Imperial Literature

Academic and literary magazine. January 1895 (Meiji 28) to February 1917 (Taisho 6), October 1917 to January 1920. 296 issues in total. It was published by the Teikoku Bungakukai, which was formed in 1894 (Meiji 27) by professors, graduates, and current students of the Faculty of Letters of the Imperial University of Tokyo. In the early days, it was characterized by Takayama Chogyu's romantic editorials, Ueda Bin's introduction of overseas thought and literature, and many commentators' discussions of new styles of poetry and issues regarding the Japanese language and writing. In the middle period (1906 - ceased publication), Katayama Masao, Higuchi Ryukyo, Watsuji Tetsuro, and others were active in introducing fin de siècle thought and advocating symbolism. In its final period (from when it was revived to when it ceased publication), it was characterized by essays such as Mori Ogai's "Kanchoro Kanwa" (A Confusing Tale at the Kanchoro Tower), which were discussed by Yanagi Muneyoshi, Fukushi Kojiro, and others. It was an encyclopedic forum for humanities research, but it was also a literary magazine that carried beautiful writings by Shioi Ue and others, novels such as Natsume Soseki's "The Tower of London," and plays by Osanai Kaoru and others.

[Tokuyoshi Sukekawa]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

学術・文芸雑誌。1895年（明治28）1月～1917年（大正6）2月、1917年10月～1920年1月。全296冊。東京帝国大学文科大学の教官、卒業生、在校生によって1894年（明治27）に結成された帝国文学会を母体として発行された。初期は、高山樗牛(ちょぎゅう)の浪漫(ろうまん)性豊かな論説や、上田敏(びん)による海外の思潮・文芸の導入、多くの論者による新体詩論、国語国字問題の評論に特色がある。中期（1906～休刊）には世紀末思潮の紹介、象徴主義の提唱などに、片山正雄、樋口龍峡(ひぐちりゅうきょう)、和辻哲郎(わつじてつろう)らが活躍した。末期（復刊～終刊）は、森鴎外(おうがい)の『観潮楼(かんちょうろう)閑話』などのエッセイに特色があり、柳宗悦(やなぎむねよし)、福士幸次郎らが論じた。百科全書的な人文科学研究の場であるとともに、塩井雨江らの美文、夏目漱石(そうせき)『倫敦塔(ロンドンとう)』その他の小説、小山内薫(おさないかおる)らの戯曲を載せた文芸雑誌でもある。

［助川徳是］

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