What is it about?
An annotated translation of Miyamoto Yuriko's seminal essay, Utagoe yo, okore! with critical introduction situating it, and the Shin nihon bungakukai in the literary and political context of immediate post WWII Japan.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
This translation and essay highlights the volatile and dynamic atmosphere of the immediate post-war era, particularly amongst members and supporters of the Japanese Communist Party. It shows how integral literature was deemed to be by the left in effecting a revolution of consciousness that was, in turn, to lead to a political revolution.
Perspectives
This essay is fascinating in that it embodies the heady optimism of the left in the immediate aftermath of Japan's defeat. It embodies the spirit of the JCP as a revolutionary movement, rather than an political party (with all of its internal scheming, dogma and divisiveness). At the same time, it is perhaps the first post-war commentary on tenkô, or ideological conversion--a topic that would occupy much of Japan's intelligentsia in one form or another for the next twenty years.
Mark Gibeau
Australian National University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Raise your voice in song! The Origins of the New Japanese Literature Association, Asiatische Studien – Études Asiatiques, January 2017, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1515/asia-2017-0043.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
