Kunikida Doppo (国木田 独歩, July 15,1871 - June 23,1908) was a Japanese author.

Kunikida Doppo, novelist and poet, was born in 1871 Choshi, Chiba, he studied at Waseda University. His real name was Kunikida Tetsuo. While a student at Tokyo Semmon Gakko (now Waseda University), Doppo was baptized and became a Christian.

In 1894, after stints as a magazine editor and school teacher, he joined the news staff of the Kokumin Shimbun as a war correspondent. His reports from the front, published after his death as "Aitei Tsushin," found high favor among the readers. In 1895, he married Sasaki Nobuko, a marriage that lasted only five months. In "Azamukazaru no Ki" (An Honest Diary), a personal journal, he expressed his depression over the separation.

Doppo co-authored an anthology, "Jojoshi" (Lyric Poems), in 1897 with Tayama Katai and Matsuoka Kunio (a.k.a. Yanagita Kunio). Through his poetic style and such works as "Gen Oji" (Uncle Gen) and "Wasureenu Hitobito" (Unforgettable People), Doppo introduced a fresh current into romantic lyrical literature. "Haru no Tori" (Spring Birds), written in 1904, reportedly reached the highest level of romanticism in his era.

Later in his career, through such works as "Kyushi" (A Poor Man’s Death) and "Take no Kido" (The Bamboo Gate), Doppo was highly acclaimed as a naturalistic novelist. He died of tuberculosis in 1908 at the age of 36.

See also: Japanese literature, List of Japanese authors

External links

• e-texts of Doppo's works at Aozora bunko