New Thought - Shinshicho

A literary magazine. The first edition started in October 1907 (Meiji 40) as a personal magazine by Osanai Kaoru, and six issues were published by March of the following year. After the second edition, it became a coterie magazine, and 19 issues were published in succession until the late 1970s. Many literary figures used this magazine as a stepping stone to enter the literary world, but the first four issues are the most important in literary history, and the third and fourth editions in particular were given the name Shinshichoha. As the name Shinshicho suggests, the first issue focused on introducing modern foreign drama and new literature, and included essays on Ibsen and translations of Chekhov and Turgenev.

The second edition was launched in September 1910, and a total of seven issues were published by March of the following year. From the second edition onwards, the magazine adopted a coterie system, and thereafter the magazine was considered a coterie magazine affiliated with the University of Tokyo. In addition to Oyamauchi, the main coterie included Tanizaki Junichiro, Goto Sueo, and Watsuji Tetsuro, and Tanizaki's novels and Watsuji's historical dramas attracted attention.

The third issue was launched in February 1914 (Taisho 3), and eight issues were published by September. The magazine had ten members, including Toyoshima Yoshio, Yamamoto Yuzo, Kume Masao, and Akutagawa Ryunosuke, and its greatest works were Toyoshima's novel "The Lake and Them" and Kume's play "The Milkman's Brothers."

The fourth issue was launched in February 1916, and published a total of 11 issues by March of the following year. The five members were Akutagawa Ryunosuke, Kikuchi Kan, Kume Masao, Matsuoka Yuzuru, and Naruse Seiichi. Akutagawa's "The Nose," which appeared in the first issue, was highly praised by Natsume Soseki, and subsequent issues included Kume's play "Abukuma Shinju," Kikuchi's play "Father Returns," and Matsuoka's novel "Aobaku Tankei," all powerful works that attracted widespread attention. Due to the clear handling of themes and precise techniques shared by the members, they came to be known as the New Intellectuals and New Techniques School.

From the fifth wave onwards, there are still some interesting works, but the enthusiasm for magazine production and its contents peaked in the fourth wave and then began to decline. Reprints of the first to fourth waves are available (published by Rinkawa Shoten).

[Yasuyoshi Sekiguchi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

文芸雑誌。第一次は1907年（明治40）10月、小山内薫(おさないかおる)の個人誌として出発し、翌年3月まで全6冊刊行。第二次以後同人制となり、70年代後半まで19次にわたって継承刊行されている。数多くの文学者がこの雑誌を足掛りとして文壇に登場したが、文学史上だいじなのは第四次までであり、とくに第三、四次の同人に対しては新思潮派の名称が与えられている。『新思潮』という誌名が示すように、第一次は海外の近代劇や新文芸の紹介に力を入れ、イプセン論やチェーホフ、ツルゲーネフの翻訳などを載せている。

　第二次は1910年9月創刊、翌年3月まで全7冊を刊行。第二次からは同人制をとり、以後この雑誌は東京大学系の同人雑誌とみなされていく。主要な同人は小山内のほか、谷崎潤一郎、後藤末雄、和辻(わつじ)哲郎らであり、谷崎の小説と和辻の史劇が目をひいた。

　第三次は1914年（大正3）2月創刊、9月まで全8冊刊行。豊島与志雄(とよしまよしお)、山本有三、久米(くめ)正雄、芥川龍之介(あくたがわりゅうのすけ)ら同人は10名で、豊島の小説『湖水と彼等(かれら)』と久米の戯曲『牛乳屋の兄弟』が収穫であった。

　第四次は1916年2月創刊、翌年3月まで全11冊を刊行。同人は芥川龍之介、菊池寛、久米正雄、松岡譲(ゆずる)、成瀬正一(せいいち)の5名である。創刊号に載った芥川の『鼻』は、夏目漱石(そうせき)に絶賛されるが、次号以下にも久米の戯曲『阿武隈(あぶくま)心中』、菊池の戯曲『父帰る』、松岡の小説『青白端渓(たんけい)』などいずれも力のこもった作品が載り、広く注目された。同人に共通した明快な主題の処理と的確な技法から彼らは新理知派、新技巧派ともよばれることとなる。

　第五次以降にも、ときにみるべきものもあるが、雑誌づくりの熱気やその内容は、第四次をピークとし退潮していく。第一次～第四次の復刻版（臨川書店刊）がある。

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