''Kaizō'' (改造 ''kaizō'') was a Japanese general-interest magazine that started publication during the Taishō period and printed many articles of socialist content. ''Kaizō'' can be translated into English as "Reorganize", "Restructure", "Reconstruct" or "Reconstruction".

Beginnings

In 1919, after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Yamamoto Sanehiko's company, called '' Kaizōsha'' (改造社), began publishing ''Kaizō.'' Although it is well known for carrying works of fiction, its sales grew because of the articles it carried pertaining to labor and social problems. At this time, due to the influence of the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese intellectuals were also examining social issues and socialist thought. Essays by writers such as Christian socialist Kagawa Toyohiko, Marxist Kawakami Hajime, and Yamakawa Hitoshi were published and helped the magazine gain popularity. It also published

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, ...

's novel '' A Dark Night's Passing'' (1921–37),

Riichi Yokomitsu was an experimental, modernist Japanese writer. Yokomitsu began publishing in dōjinshi such as ''Machi'' ("Street") and ''Tō'' ("Tower") after entering Waseda University in 1916. In 1923, he published ''Nichirin'' ("The Sun"), ''Hae'' ("A F ...

's ''Shanghai'' (1929-1931), and

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work range from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle portr ...

's ''

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'' (1928–30). Another popular general-interest magazine '' Chūōkōron'' (中央公論) was established before ''Kaizō,'' but sales of ''Kaizō'' overtook it despite its radical content. In 1922, ''Kaizōsha'' invited

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

to give lectures in Japan. He arrived in Japan 7 days after the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

had announced he won the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

Jun Ishiwara Jun Ishiwara or Atsushi Ishihara (石原純; January 15, 1881 – January 19, 1947) was a Japanese theoretical physicist, known for his works on the electronic theory of metals, the theory of relativity and quantum theory. Being the only Japanese ...

, a Japanese theoretical physicist, summarized his lecture at

Keio University , abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally established as a school for Rangaku, Western studies in 1858 in Edo. It was granted university status in 1920, becomi ...

and published it in ''Kaizō''. ''Kaizōsha'' published translations of Einstein's lecture texts in Japan the next year and during the period from 1922 to 1924 it published translations of all of his papers.

Oppression

In 1942, during the middle of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, publications printing communist essays begin to suffer government oppression ( Yokohama Incident). After police beat confessions out of "Communist" staffers, ''Kaizō'' was forced to "voluntarily" dissolve in 1944.James L. McClain, ''Japan: A Modern History'' p 491 Publication was resumed in 1946, but management was poor, and labor troubles exacerbated the situation, forcing ''Kaizō'' to cease publication in 1955.

Featured Works

'' A Dark Night's Passing'' - by

'' - by

Nobuko - by Miyamoto Yuriko
''

Kappa Kappa (; uppercase Κ, lowercase κ or cursive ; , ''káppa'') is the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless velar plosive sound in Ancient and Modern Greek. In the system of Greek numerals, has a value of 20. It was d ...

'' - by

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa , art name , was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "father of the Japanese short story", and Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him. He took his own life at the age ...

The Wind Has Risen ''The Wind Has Risen'' (風立ちぬ, ''Kaze tachinu'') is a Japanese novel by Tatsuo Hori, published between 1936 and 1938, and is regarded as his most acknowledged work. The story is set in a sanitarium in Nagano, Japan, where the nameless pr ...

'' - by Hori Tatsuo
A Flock of Swirling Crows - by Kuroshima Denji
Shanghai - by

References

Keene, Donald. ''Dawn to the West: Japanese Literature in the Modern Era''. Columbia University Press

External links

An article in Japanese that includes a cover picture of ''Kaizō''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaizo 1919 establishments in Japan 1955 disestablishments in Japan Defunct political magazines published in Japan Magazines established in 1919 Magazines disestablished in 1955 Monthly magazines published in Japan Banned magazines Censorship in Japan