Zoshigaya no Younger Bunshi-tachi - Taisho Period Bungaku Seinen no Koryu-roku (Taisho Period)

Zoshigaya no Younger Bunshi-tachi - Taisho Period Bungaku Seinen no Koryu-roku (Taisho Period)

In Tokyo during the Taisho period (1912-1926), when Koji Uno studied at the Department of English Literature at Waseda University, the influence of nativism remained, but the free atmosphere of Taisho democracy prevailed. Waseda was a gathering place for literary youth from all over Japan, and Kikuchi Kan, Naoki Sanjo, Tsubota Joji, Tanizaki Seiji, and others were active at the same time. While Kikuchi was realistic in his depiction of human weakness and Naoki was more entertaining, Uno delved into the psychological folds in great detail. He rented a house in Zoshigaya and lived a self-catering lifestyle, inviting his friends over to discuss literature while watching the street from the porch. Akie Chikamatsu was deeply engraved in the memories of these young writers for her eccentric behavior: she walked around the room, picked up a newspaper, read the headlines out loud, and walked away without making eye contact with anyone. His masterpiece "Oshigawa" depicts repressed emo
tions and loneliness, while "Kura no Naka" shows his skill in depicting the inner world by depicting the shaken psychology of a closed space. The days in Zoshigaya vividly illustrate the atmosphere of the Taisho period literary world, when cafes and boarding houses were the stage for exchange.