New Sensational School - Shinkankakuha

This is a collective term for up-and-coming writers such as Yokomitsu Riichi, Kawabata Yasunari, Kataoka Teppei, Nakagawa Yoichi, Kon Toko, and Kishida Kunio, who were based around the literary magazine Bungei Jidai, which was launched in October 1924 (Taisho 13). Chiba Kameo, who noticed Yokomitsu's short story "Head and Belly" published in the first issue of the magazine, wrote a critique entitled "The Birth of the Shinkankaku-ha" (Seiki, November 1938) focusing on the eccentricity of the writer's style of expression. This was the first time that the term "Shinkankaku-ha" was used. From Chiba's point of view, the expressions of Yokomitsu and others showed a new tendency to express "the existence and meaning of the entire inner life" in a "symbolic" way through a "small hole," and he called this "shinkankaku." The opening line of Yokomitsu's "Head and Belly" - "It was midday. The limited express train was packed to capacity and was speeding along. The small stations along the line were ignored like stones" - was a metaphorical expression that was harshly criticised by Hirotsu Kazuo, Ikuta Choko and others, but in his later years Akutagawa Ryunosuke, while feeling uncomfortable about it, tried to acknowledge its potential. Furthermore, Saito Ryutaro wrote "The Art of Yokomitsu Riichi" (Bungei Jidai, January 1925) in which he questioned Yokomitsu's "anthropomorphic technique." From the group's side, Kataoka, responding to Chiba's name, wrote "Appeal to Young Readers" (Dec. 1924), Kawabata wrote "Explanation of the New Tendencies of New Writers" (Jan. 1925), and Yokomitsu wrote "Sensational Activity" (Dec. 1925, later renamed "New Sensation Theory") in Bungei Jidai, in which they spoke about the state of the times and innovation in expression. From a modern perspective, there is something to be seen in their anthropomorphic and symbolic writing style, and the influence of Renard's translation of Kishida Kunio's Grape-making in the Vineyard, Maeda Akira's translation of Keylands, and Paul Morin's translation of Horiguchi Daigaku's Night Opening can also be seen.

[Yoshiki Kuritsubo]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

1924年（大正13）10月に創刊された文芸同人雑誌『文芸時代』を拠点とした新進作家、横光利一(よこみつりいち)、川端康成(やすなり)、片岡鉄兵(てっぺい)、中河与一(なかがわよいち)、今東光(こんとうこう)、岸田国士(くにお)などを一括総称していう。同誌創刊号に掲載された横光の短編小説『頭ならびに腹』に注目した千葉亀雄が、その表現法の奇抜さに着目して、評論「新感覚派の誕生」（『世紀』1938.11）を書く。これが「新感覚派」呼称の最初となる。千葉の観点によれば、横光などの表現には「内部人生全面の存在と意義」を「小さな穴」を通して「象徴」主義的に表現した新傾向がみえ、これを「新感覚」と称したのである。横光の『頭ならびに腹』の冒頭の一節「真昼である。特別急行列車は満員のまま全速力で駆けてゐた。沿線の小駅は石のやうに黙殺された。」という即物的な比喩(ひゆ)表現をめぐって、広津和郎(かずお)、生田長江(いくたちょうこう)などが激しい批判を浴びせたが、晩年の芥川龍之介(あくたがわりゅうのすけ)は違和感をもちつつもそこに可能性を認めようと努めた。さらに斎藤龍太郎(りゅうたろう)は「横光利一氏の芸術」（『文芸時代』1925.1）を書いて横光の「擬人法的手法」に疑義を提出した。同人側からは、千葉の呼称を受けて片岡が「若き読者に訴ふ」（1924.12）、川端が「新進作家の新傾向解説」（1925.1）、横光が「感覚活動」（1925.12、のち「新感覚論」と改題）などを『文芸時代』に書いて、時代状況と表現の革新について発言した。今日的にみれば、その擬人法的、象徴主義的文体にみるべきものがあり、ルナールの岸田国士訳『葡萄(ぶどう)畑の葡萄作り』、前田晁(あきら)訳『キイランド集』、ポール・モーランの堀口大学訳『夜ひらく』などの影響もみられる。

［栗坪良樹］

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