漱石と庄内の文人たち（Ⅱ）１０
１０　佐藤賢一(けんいち)

　佐藤賢一（一九六八年・昭和四０～　）は山形県鶴岡市生まれの小説家。鶴岡市在住。山形県立鶴岡南高等学校卒業。山形大学教育学部卒業。東北大学大学院文学研究科西洋史学専攻修士課程修了。同フランス文学専攻博士課程単位取得満期退学。一九九三年在学中に『ジャガーになった男』で第六回小説すばる新人賞を受賞。一九九九年『王妃の離婚』で第百二十一回直木賞を受賞。二〇〇五年一月から新聞連載を開始した『女信長』では、初めて日本史にも挑戦しました。二〇一四年、『小説フランス革命』で第六十八回毎日出版文化賞特別賞を受賞。二〇二〇年、『ナポレオン』で第二十四回司馬遼太郎賞を受賞。作風は、主に中世から近世にかけてのヨーロッパを舞台とした歴史小説を多く書いています。史実をもとにしながら、奇想天外なストーリー、登場人物たちの濃厚な性格描写などで知られています。佐藤賢一は思春期に「古典というものを集中的に読んだかな。夏目漱石や森鴎外、海外なら19世紀のフランスのもの。」と対談で述べています。
　歴史学で博士課程を満期退学した経歴を生かし、フランス語史料も駆使して緻密に時代背景を描写する作風で、また、地の文から切れ目無く独白に入り、最後にカギカッコ付きの独白で締めるという独特の文体を多用しています。『黒い悪魔』『褐色の文豪』『象牙色の賢者』では、三代に渡るアレクサンドル・デュマ（トマ、大デュマ、小デュマ）について、それぞれの生涯を一冊ずつ書いています。
　デビュー以来ヨーロッパ史を題材とした作品を書いていましたが、近年はアメリカを舞台にした近未来小説や日本の歴史小説なども手がけています。二〇一八年は、明治維新から一五〇年の節目であり、ＮＨＫ大河ドラマが西郷隆盛を主人公とする『西郷（せご）どん』という影響もあり、幕末維新ものの歴史小説が続々と刊行されました。佐藤賢一も、長編小説『遺訓』(新潮社,2017.12)を書いています。『新微組』(佐藤賢一著、新潮文庫、2010)という幕末の庄内藩を描いた小説の続編ともいえる作品です。時代は明治七年。主人公は著者の『新徴組』にも登場した元新徴組隊士、沖田林太郎の息子、沖田芳次郎。新選組の沖田総司の甥にあたります。明治六年政変以降から西南戦争、大久保利通の暗殺までが描かれています。物語の最後は、庄内藩の旧藩士たちが、西郷隆盛南州翁の遺訓を「西郷南洲翁遺訓」にまとめる作業に当たっている場面で終わっていいます。この「遺訓」が書名となっています。
 
 
　「「ええ、あの西郷隆盛が、今や叛徒、朝敵ですからね」
　　大々的に打ち出すのは、憚られる。それでも庄内鶴岡の人たちなら、『南洲翁遺訓』を完成させるだろう。のみならず、いついつまでも読み継いで、十年後か二十年後か、それが五十年後、百年後であったとしても、必ずや広く世に問うだろう。」（佐藤賢一『遺訓』P.424）

佐藤賢一は、2024年開校の中高一貫校「致道館中学・高校」の校歌作詞者です。

Soseki and Writers of Shonai (II)　１０

10 　Ken-ichi Sato

　　　Ken-ichi Sato (1968, 1966-) is a novelist born in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture. He lives in Tsuruoka City. He graduated from Yamagata Prefectural Tsuruoka Minami High School. He graduated from Yamagata University Faculty of Education. He completed a master's degree in Western History at the Graduate School of Letters, Tohoku University. He graduated from a doctoral program majoring in French literature after completing the credits. While still a student in 1993, he won the 6th Subaru Novel Newcomer Award for ``The Man Who Became a Jaguar.'' In 1999, he won the 121st Naoki Prize for ``The Queen's Divorce.'' ``Onna Nobunaga'', which began serialization in newspapers in January 2005, was my first attempt at Japanese history. In 2014, he won the 68th Mainichi Publishing Culture Award Special Prize for his novel ``The French Revolution.'' In 2020, he won the 24th Ryotaro Shiba Award for ``Napoleon.'' His style is mainly historical novels set in Europe from the Middle Ages to early modern times. Although his works are based on historical facts, they are known for their fantastical stories and rich descriptions of the characters' personalities. Ken-ichi Sato said in a conversation that during his adolescence, ``I read a lot of classics. Natsume Soseki, Mori Ogai, and 19th-century French literature.''
　　　Taking advantage of his background in history, in which he dropped out of a doctoral course, he uses French historical materials to describe the historical background in detail. He also begins a monologue without a break from the original text and concludes with a monologue in brackets. He makes frequent use of a unique writing style. ``The Black Devil'', ``The Brown Writer'', and ``The Ivory Sage'' are books about the lives of three generations of Alexandre Dumas (Thomas, Dumas the Great, and Dumas the Little).
　　　Since his debut, he has written works based on European history, but in recent years he has also written futuristic novels set in America and Japanese historical novels. The year 2018 marks the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration, and due in part to the influence of the NHK Taiga drama ``Segodon'' starring Takamori Saigo, historical novels about the end of the Edo period and the Meiji Restoration are being released one after another. It has been published. Ken-ichi Sato has also written a full-length novel, ``Ikun'' (Shinchosha, December 2017). This work can be said to be a sequel to the novel ``Shinbi-gumi'' (written by Ken-ichi Sato, Shincho Bunko, 2010), which depicts the Shonai clan at the end of the Edo period. The era is the 7th year of Meiji. The main character is Yoshijiro Okita, the son of Rintaro Okita, a former Shincho-gumi member who also appeared in the author's ``Shincho-gumi''. He is the nephew of Shinsengumi member Okita Souji. It depicts the period from the Meiji 6 Coup to the Seinan War and the assassination of Okubo Toshimichi. The story ends with the former samurai of the Shonai clan working to compile the last teachings of Takamori Saigo Nanshu into ``Saigo Nanshu's Teachings.'' This ``Ikun'' is the title of the book.
 
"Yes, that Takamori Saigo is now a rebel and an enemy of the Imperial Court."
I'm afraid to make a big deal out of it. Even so, the people of Shonai Tsuruoka will complete the ``Nanshū Old Man's Teachings.”　Not only that, but they will continue to read it forever.” Ten years or twenty years from now.
Whether it's fifty years from now, or even a hundred years from now, I'm sure the world will be asking the question.
(Ken-ichi Sato “Ikun （＊the teachings of a deceased person）” p. 424)

　　　Ken-ichi Sato is the lyricist for the school song of Chidokan Junior and Senior High School, which opened in 2024.　　（The End）

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