Zoshigaya no Younger Bunshi-tachi - Taisho Era Literary Youth Exchange Records (Taisho Era)

Zoshigaya no Younger Bunshi-tachi - Taisho Era Literary Youth Exchange Records (Taisho Era)

Tokyo in the Taisho era (1912-1926), when Koji Uno studied at the Department of English Literature at Waseda University, was a place where the influence of naturalism remained, while the free and open atmosphere of Taisho democracy was still prevalent. Waseda was a magnetic field that attracted aspiring young men and women of literature from all over Japan, and the writers who would later lead the literary world, including Kan Kikuchi, Sanjo Naoki, Joji Tsubota, and Seiji Tanizaki, rubbed shoulders with those on and off campus at the same time. They differed in literary outlook and style. While Kikuchi Kan depicted human weakness with realistic brushstrokes and Naoki combined popular appeal with entertainment value, Uno delved into the intricate folds of human psychology in great detail and excelled at expressing dense emotions.

Uno rented a house in Zoshigaya and lived a self-catered life, inviting his friends to discuss literature while watching the street from the porch. It was not just a gathering of students, but also a place where literary youths from different parts of Japan could critique each other's works and seek creative direction. It was there that Chikamatsu Akie, who had already made a name for himself, appeared. He would appear, take four or five steps around the room, pick up a newspaper, read the headlines out loud, and walk away without making eye contact with anyone. His eccentric behavior symbolized the whimsy and presence of the literati of the time.

Uno's masterpiece, "Mihigawa (River of Thoughts)," is a rich depiction of repressed emotions and human loneliness that beautifully expresses the subtleties of human relationships during the Taisho and early Showa periods. Furthermore, "Inside the Storehouse" depicts the psychological turmoil in a closed space, and is a masterful portrayal of the inner life of a person. Unlike the outward-looking social perspectives and entertainment value of his contemporaries, these works form the core of Uno's literature, which continues to focus on the inner life of the individual.

During the Taisho period (1912-1926), cafes and boarding houses became the stage for interaction in the Tokyo literary world, with writers meeting each other on a daily basis to engage in discussions and eccentricities. The days Uno spent in Zoshigaya and the impressive behavior of Akie Chikamatsu are scenes that truly convey the ecology and atmosphere of the literary world of that era.