Seiichiro Katsumoto

Literary critic. Born in Tokyo. Graduated from Keio University (1923). While still a student, he founded the Keio Drama Research Society in 1920 (Taisho 9). He then published novels while editing Mita Bungaku. In the early Showa era, influenced by the proletarian literature movement, he became active as a literary critic and published Avant-garde Literature (1930). While living in Germany in 1930 (Showa 5), ​​he attended the Kharkov Conference as a representative of the Japan Proletarian Writers Union. His report on this conference and the following year's "Emergency Discussion from Berlin" had a major impact on the trends in proletarian literature. He returned to Japan in 1933 and resumed his critical activities, publishing The World Position of Japanese Literature (1936). However, he was banned from writing, and devoted himself to modern literature research. After the war, while serving as the president of the Japan UNESCO Federation, he made great achievements in the field of Meiji literature research, including editing the Complete Works of Tokoku and publishing Roundtable Meiji Literature History (1961).

[Yamada Hiromitsu]

"Katsumoto Seiichiro's 'Notes on Modern Literature', four volumes (1979-80, Misuzu Shobo)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

文芸評論家。東京生まれ。慶応義塾大学卒業（1923）。在学中の1920年（大正9）慶応劇研究会を創立。ついで『三田文学』の編集のかたわら小説を発表。昭和の初年、プロレタリア文学運動の影響を受け、文芸評論家として活躍、『前衛の文学』（1930）を刊行。在独中の30年（昭和5）日本プロレタリア作家同盟代表としてハリコフ会議に出席。その報告と翌年の「ベルリンからの緊急討論」は、プロレタリア文学の動向に大きな影響を与えた。33年帰国して評論活動を再開、『日本文学の世界的位置』（1936）を刊行。しかし執筆禁止にあい、近代文学研究に従事。戦後は日本ユネスコ連盟理事長のかたわら、『透谷全集』の編集、『座談会明治文学史』（1961）など明治文学研究の分野で大きな業績をあげた。

［山田博光］

『勝本清一郎著『近代文学ノート』全四巻（1979～80・みすず書房）』

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