北村澤吉 闇然 1933 Postcard to F. M. Trautz

北村澤吉 闇然 1933 Postcard to F. M. Trautz

Japan Hiroshima University Professor Kitazawa Sawakichi Postcard to F. M. Trautz 1933

Kitamura Sawakichi (北村澤吉, 1874-1945), a Sinologist, was born on July 5, 1874 (Meiji 7), in Tatsuta, Kochi Prefecture. He graduated from the Chinese Literature Department of Tokyo University’s Faculty of Letters. In 1902 (Meiji 35), Kitamura was invited to Qing China, where he taught for nine years, serving as an advisor to the highest leaders of the time. During this period, he immersed himself in the study of Confucianism.

In 1919 (Taishō 8), he became a professor of Chinese Literature at Hiroshima University, specializing in the history and general study of Confucianism. His work on Confucianism was translated into German and Chinese and was widely read by the public in China, even during the height of the anti-Japanese May Fourth Movement. In 1938 (Shōwa 13), he retired from Hiroshima University at the age of 65. His pen name was 闇然 (Anzen).