Yusaku Yokoyama (Japanese: 横山 æÂÂçÂÂ, Hepburn: Yokoyama Yà «saku; December 18, 1882 â April 2, 1929) was a Japanese scholar of English literature. Professor at Waseda University.
Yokoyama was born on December 18, 1882, in Tamagawa Village, Kawakami District, Okayama Prefecture (present-day Takahashi City). In 1895, he entered the newly established former Okayama Prefectural Takahashi Junior High School (now Okayama Prefectural Takahashi High School) as a first-year student. After graduating in 1900, he enrolled in the preparatory course at Waseda University and was admitted to the university itself in September 1902.
In September 1904, Yokoyama delivered a eulogy as the representative of Waseda University students at the funeral of Lafcadio Hearn (known in Japan as Koizumi Yakumo). He graduated from the Department of English Literature in the Faculty of Letters at Waseda University in 1905. In 1907, he traveled to the United States and studied at Harvard University, from which he graduated in May 1910.
After returning to Japan in 1911, Yokoyama became an English teacher at Waseda Junior High School. In 1916, he was appointed lecturer in the Department of English Literature at Waseda University, where he succeeded Tsubouchi Shà Âyà  in delivering lectures on Shakespeare. In September 1918, at the age of 35, he was promoted to full professor at Waseda University.
In 1920, Yokoyama became an executive secretary of Tsubouchi Shà Âyà Â's Cultural Projects Research Association. He also gave a public lecture titled "The Woman Question as Reflected in Modern Literature" at the universityâÂÂs Central Summer Seminar for Extracurricular Education. From 1923, at the age of 40, he also served as a professor at Japan Women's University. In July 1927, he was appointed to the executive committee for the establishment of the Waseda University Theatre Museum.
Yokoyama's major academic contributions include numerous translations of ShakespeareâÂÂs works, such as The Story of Hamlet and The Story of Macbeth. Rather than simply retelling the plot, his translations were notable for their analytical styleâÂÂinterpreting the charactersâ personalities and adding scholarly commentary, thus demonstrating a researcherâÂÂs perspective. His notable works include ShelleyâÂÂs Theory of Poetry and Defense of Poetry, Introduction to Literature, and A Concise History of English Literature. His translations include Selected Masterpieces of Shakespeare, and his posthumous work, Studies on Shakespeare, was published after his death.
Yokoyama died at his home in Kichijà Âji on April 2, 1929, at the age of 46.