガルの若い世代に計り知れない霊感を与えました。
ベンガルにおける、精神の目覚めを導いた影響の一つは、まさにあの偉大な人格、岡倉天心の心から発したものであることを。私は今日この会合の席で、喜んで告白したいと思います。」
・その３，日本語原文： http://hassin.org/01/wp-content/uploads/Asia3.pdf
・ 〃 英訳文：http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/Asia3e.pdf
令和５年３月１０日
「史実を世界に発信する会」 会長 茂木弘道
Japan Awakened Asia―A Miracle of the 20th Century
The Road to the Independence of India
―A Story to Be Passed Down to the Next Generation
Part 3, Chapter 2: Tagore and Okakura Tenshin
Tagore was born in 1861 in Calcutta in West Bengal under the British rule and died in 1941 soon after the Greater East Asian War broke out. The Tagores were a very wealthy family, having succeeded in various businesses, including trading with Britain. Since his grandfather’s generation, they had also been ardently working for the modernization of India. At the Tagore house, many Bengal poets, musicians, literary men, painters, and religionists were welcomed.
Tagore was brought up in this rich and favorable environment which allowed him to obtain both modern and traditional Indian education. He studied in London, and the difference between the occidental and Oriental civilizations, their merits and demerits led Tagore to his universal thinking. He was not merely a poet but also a great, multi-talented genius. He acquired profound knowledge widely covering music, novels, children’s literature, musical plays, art, education, thought, politics, philosophy, nature, religion, human rights, Oriental thought, farmers’ economy, history of the ancient Indian world, international exchanges and founding of a school. He was an omnipotent genius, well deserved to be called “Modern Renaissance man.”
Tagore and his contemporary Bengal intellectuals started a movement called “Bengal Renaissance,”
aiming to restore their land’s own tradition and culture. Okakura Tenshin’s twice visiting India and his book Ideals of the East written in English during his stay there greatly influenced the Indian independence fighters’ views on culture, thought, politics and other issues.
In 1913, Tagore was presented with the Nobel Prize in literature, the first time an Asian received the award, which regrettably Tenshin could not know since he passed away in September 1913. Tagore’s Nobel Prize had a great impact on Japan. It increased the interest in him not only of intellectuals and artists, but also of the ordinary people. In 1916 Tagore visited Japan and met various types of Japanese and gave lectures to these people.
When he visited Japan in 1924, he spoke about the influence of Okakura Tenshin in his lecture:
“Some years ago, I had the real meeting with Japan when a great original mind, from these shores came in our midst. He was our guest for a long time and he had immense inspirations for the young generation of Bengal in those days which immediately preceded a period of a sudden ebullition of national self-assertion in our country.
“I am glad to confess to you today that one of the inspirations which acted towards the awakening of spirit in Bengal had its source in that great man, Okakura, and I am especially grateful that this wonderful period of our modern history had its association with Japan.”
URL: https://www.sdh-fact.com/book-article/2040/
PDF: http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/Asia3e.pdf
MOTEKI Hiromichi, Chairman
Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact