Literary Critic FUKUDA Kazuya (Showa 35-Reiwa 6) 文芸評論家 福田和也 (昭和35年〜令和6年)
FUKUDA Kazuya 福田和也, with whom I was involved in serious debates several times, died yesterday. This news had been made public today, 2 hours ago.
Known as a literary critic with radical right-wing views, he was respected in the left-wing literary scene because of his sharp tongue.
His motto was not to be afraid of any discourse topic.
His mentor was the conservative critic ETO Jun 江藤 淳, who was able to openly debate with novelist NAKAGAMI Kenji 中上健次 on NHK television.
Furthermore let me introduce you to the uncivilised attitude in the Japanese Literature World. Read the English caption, in the context of a “certain” Japanese Literature Prize. lol
However, even that Nakagami wished Oe to be a dead person, both were smiling in front of me, together with TSUSHIMA Yuko. ;-))
Fukuda was an approachable person, a bon vivant, but couldn’t dance or fuck women. His love for Swiss watches and the German Leica are among the crossing points between him and me.
Fukuda, who was younger than me, ruhe nun in Frieden.
Tokyo, 21. September, Reiwa 6
Mario A
Up-dates, starting from September 22nd. Even as he was involved with France, after some research I couldn’t find any English or French comments, articles or obituaries.
There exist no English, German or French wikipedia page about Fukuda. The Korean one, see below, has been written very short. Best overview is the Japanese one.
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/福田和也
https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/후쿠다_가즈야
The following comments were taken from X, automatically translated via Google.
熱心な読者じゃなかったが、福田和也の、金持ちのボンボンとして生まれ潤沢な文化資本を享受し、メイン・サブ問わずあらゆるジャンルの本を読み、正統的な学問を身につけているのに露悪趣味的で、敵も多いが少数の確かな友人がいる感じが、おそらく日本からもうすぐ消える何かを感じて好きだった。
I wasn’t an avid reader, but I liked Fukuda Kazuya’s portrayal of someone who was born into a wealthy family and enjoyed abundant cultural capital, who reads books of all genres, both main and sub-genres, and who has a formal academic background but also an exhibitionist streak, and who has many enemies but also a few definite friends.I felt that this was something that will probably soon disappear from Japan. 10:49 AM · Sep 21, 2024
https://x.com/kitatoshio1982/status/1837308219246645566
福田和也と坪内祐三、長年対談やってた割に「反りが合わない」と明言してたし実際読んでも意見の食い違いも多いけど、どっちも大学院重点化前に早慶の外国文学系で修士まで出るも職にあぶれて、親のコネで少し働いてあとは潤沢なお小遣いで遊んだ経験がのちの文筆業の基礎になってるのは大きな共通項
Kazuya Fukuda and Yuzo Tsubouchi have stated that they “didn’t get along” despite having been in dialogue for many years, and in fact there are many differences in their opinions when you read their dialogue. However, both of them studied foreign literature at Waseda and Keio universities before the emphasis on graduate schools, but they both ended up not being able to find work. They worked a little through their parents’ connections, and then spent the rest of the time having fun with their ample pocket money. This experience is what they have in common: it became the basis of their later careers as writers. Sep 21
https://x.com/hashida_toyoya/status/1837489586802774111
坪内は早稲田英文の修士をスタイナー論で出て、父親のコネで「東京人」編集部に一時在籍するも人間関係で揉めてすぐ辞め、その前後のニート期間に古本漁りをしていた 福田は京王仏文の修士をドリュ・ラ・ロシェル論で出るも『奇妙な廃墟』の執筆が難航して実家の会社に数年勤めその後執筆に専念した
Tsubouchi graduated from Waseda University with a master’s degree in English literature, studying Steiner, and briefly worked at the editorial department of “Tokyojin” through his father’s connections, but he soon quit due to interpersonal conflicts, and during the period before and after that he spent his time as a NEET searching for second-hand books. Fukuda graduated from Keio University with a master’s degree in French literature, studying Drieu La Rochelle, but found it difficult to write “Strange Ruins,” so he worked at his family’s company for several years and then devoted himself to writing.
https://x.com/hashida_toyoya/status/1837489589336134096
坪内祐三はダイヤモンド社の社長だった父親から都内にマンションとお小遣いを与えられ、福田和也も実家が製麺機会社を経営していて若い頃は限度額なしのカードを与えられていたという しかしアカポスを得た福田より非常勤止まりだった坪内のほうがアカデミックな業績に数えても良さそうな仕事が多い
Yuzo Tsubouchi was given an apartment in Tokyo and an allowance by his father, who was the president of Diamond Inc. Kazuya Fukuda’s family also ran a noodle-making machine company, and he was given a credit card with no credit limit when he was young. However, Tsubouchi, who was only a part-timer, has done more work that could be counted as academic achievements than Fukuda, who got an academic post.
