was a Japanese
author
In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...
, journalist and editor, best known as a pioneer of science fiction.
Education and early career
While studying law at Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō (present day
Waseda University
Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...
) at the turn of the century, Oshikawa published ''Kaitō Bōken Kidan: Kaitei Gunkan'' (海島冒険奇譚 海底軍艦 lit. "Undersea Warship: A Fantastic Tale of Island Adventure"), the story of an armoured,
ram
Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to:
* A male sheep
* Random-access memory, computer memory
* Ram Trucks, US, since 2009
** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans
** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks
Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...
-armed
submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
in a
future history
A future history, imaginary history or anticipatory history is a fictional conjecture of the future used by authors of science fiction and other speculative fiction to construct a common background for stories. Sometimes the author publishes a t ...
of war between Japan and Russia.
The novel reflects the tensions existing between Japan and Russia at the time, and foreshadowed the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
that followed in 1904.
Oshikawa's father was
Masayoshi Oshikawa
Masayoshi Oshikawa (押川方義; 1850–1928) was a Japanese evangelist, political activist and founder and first president of Tohoku Gakuin University.
Early life and education
Masayoshi Oshikawa was born in 1850 in Iyo Province (current Ehi ...
, evangelist, political activist and founder and first president of Tohoku Gakuin University and his brother was
Kiyoshi Oshikawa, founder of the first professional baseball team in Japan. While at Waseda, Oshikawa played on the baseball team under
Abe Isoo, along with his brother. He wrote a prologue for a baseball technique book that came from this trip, discussing how baseball should be considered the same as
bushidō in spirit. He was a member of the Waseda team that in 1905 traveled to the U.S. to play American teams, the first time for Japanese baseball.
Influences and later works
Like other early science fiction writers of the period, he was influenced by the stories of
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright.
His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
, whose technological
adventure novel
Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction.
History
In the introduction to the ''Encycloped ...
s had become popular in translation in the rapidly modernising
Meiji era
The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...
Japan. Specifically, the above-mentioned speculative conception of
submarine warfare
Submarine warfare is one of the four divisions of underwater warfare, the others being anti-submarine warfare, Naval mine, mine warfare and Naval mine, mine countermeasures.
Submarine warfare consists primarily of Diesel engine, diesel and nu ...
, based on ramming and making no mention of
torpedoes
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
, is shared with Verne (see "
Facing the Flag", "
HMS Sword").
Later, ''Kaitei gunkan'' became the first in a wildly successful, six-volume series set in the Pacific and Indian Oceans: ''Bukyō no Nippon'' (武侠の日本 lit. Heroic Japan, 1902), ''Shinzō Gunkan'' (新造軍艦 lit. The Newly Built Battleship, 1904), ''Bukyō Kantai'' (武侠艦隊 lit. Heroic Armada, 1904), ''Shin Nippontō'' (新日本島 lit. New Japan Isle, 1906), and ''Tōyō Bukyō Dan'' (東洋武侠団 lit. East Asian Heroic Troupe, 1907). The books remained in print for many years and later got much additional attention through a successful
film adaptation
A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...
.
Oshikawa was enthusiastic about
sport
Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...
s, especially
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
, and famously clashed with
Inazō Nitobe (one of the main proponents of the "
baseball considered harmful" or "
野球害毒論" argument).
He has also contributed to the development of the
Japanese detective fiction. Some of his stories incorporated elements of ratiocination, sleuthing, mystery and crime within stories of adventure, intrigue, the bizarre and the grotesque – though in his time this did not yet become a distinct genre on its own.
In the detailed list compiled by "The
Victorian Bookshelf" project of "Confluence 2000," tracing the early development of "The
Scientific Romance
Scientific romance is an archaic, mainly British term for the genre of fiction now commonly known as science fiction. The term originated in the 1850s to describe both fiction and elements of scientific writing, but it has since come to refer to ...
and other Related Works",
Oshikawa Shunrō is the only non-Western author mentioned for the pre-1900 period.
However, all the above is inextricably mixed with Oshikawa's share in and responsibility for helping to perpetuate in
Japanese popular culture
Japanese popular culture includes Cinema of Japan, Japanese cinema, Japanese cuisine, cuisine, Television in Japan, television programs, anime, manga, Video gaming in Japan, video games, Music of Japan, music, and doujinshi, all of which retain ol ...
– especially through works greatly influencing children and youths which remained in print for many decades after his own time – themes of Japanese
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
and patriotism, some which can be considered to promote
militarism
Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...
and
imperialism
Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...
as well.
As noted by Jeffrey M. Angles in his 2003
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
dissertation on Japanese popular authors in the early Twentieth Century,
Shunro is best remembered in Japan for his important role in developing adventure tales into an independent genre of children's fiction.
