Hirabayashi Hatsunosuke

Critic. Born in Kyoto Prefecture. Graduated from the Department of English Literature at Waseda University. In 1922 (Taisho 11), he joined the magazine "The Sower" and became an active literary critic and literary theorist based on Marxism. The following year, he published a collection of essays, "The Proletariat and Literature." He was highly praised as a pillar of literary theory based on a materialist view of history. However, he left the movement as it was consolidated and became politically radicalized. He later wrote "Political Value and Artistic Value" (1929), in which he cast skeptical criticism on the proletarian literary movement, sparking a great debate. His later essays, including this one, are collected in "Problems of Literary Theory" (1929). He died in Paris in 1931 (Showa 6). He was known as a flexible and scientific literary researcher, as well as a mystery writer and translator.

[Kensuke Benino]

"Complete Works of Hirabayashi Hatsunosuke's Literary Criticism" Three Volumes (1975, Bunsendo)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

評論家。京都府出身。早稲田(わせだ)大学英文科卒業。1922年（大正11）雑誌『種蒔(ま)く人』に参加し、マルクス主義にたつ気鋭の文芸評論家、文学理論家として活躍。翌23年、評論集『無産階級と文学』を刊行する。唯物史観による文学理論の支柱として高く評価された。しかし運動が統廃合され、政治的に急進化するにつれて離脱。のち『政治的価値と芸術的価値』（1929）を著してプロレタリア文学運動に懐疑的な批判を投げかけて大きな論議を巻き起こした。それを含む後期の評論は『文学理論の諸問題』（1929）にまとめられている。31年（昭和6）パリで客死。柔軟にして科学的な文学研究家であるとともに、推理作家、翻訳家としても知られる。

［紅野謙介］

『『平林初之輔文芸評論全集』全三巻（1975・文泉堂）』

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