Literary Association

The name of the theater company. The name Bungei Kyokai was later limited to the name of the theater company, but at the time of its founding in 1906 (Meiji 39), it was the name of a comprehensive cultural institution that aimed to improve everything from theater, art, music, religion, and philosophy to storytelling and rakugo, and was headed by Okuma Shigenobu and backed by Waseda University. The main person who came up with the idea was Shimamura Hogetsu, and Tsubouchi Shoyo, who would later become a leader, was one of the original promoters. However, the aforementioned grand plan soon fell through, and the association's activities were decided upon as theater activities and the republication of Waseda Bungaku, and the first performance in the fall of the same year featured works such as Shoyo's translation of The Merchant of Venice. The reason they took up Shakespeare was because they wanted to contribute to Shoyo's idea of ​​creating a national theatre, and the group had a strong focus on improving the theatre, but activities soon became difficult, and in 1909 Shoyo began to provide direct guidance. The period up to that point is distinguished as the Early Period of the Bungei Kyokai, and the period afterwards as the Late Period of the Bungei Kyokai. Shoyo opened a drama research institute in his own home in the same year to train both male and female actors, and one of the students in the first period was Matsui Sumako, while one of the students in the second period was Sawada Shojiro, who later founded Shinkokugeki. The training of actresses in particular was a groundbreaking project, and it left a significant mark on the history of the Bungei Kyokai's new theatre. A performance of Ibsen's A Doll's House (1911), in which Sumako played Nora, caused a sensation, but shortly afterwards Hogetsu and Sumako's romance developed and internal antagonism became apparent, leading to the group disbanding in 1913 (Taisho 2) after their sixth performance of Julius Caesar at the Imperial Theater. In the same year, Hogetsu and Sumako formed the Geijutsuza Theatre Company. The distinctive feature of the Bungei Kyokai was its reliance on large-scale theater performances aimed at large audiences, and both Geijutsuza Theatre Company and Shinkokugeki Theatre Company, which followed in its footsteps, always continued to keep the masses in mind when they carried out their activities.

[Yoshio Ozasa]

"The Dawn of the New Drama Movement" by Shigetoshi Kawatake (1947, Yuzankaku Publishing)" ▽ "The History of New Drama in Japan" by Katsuhira Matsumoto (1966, Chikuma Shobo) ▽ "The History of Modern Japanese Drama: Meiji and Taisho Periods" by Yoshio Ozasa (1985, Hakusuisha Publishing)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

劇団名。文芸協会という名称はのちには劇団名に限定されたが、1906年（明治39）の発足当時は、演劇、美術、音楽、宗教、哲学から講談、落語までの改良を意図した総合的な文化機関の名称で、大隈重信(おおくましげのぶ)を会頭とし、早稲田(わせだ)大学を背景にしていた。主として案を練ったのは島村抱月(ほうげつ)で、のち指導者になる坪内逍遙(しょうよう)は当初発起人の1人だった。しかし、前述の壮大な構想はすぐ挫折(ざせつ)し、協会の事業としては演劇活動と『早稲田文学』の再刊と決まり、同年秋の第1回公演に逍遙訳の『ヴェニスの商人』等が上演された。シェークスピアを取り上げたのは、逍遙の考えていた国劇の創造に寄与しようとしたためで、演劇改良の色彩が濃かったが、やがて活動が困難になり、09年には逍遙が直接指導に乗り出した。これまでを前期文芸協会、以後を後期文芸協会と区別する。逍遙は同年自邸内に演劇研究所を開所して男女の俳優養成にあたったが、その一期に松井須磨子(すまこ)が、二期生にのちに新国劇を創立する沢田正二郎がいた。なかでも女優養成は画期的な仕事で、文芸協会の新劇史に残した足跡は大きい。須磨子がノラを演じたイプセンの『人形の家』の上演（1911）はセンセーションを巻き起こしたが、その直後から抱月と須磨子の恋愛が進み、かつ内部の反目が顕在化して、帝国劇場での第6回公演『ジュリアス・シーザー』を最後に13年（大正2）に解散。同年抱月と須磨子は芸術座を結成した。文芸協会の特色は、多くの観客を相手とする大劇場主義に拠(よ)ったことで、その流れをくむ芸術座も新国劇も、つねに大衆を眼中に置いた活動を続けた。

［大笹吉雄］

『河竹繁俊著『新劇運動の黎明期』（1947・雄山閣出版）』▽『松本克平著『日本新劇史』（1966・筑摩書房）』▽『大笹吉雄著『日本現代演劇史　明治・大正篇』（1985・白水社）』

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