Oshikawa entered the publishing company
Hakubunkan at the introduction of the author
Iwaya Sazanami (1870–1933) and served as a lead reporter for ''
Shaijitsu Gahō'' (写実画報 lit. Graphic Pictorial), a magazine that featured stories and photos about the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
of 1904. This magazine ceased publication in 1907, but Oshikawa became co-editor of another Hakubunkan magazine, ''
Bōken sekai'' (冒険世界 lit. World of Adventure).
During and following the war with Russia there was a strong patriotic wave in Japan, and – though their country had won a decisive victory over the Russians and capitalized upon it to annex
Korea
Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
– some Japanese were left feeling dissatisfied with the war's achievements. An earlier magazine – ''
Tanken Sekai'' (探検世界 lit. World of Exploration), published by Hakubunkan's competitor
Seikōzasshisha (成功雑誌社) – catered to those wishing to read tales of Japanese adventure and exploration abroad and fantasies of imperialistic superiority and Japanese valor, in which fiction was mixed with more or less factual accounts of exploration, record-breaking achievements and "unusual customs" from around the world.
Hakubunkan's "Bōken sekai" (冒険世界), which Oshikawa co-edited, was – as clearly shown by researcher
Kawataro Nakajima – designed to appeal to the same kind of public, which had shown itself attracted to tales of military adventure and heroism. "Bōken Sekai" often contained allegedly true stories of adventure, exploration, military prowess and accounts of "primitive" lands, all of which reflected Japanese nationalism and imperial ambitions. At the same time, however, it also published mysteries, including translations of Western Detective Stories, as well as
ghost stories. Virtually every issue of the magazine included a story or article by Oshikawa himself.
After a dispute with his publisher, Oshikawa left Hakubunkan. In October 1911 he founded the magazine "
Bukyō Sekai" (武侠世界 lit. World of Heroism) with the capital of an entrepreneur named
Yanaginuma Kensuke, whose publishing house (Bukyō Sekaisha, later Bukyōsha) concentrated at the time on books of adventure, sports and physical activity for young people. Oshikawa's new monthly magazine, which he edited until his death, strongly resembled his earlier one, and it too carried tales of exploration, non-fictional adventure stories, editorials, sports-related tales, and translations of mysteries.
On August 6, 1914, Oshikawa was accompanied by several of the magazine's editors, contributors, illustrators and fans on an outing to a lakeshore in the northern part of the
Kantō region
The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...
. Possibly because of his death shortly afterwards, that outing seemed to be long remembered by and influence the later work of participants such as the artist
Kosugi Misei who had illustrated many of Oshikawa's stories and followed him from his earlier magazine to the later one.
Oshikawa's works were never translated in any significant way to Western languages, leaving his literary influence limited mainly to Japan itself. However, the many loose
film adaptation
A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...
s of his books, starting in the 1960s, did gain a considerable audience in America and Europe, such as ''Kaitei Gunkan'' (1963, released in the US as ''
Atragon
is a 1963 Japanese ''tokusatsu'' science fiction film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho, it is based on ''The Undersea Warship: A Fantastic Tale of Island Adventure'' by Shunrō ...
'') – an
adaptation
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...
which came to be considered "a Classic of Science Fiction Films" – and ''Shin Kaitei Gunkan'' (1996 and 1998, released in the US as ''
Super Atragon'').
The film versions were considerably different from the original, both due to the addition of Science Fiction and Fantasy elements such as a
kaiju
is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' ...
and because the handling of Oshikawa's nationalist themes was influenced by Japan's American-enforced transformation into a secular and pacifistic culture after the
Surrender of Japan
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...
.
The "Bukyō Sekai" magazine survived its founder and continued publication after Oshikawa's death, until 1923.
The book ''
Kaidanji: Oshikawa Shunrō'', by
Jun'ya Yokota and
Shingo Aizu, won the
Nihon SF Taisho Award
The is a Japanese science fiction award. It has been compared to the Nebula Award as it is given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan or SFWJ. The Grand Prize is selected from not only Science Fiction novels, but also various SF mo ...
for 1988.
See also
*
Japanese literature
Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japa ...
*
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
*
Invasion literature
Invasion literature (also the invasion novel or the future war genre) is a literary genre that was popular in the period between 1871 and the World War I, First World War (1914–1918). The invasion novel was first recognised as a literary genr ...
References
External links
Entryin
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oshikawa, Shunro
Oshikawa Shunro
Oshikawa Shunro
Oshikawa Shunro
Oshikawa Shunro
Japanese nationalists
Burials at Zōshigaya Cemetery
Waseda University alumni