https://x.com/hashida_toyoya/status/1837489592796434795
坪内・福田対談、院生のころ貧乏だからコンビニでSPA!立ち読みしてた 坪内の代打で浅田彰が出た回があって、坂本龍一がEテレでやってた「スコラ 音楽の学校」収録中に救急搬送された話とか、國分功一郎のスピノザについての発表を聞いて「あなたバカだって言われない？」って言った話とか覚えてる
I remember the Tsubouchi-Fukuda conversation, when I was a graduate student and poor, I used to read SPA! at convenience stores. There was an episode where Akira Asada came in as a pinch hitter for Tsubouchi, and he talked about how Ryuichi Sakamoto was rushed to hospital during the recording of “Scola: School of Music” on NHK Educational TV, and how, after listening to Koichi Kokubun’s presentation on Spinoza, he said, “Won’t people say you’re stupid?” Sep 21
https://x.com/hashida_toyoya/status/1837494783373463733
浅田彰って神戸生まれ京都育ちだから都会っ子の印象が強いけど、確か両親がともに産婦人科医で仕事の都合で四国（愛媛かどこかだったと思う）で幼少期を過ごしてるのが意外
Asada Akira was born in Kobe and raised in Kyoto, so he has the strong impression of being a city kid, but I think both of his parents are obstetricians and he spent his childhood in Shikoku (I think it was Ehime or somewhere) due to work, which is surprising.
https://x.com/hashida_toyoya/status/1837494786233897441
福田和也の著書編著で学術的な意義が大きいのって『奇妙な廃墟』のほかは『江藤淳コレクション』編纂ぐらいしか思い付かないけど、坪内祐三は『明治の文学』25巻の編纂に加えて『慶応三年生まれ、七人の旋毛曲がり』や『靖国』など文化史的な仕事が意外と充実してるイメージ
The only books and compilations by Kazuya Fukuda that I can think of that are of great academic significance are “Strange Ruins” and the compilation of “The Jun Eto Collection.” However, Yuzo Tsubouchi, in addition to compiling the 25 volumes of “Meiji Literature,” has a surprisingly rich record of cultural history work, such as “Born in Keio 3, Seven Whirlwind Bends” and “Yasukuni.”
https://x.com/hashida_toyoya/status/1837495412342833437
福田和也が本物の「右翼」「保守」ではなかったというような言い方をパラパラ見るけど、個人的な実感としては、いまさらウヨクとかサヨクとかどうでもいいという９０年代の感覚を前提にして、なんちゃって右翼をやっている人として受け止められていた。島田雅彦と話が合うのは当然。
I often see people saying that Kazuya Fukuda was not a real “right-winger” or “conservative,” but in my personal experience, he was perceived as a pseudo-right-winger, based on the 1990s sensibility that it was no longer important to be a right-winger or a left-winger. It’s only natural that he would get along with Masahiko Shimada.
https://x.com/kurageru/status/1837493853273968887
僕が福田和也氏を尊敬している最大の理由は、氏が蓮實重彦を半ば公然と批判し、柄谷行人を鮮やかに批評してみせた、そしてそうしても揺るがない権勢をある時期確固として保持していた、ほぼ唯一の書き手であったからだ。右翼か左翼か、パンクかフェイクかなど、全くどうでもいい。
The biggest reason why I respect Kazuya Fukuda is because he was the only writer who semi-openly criticized Shigehiko Hasumi and vividly criticized Kojin Karatani, and who maintained a firm and unshakable authority for a certain period of time. It doesn’t matter whether he was right-wing or left-wing, punk or fake.
https://x.com/sasakiatsushi/status/1837342241834291346
あと、福田さんと言えば、『ウルフ・オブ・ウォールストリート』を高く評価されていて、その後、飛行機のなかで観て、相当揺さぶられ、まあもう二度と観たくないけど、たぶんいろいろ制作に関して影響を受けていると思う。
Also, speaking of Fukuda, he was highly praised for his work in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” which I watched on an airplane afterwards and was quite shaken up by. I don’t think I ever want to watch it again, but I think it probably influenced my work in many ways.
https://x.com/masayachiba/status/1837355432211533895
西村賢太にせよ福田和也にせよ、食事の仕方が命を縮めたよね。40歳過ぎたらラーメン食べるのは年に二回くらいにすべきだよね。
Whether it’s Kenta Nishimura or Kazuya Fukuda, their eating habits shortened their lives. After the age of 40, you should only eat ramen twice a year.
https://x.com/tonton1965/status/1837327037809446957
福田和也さんが亡くなったと聞いた。もう十年ほど会っていなかった20代のとき本当にお世話になった。贅沢に生きることができるのに贅沢をしないのは道徳的に悪いことだ、ということが私が彼から受け取ったメッセージであって、こういう感じの人間と若いときに出会えたのは本当に幸運だった。
I heard that Kazuya Fukuda passed away. I hadn’t seen him for about ten years, but he was a great help to me when I was in my 20s. The message I received from him was that it is morally wrong to not live lavishly when you can, and I was really lucky to have met such a person when I was young. Sep 21
https://x.com/nagato0209/status/1837423561780441299