牧野 元紀

三島由紀夫（１９２５～７０年）と、日本文学を世界に広めたドナルド・キーン（１９２２～２０１９年）の出会いから７０年を記念する展覧会が、新宿区の学習院女子大で開かれている。来年、生誕１００年となる三島が、小学校から高校まで通ったのが学習院だった。学生たちによる手作りの展示で、三島が学内機関誌に寄せた文章や、キーンの直筆原稿などを紹介している。（編集委員 森太） ■「無二の親友」 ２人は１９５４年、銀座の歌舞伎座で初めて会った。三島は２９歳。京都大留学中のキーンは３２歳。日本と西洋の古典文学に深い造詣があった２人は、親友となった。 「私たちは会って話をするのが楽しかった」。キーンは自伝で三島についてそう記している。「それは文学についてのこともあれば、世界の情勢、あるいは共通の知人についてのこともあった」。交流は、三島が７０年１１月２５日、自衛隊市ヶ谷駐屯地で自決するまで１６年間にわたって途切れることなく続いた。 三島の 訃報ふほう に触れたキーンは、「私は無二の親友を失い、世界は偉大な作家を失った」と嘆いた。 ■学生の手作り 展示は、学習院女子大の学生６人と大学院生１人の計７人が、学芸員課程の博物館実習として夏休み中から準備してきた。自分たちで下調べし、内容をまとめ、写真パネルなども手作りした。 三島が中等科時代から投稿を始め、高等科では編集長を務めた学内機関誌「輔仁会雑誌」は、７冊を実物やパネルで紹介。１２歳の三島の作文を収めた１５９号（１９３７年）、１３歳の時の小説「 酸模すかんぽう 」を収めた１６１号（３８年）なども並ぶ。 学生たちが薦める三島作品も紹介している。女性に裏切られ続けた老作家と同性愛者の美青年が織りなす愛と 復讐ふくしゅう の長編小説「 禁色きんじき 」を挙げた４年生の佐藤あずささん（２１）は「美しさを求める筆致であったり、 耽美たんび な思想であったり、三島さんの美に対する意識を強く感じました」と話した。 このほか、キーンが三島の思い出を日本語で書いた直筆原稿や、三島とキーンのパネル写真などが展示されている。 ■３０日イベント ３０日には、キーンの養子の誠己さん（７４）が、養父・キーンからみた三島について講演するほか、学生たちが自分の薦める三島作品を紹介し、その中から最もお薦めの一冊を選ぶビブリオバトルも開かれる。学生たちを指導した牧野 元紀もとのり 教授は「一般の人々だけでなく、学習院の教職員や学生たちにも新たな発見のある展示になったと思う」と話した。 展覧会は学習院女子大２号館文化交流ギャラリーで、１２月２０日まで開催。午前９時～午後４時半（土曜は正午）。日祝休館。入場無料。１１月３０日のイベントは前日までに申し込む。

作家の三島由紀夫（1925～70）と日本文学研究者のドナルド・キーン（22～2019）が出会ってから、今年で70年になるそうだ。東京都新宿区の学習院女子大で、「三島由紀夫とドナルド・キーン 素晴らしき出会いから70年」と題する展覧会が開かれている。 三島が三島由紀夫の筆名を初めて使ったのは、学習院中等科在学中の41年とされる。日本に留学していたキーンと出会ったのは、54年。 自衛隊市ケ谷駐屯地で割腹自殺したのが70年だから、ごく大ざっぱに言えば、三島が三島として生きた約30年間のおおむね中間付近に、キーンとの出会いがあったことになる。三島29歳、キーンは32歳だった。

An exhibition to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the first meeting between Japanese literary giant Yukio Mishima (1925-1970) and Donald Keene (1922-2019), a key figure in the introduction of Japanese literature to the world, is taking place at Gakushuin Women’s College in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. Mishima, whose birth centenary is next year, attended Gakushuin (formerly the Peers’ School) from elementary through high schools. The exhibition was organized by students from Gakushuin Women’s College as part of a museum curation training course. The students did the research, compiled the content and made the photo panels by themselves, which introduce Mishima’s contributions to Gakushuin’s in-house magazine, and the history of his friendship with Keene. Mishima and Keene first met in 1954 at the Kabukiza Theatre in Tokyo through an introduction by Hoji Shimanaka, then president of publishing company Chuokoron (now Chuokoron-Shinsha Inc.). Mishima was 29, and Keene was 32. Keene was then studying at Kyoto University and enjoying his first stay in Japan. The two, who both had a deep knowledge of classical Japanese and Western literature, mutually deepened their views on the universality of Japanese literature and became close friends. “We enjoyed meeting and talking,” Keene wrote about Mishima in his autobiography. “Sometimes it was about literature, sometimes about world affairs or about the people we know in common.” It was a friendship that would continue until Mishima committed seppuku ritual suicide at the Ground Self-Defense Force garrison in Ichigaya, Tokyo, on Nov. 25, 1970. When Keene heard the news of Mishima’s death, he mourned, “I lost my best friend, and the world lost a great writer.” The exhibition was prepared by six undergraduate students and one graduate student. Under the guidance of Prof. Motonori Makino of the museum curation course, and with the support of assistant Nanae Oguni, they began preparations during the summer holidays. They also visited the room where Mishima ended his life, which is now the home of the Defense Ministry. The exhibition introduces a Mishima work recommended by each student, the reasons for their recommendation, as well as their impressions of the work. “I felt a strong sense of Mishima’s awareness of beauty by the way he wrote about it and the aesthetic philosophy he had,” said fourth-year student Azusa Sato. She recommended the novel “Kinjiki,” a story about love and revenge involving an elderly writer who has been betrayed by women, and a beautiful young man who is unable to love women because he is homosexual. Haruka Odachi, also in her fourth year, recommended the novel “Shizumeru Taki,” a long story about an “artificial romance” between a young man who doesn’t believe in love and a married woman. Odachi said, “It was a difficult theme to understand, but the subtleties of emotion were well expressed, and I could understand the feelings of the characters.” The exhibition also features historical issues of the school’s Hojinkai magazine. An essay written by Mishima when he was 12 years old about his memories of primary school (No. 159, 1937) and a novel called “Sukanpo” which he contributed to when he was 13 (No. 161, 1938) are both on display. There is also an exhibition of Keene’s handwritten manuscript written in Japanese about his memories of Mishima. Keene’s adopted son, Seiki, on Nov. 30 will give a lecture on Mishima from Donald Keene’s perspective. There will also be an event where students introduce the works of Mishima that they recommend and from which the most highly recommended book will be chosen. Makino said, “I think this exhibition provided new discoveries not only for the general public, but also for the faculty and students of Gakushuin.” The venue for the exhibition is the Bunka Koryu Gallery in Building 2 of Gakushuin Women’s College. It is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, and closed on Sundays and public holidays. Admission is free. The exhibition will run through Dec. 20. For more information, please check the exhibition’s Instagram account (@exhibit.gwc). You can also apply in advance for the lecture and event for Nov. 30 via the Instagram account.