Masato Ara

Critic. Born in Kashima Town, Fukushima Prefecture (now Minamisoma City). After graduating from the Department of English Literature at Tokyo Imperial University, he worked as a junior high school teacher while also becoming a member of Haniya Yutaka's "Kouso" and Oi Kosuke's "Gendai Bungaku," publishing critiques and translations. After World War II, he participated in the founding of "Kindai Bungaku," and became a central figure in the postwar period, arguing for a "second youth" that should aim for "a higher level of humanism that expands egoism." In addition to debating with Nakano Shigeharu on "politics and literature" and with Kato Shuichi on the theory of subjectivity, he also actively raised issues on generational theory, intellectual theory, and other topics, continuing his combative critical activities. His main works include "The Second Youth" (1947), "Loser" (1947), and "Citizen Literature Theory" (1955), as well as a textual revision of the "Complete Works of Natsume Soseki" and a research book on the same.

[Onodera Bon]

"The Collected Works of Masato Ara, 5 volumes (1983-1984, Sanichi Shobo)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

評論家。福島県鹿島(かしま)町（現、南相馬(みなみそうま)市）に生まれる。東京帝国大学英文科卒業後、中学教師をしながら、埴谷雄高(はにやゆたか)の『構想』、大井広介の『現代文学』同人となり、評論、翻訳を発表。第二次世界大戦後『近代文学』創刊に参画、戦後期を自ら「エゴイズムを拡充した高次のヒューマニズム」を志向すべき「第二の青春」を主張して、その中心的存在となった。「政治と文学」論で中野重治(しげはる)と、主体性論で加藤周一と論争したほか、世代論、知識人論などでも積極的に問題提起し、戦闘的な評論活動を続けた。おもな著書に『第二の青春』（1947）、『負け犬』（1947）、『市民文学論』（1955）のほか、『夏目漱石(そうせき)全集』本文校訂やその研究書などがある。

［小野寺凡］

『『荒正人著作集』全5巻（1983～1984・三一書房）』

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