Jun Tsuji

Who They Were

Jun Tsuji (辻潤, Tsuji Jun; October 4, 1884 – November 24, 1944) was a Japanese author, poet, essayist, playwright, and translator. He has also been described as a Dadaist, nihilist, Epicurean, shakuhachi musician, actor, and bohemian. Born in Tōkyō, Tsuji sought escape in literature from a childhood he described as "nothing but destitution, hardship, and a series of traumatizing difficulties."

Tsuji was a fervent proponent of Stirnerite egoist anarchism, a philosophy drawn from the German thinker Max Stirner. He translated Stirner's The Ego and Its Own into Japanese, as well as Cesare Lombroso's The Man of Genius. His interests ranged widely across Tolstoy, Kōtoku Shūsui's socialist anarchism, and the literature of Oscar Wilde and Voltaire.

Life and Career

Tsuji was born in Tōkyō in 1884, during the Meiji period (1868–1912), in the seventeenth year of the Meiji era. His early life was marked by hardship, and he turned to literature as an escape. He became involved in the radical artistic and political circles of his time, engaging with socialist anarchism and Western literature.

In 1920, Tsuji was introduced to Dada and declared himself the first Dadaist of Japan. His contemporary, the poet Shinkichi Takahashi, also claimed that title, and the two became rivals over it. Tsuji's commitment to Stirnerite egoist anarchism became a point of contention between them, as their philosophical positions diverged.

Tsuji was active in the literary scene of the 1920s and 1930s. He wrote one of the prologues for the famed feminist poet Hayashi Fumiko's 1929 work I Saw a Pale Horse (蒼馬を見たり, Ao Uma wo Mitari). His wife was Noe Itō, a prominent anarchist and feminist thinker in her own right; their son was Makoto Tsuji.

Why They Matter

Tsuji matters as a bridge between European radical thought and Japanese letters. His translation of Stirner's The Ego and Its Own brought egoist anarchism to Japanese readers, and his translation of Lombroso introduced Italian criminological theory to a Japanese audience. His self-proclaimed status as Japan's first Dadaist placed him at the centre of the avant-garde movement in early twentieth-century Japan.

Tsuji's association with Hayashi Fumiko and Noe Itō places him within a network of feminist and anarchist intellectuals. His prologue to I Saw a Pale Horse linked his name to one of the most significant works of Japanese feminist poetry. His philosophical commitments — nihilism, Epicureanism, and Stirnerite egoism — made him a distinctive voice in a period of intense intellectual ferment.

The Name in Japanese

The name in Japanese is 辻潤.

• Kana reading: つじ じゅん
• Romaji: Tsuji Jun

The family name comes first, as is standard in Japanese. The name breaks down as follows:

• 辻 (つじ, tsuji) — "crossroads" or "street crossing." This character is a Japanese invention, a kokuji (国字), meaning it was created in Japan rather than imported from China. It combines the radical 辶 (walking) with 十 (ten), suggesting a place where paths cross. As a family name, it is common but not elite.

• 潤 (じゅん, jun) — "moisture," "benefit," or "grace." The character carries connotations of wetness, richness, and profit. In given names, it is often read as jun and conveys a sense of flourishing or being blessed. The left radical is 氵 (water), and the right component 閏 is an intercalary or leap element, together suggesting water that nourishes.

The full name, 辻潤, thus reads literally as something like "crossroads grace" — a fitting name for a man who stood at the intersection of multiple intellectual movements.

Legacy

Tsuji died in Tōkyō on November 24, 1944, during the Pacific War. His death came at a time when the Japanese state was suppressing the kind of radical individualism he championed. His work as a translator ensured that Stirner's egoism and Lombroso's theories remained available to Japanese readers long after his death.

His claim to be Japan's first Dadaist, though contested by Takahashi, has kept his name alive in histories of the Japanese avant-garde. His connection to Noe Itō, who was murdered by the state in 1923, has also ensured continued interest in his life and thought. Tsuji's writing — essays, plays, and translations — remains a record of a singular figure who embraced nihilism, Epicureanism, and egoism in equal measure.