Tōson Shimazaki

Tōson Shimazaki
Born(1872-03-25)25 March 1872
Magome-juku, Nagano Prefecture, Japan
Died22 August 1943(1943-08-22) (aged 71)
Ōiso, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
OccupationWriter
Alma materMeiji Gakuin University
GenrePoetry, novels
Literary movementRomanticism
Naturalism
Notable worksBefore the Dawn (1929-1935)

Tōson Shimazaki (島崎 藤村, Shimazaki Tōson, Japanese pronunciation: [toꜜː.soɴ], 25 March 1872 – 22 August 1943) was the pen-name of Haruki Shimazaki, a Japanese writer active in the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods of Japan. He began his career as a Romantic poet, but went on to establish himself as a major proponent of Japanese Naturalism. The historical novel Before the Dawn (1929-1935), about the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate, is his most popular work.