Shimazaki Tson is one of several writers who laid the foundation of modern poetry and fiction in the development of modern Japanese literature. During his long career he produced representative works of Japanese Romanticism, Japanese Naturalism, and shi-shsetsu (the I-novel) in addition to historical works. Writing primarily from autobiographical material, Tson expanded the scope of literature at each stage of his literary development. Although Tson's preeminence is solidly recognized in the canons of modern literature, certain enigmatic features of his style and persona elicit mixed emotions in readers.

He was an honest and sincere writer, but at the same time he was equivocal and reticent. He was educated in Tokyo and was sophisticated in his taste and thinking, but his love for his home province stayed with him throughout his life, and he had a rural, unurbane side to his character. He was proud of his national heritage...