Sunao Tokunaga (徳永直; 1899–1958) was a Japanese

proletarian writer Proletarian literature refers here to the literature created by left-wing writers mainly for the class-conscious proletariat. Though the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' states that because it "is essentially an intended device of revolution", it is ...

Biography

Sunao Tokunaga was born on January 20, 1899, in

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to ...

. He was one of first writers of the Japanese

proletarian literature Proletarian literature refers here to the literature created by left-wing writers mainly for the class-conscious proletariat. Though the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' states that because it "is essentially an intended device of revolution", it is ...

movement of the 1920s to come from a truly lower-class background. He dropped out of elementary school, and at the age of twelve became a printer's apprentice. In 1922, he began working for the Hakubunkan Press (博文館印刷所 ''Hakubunkan-insatsusho''), later renamed to the Kyōdō Press (共同印刷所 ''Kyōdō-insatsusho''). He took part in union activities while actively writing. The union restricted his literary activities and extracted a promise from him that he would not write any novels. In 1926, he joined some 3,000 Kyōdō employees in striking. After more than two months, the union was completely defeated, and 1,700 employees, including Tokunaga, were fired. This experience provided inspiration for his most important novel, ''

Taiyō no nai Machi ''Taiyō no nai Machi'' (太陽のない街, "The Street without Sunlight") is a Japanese novel written by Sunao Tokunaga. The novel was adapted into a film in 1954 directed by Satsuo Yamamoto. Overview ''Taiyō no nai Machi'' is a proletarian ...

'' (太陽のない街, "The Street without Sunlight"), which he began in 1928. He eventually found another printing job at a large company, and while working there began his literary career. He joined the Japan Proletarian Writers' League (日本プロレタリア作家同盟 ''Nihon Puroretaria Sakka Dōmei'', also abbreviated "NALP") in February 1929. In March 1932, Tokunaga wrote an article expressing a desire for a popular literature that the proletariat could enjoy, which inspired a sharp critical response from

Takiji Kobayashi was a Japanese writer of proletarian literature. He is best known for his short novel '' Kanikōsen'', or ''Crab Cannery Ship'', published in 1929. It tells the story of the hard life of cannery workers, fishermen and seamen on board a cannery ...

, accusing Tokunaga of "right-wing, opportunistic tendencies". In May of the same year several members of NALP, including Tokunaga, were rounded up for questioning by police following a meeting, but Tokunaga was soon released. He left the League in October of the following year over what he saw as their prioritizing politics over literary merit. In October 1937 he requested his publisher withdraw ''Taiyō no nai Machi'' from print in light of the breakout of war with China. He saw it as necessary for Japanese to unify during the war. He continued to publish short stories and essays that were inoffensive to the authorities throughout the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

. In 1945, immediately following Japan's loss in the war, Tokunaga,

Shigeharu Nakano was a Japanese writer and Japanese Communist Party (JCP) politician. Nakano was born in Maruoka, now part of Sakai, Fukui. In 1914 he enrolled in middle school in Fukui, Fukui, and attended high school in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa and Kanazawa, Ish ...

Yuriko Miyamoto was a Japanese novelist, short-story writer, social activist, and literary critic active during the Taishō and early Shōwa periods of Japan. She is best known for her autobiographical fiction and involvement in proletarian and women's libera ...

and others formed the Shin Nihon Bungakkai ("New Japanese Literary World") as a successor to the various pre-war socialist literary groups. He joined the

Communist Party of Japan The is a left-wing to far-left political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party advocates the establishment of a democra ...

in 1946, allowed the republication of ''Taiyō no nai Machi'', and was welcomed back into the proletarian literary movement. In 1954, he journeyed to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

to represent Japan at the Congress of the Soviet Writers' Union. He died on February 15, 1958.

References

Works cited

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tokunaga, Sunao Proletarian literature 20th-century Japanese novelists 1899 births 1958 deaths People from Kumamoto Prefecture Writers from Kumamoto Prefecture