The was an influential Japanese literary coterie, which published the

literary magazine A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letter ...

Shirakaba The was an influential Japanese literary coterie, which published the literary magazine '' Shirakaba'', from 1910 to 1923. History In 1910, a loose association of alumni of the prestigious Gakushuin Peer’s School in Tokyo began a literary s ...

'', from 1910 to 1923.

History

In 1910, a loose association of alumni of the prestigious Gakushuin Peer’s School in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

began a

literary society A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newsle ...

. Members included writers, artists,

literary critics Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

and others who rejected

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

and the strictures of traditional Japanese literary and artistic styles. In particular, the group emphasized

idealism In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to ide ...

humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

and

individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-reli ...

, over the naturalism that had been the dominant trend in Japanese literature of the Taishō period. The ''Shirakaba-ha'' thought highly of Western aesthetics (particularly

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

and

Post-Impressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...

), and considered their mission to spread the ideas of

Western art The art of Europe, or Western art, encompasses the history of visual art in Europe. European prehistoric art started as mobile Upper Paleolithic rock and cave painting and petroglyph art and was characteristic of the period between the Paleol ...

and

Western literature Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, as well as several geographically or historically related languages such as Basque and Hungarian, an ...

into Japan. Unlike many other literary circles, The Shirakaba-ha did not limit their interest to literature, but also delved into other art forms. However, the group remained deeply interested in

Japanese culture The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Historical overview The ance ...

, particularly in

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...

, which had previously been disparaged by traditional art critics. Shirakaba first issue

Early members included

Shiga Naoya was a Japanese writer active during the Taishō and Shōwa periods of Japan, whose work was distinguished by its lucid, straightforward style and strong autobiographical overtones. Early life Shiga was born in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, ...

(1883-1971), Mushanokōji Saneatsu (1885-1976),

Yanagi Sōetsu , also known as Yanagi Muneyoshi, was a Japanese art critic, philosopher, and founder of the ''mingei'' (folk craft) movement in Japan in the late 1920s and 1930s. Personal life Yanagi was born in 1889 to Yanagi Narayoshi, a hydrographer of the I ...

(1889-1961),

Satomi Ton is a feminine Japanese given name which is also used as a surname. Possible writings Satomi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *里美, "hometown, beauty" *怜美, "wise, beauty" *聡美, "wise, beauty" *智美, "wisdo ...

(1888-1983),

Arishima Takeo was a Japanese people, Japanese Japanese author, novelist, short-story writer and essayist during the late Meiji period, Meiji and Taishō period, Taishō periods. His two younger brothers, and , were also authors. His son was the internationall ...

(1878-1923) and

Nagayo Yoshirō is a town located in Nishisonogi District, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. Geography Nagayo is located within the southern part of Nagasaki prefecture and resides at the south of Ōmura Bay. Neighbouring municipalities * Nagasaki * Isahaya * ...

(1888-1961). Their literature was typically of the ‘

I novel The I-novel (, , ) is a literary genre in Japanese literature used to describe a type of confessional literature where the events in the story correspond to events in the author's life. This genre was founded based on the Japanese reception of n ...

’ genre, and was concerned with the life of individuals, often incorporating optimistic philosophy into their work. Some of these individuals came with wealthy families, and attempted to emulate

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

in creating utopian agrarian communes in remote parts of Japan. The self-published monthly literary journal ''Shirakaba'' ("White Birch") was in circulation from April 1910 until 1923. The magazine reached its peak in popularity in 1918. However, publication was discontinued after the

Great Kantō earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

References

*Suzuki, Tomi. Narrating the Self: Fictions of Japanese Modernity. Stanford University Press. (1997) *Yamanouchi, Hisaaki. The Search for Authenticity in Modern Japanese Literature. Cambridge University Press. (1980)

External links

*
Shirakaba Literary Society home page

The Circle, Red Circle Authors
{{Authority control Literary circles