English

Tsuji Jun: Japanese Dadaist, Anarchist, Philosopher, Monk

Tsuji Jun (1884 – 1944) was the self-declared first Dadaist of Japan and was the most prominent advocate of literary Dada there. He is known for having translated Max Stirner's The Ego and Its Own and for having been the husband of anarcho-feminist Itō Noe. However, until now, little else has been written about him in English despite voluminous Japanese-language scholarship. As an Anarchist, Nihilist, Dadaist, poet, and monk he is a striking character among contemporary Japanese historical figures. Even more intriguing is Tsuji's writing, marked by a fusion of Buddhist, Dadaist, and Nihilist philosophy. The present work regards his life, work, and relation to his contemporary writers, and summarizes his philosophy. This is done in the context of the growing scepticism towards Rationalism in Meiji/Taisho Period Japan, describing the relationship this has with what in 1905 Hugo von Hofmannsthal termed das Gleitende (the “slippage”) of turn-of-the-century Vienna .

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