Folk Art Theory

Japanese: 民衆芸術論 - みんしゅうげいじゅつろん

A debate on the theme of "the people and art" was held in the Taisho literary world for several years from 1916 (Taisho 5). Within the current of Taisho democracy, the issue of democratizing art or the participation of the people in art emerged, and the debate began with Homma Hisao's essay "The Significance and Value of People's Art" (1916), which defined "people's art is art for ordinary commoners." Sadao Yasunari, Kazuo Kato, Sakae Osugi, Hatsunosuke Hirabayashi, Choko Ikuta, and others spoke out, but while Homma spoke about art that educates the people, the more radical Osugi defined it as "art made by the people, for the people, and owned by the people," and argued for the simultaneous achievement of political and artistic independence for the working class. The two arguments did not mesh effectively, and the debate became one with labor literature and people's poetry, and was absorbed into the great whirlpool surrounding proletarian literature at the end of the Taisho period.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

大正期文壇において1916年(大正5)から数年にわたって交わされた〈民衆と芸術〉のテーマをめぐる論議。大正デモクラシーの思潮の中から，芸術の民衆化，あるいは民衆の芸術参加という課題が浮かび，〈民衆芸術とは一般平民のための芸術〉と規定した本間久雄の論文〈民衆芸術の意義及び価値〉(1916)が論議の発端になった。安成貞雄，加藤一夫，大杉栄，平林初之輔，生田長江などが発言したが，本間が民衆を教化する芸術を論じたのに対し，急進的な大杉は〈民衆によって民衆の為に造られ而して民衆の所有する芸術〉と規定して，労働階級の政治的自立と芸術的自立の同時達成を主張し，両者の論旨が有効にかみあうまでにいたらず，論議は労働文学や民衆詩などと一つになって，大正末年のプロレタリア文学をめぐる大渦の中に吸収されていった。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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