Monthly Highlights from the Japanese Press No. 1
From Bungei Shunjū for March 2024 and Chūō Kōron for March 2024
Monthly Highlights from the Japanese Press No. 1
For this first installment, I consulted Bungei Shunjū and Chūō Kōron, the two most important monthly general-interest magazines in Japan. Each boasts an illustrious history. The former was founded in 1923 by Kikuchi Kan and rapidly became the outlet of choice for such literary giants as Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, Yokomitsu Riichi, and Kawabata Yasunari. The latter was founded in 1887 as Hanseikai Zasshi, the official organ of the Kyōto Western Hongan Temple’s training body the Hanseikai, and changed its name to Chūō Kōron in 1899. After 1912, with the rise of Takita Choin, it became the leading voice of liberal democratic dissident thought, with Yoshino Sakuzō, Ōyama Ikuo, and Hasegawa Nyozekan becoming regular contributors. Since then, both magazines have continued to serve as lodestars for mainstream opinion, with Bungei Shunjū tending to the center-right and Chūō Kōron tending to the center-left.