Senki
Senki (戦旗, "Battle Flag") was a Japanese proletarian literary magazine in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Overview
Senki was a Japanese proletarian literary magazine published between May 1928 and December 1931.[1]
Background
In March 1928 the Japanese Proletarian Artists' Federation (Esperanto name: Nippona Artista Proleta Federacio, abbreviated NAPF, ナップ) was formed from a merger of the Nihon Puroretaria Geijutsu Renmei (which was under the direction of the Japan Communist Party) and the Zen'ei Geijutsu-ka Dōmei.[1] The organization established Senki as the monthly organ and released its first issue in May of that year.[1]
Publication history
The first issue of Senki was published in May 1928.[1] In December of the same year, its publisher NAPF was reorganized as the Japan Congress of Proletarian Artists' Organizations (全日本無産者芸術団体協議会 Zen-Nihon Musansha Geijutsu Dantai Kyōgikai, also abbreviated NAPF)[1] and publication of Senki was taken over by the newly established Senki Company (戦旗社 Senki-sha).[1] The magazine was therefore transformed from the official magazine of NAPF into a general magazine of political education,[1] and in September of the following year the Senki Company became fully independent of NAPF.[1]
In November 1931, NAPF was liquidated in the creation of the Japanese Proletarian Cultural Federation (Federacio de Proletaj Kultur Organizoj Japanaj, abbreviated KOPF, コップ).[1] Publication of the magazine ceased with the December 1931 issue.[1]
Excluding issues that were banned by government censors, 43 issues of Senki entered print in the magazine's run.[1] Supplements for a youth (Shōnen Senki 少年戦旗) and female audience (Fujin Senki 婦人戦旗) were also published.[1] It suffered strict government censorship, and at the height of its popularity had a circulation of around 23,000.[1]
Notable works
Several important works of Japan's proletarian literature movement first saw print in the pages of Senki, including:
- 1928 nen 3 gatsu 15 nichi (November and December 1928)[2]
- Kani Kōsen (May and June 1929)[3]
- Taiyō no nai Machi (June, July, August, September and November 1929)[4]
Reception and legacy
Reprints of Senki were published between 1976 and 1977 by the Senki Reprint Publication Society (戦旗復刻版刊行会 Senki Fukkoku-ban Kankō-kai).[1]
References
- Sofue 1994.
- Keene 1998, p. 617.
- Keene 1998, p. 618.
- Ōtsuka 1994.
Works cited
- Keene, Donald (1998) [1984]. A History of Japanese Literature, Vol. 3: Dawn to the West – Japanese Literature of the Modern Era (Fiction) (paperback ed.). New York, NY: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-11435-6.
- Ōtsuka, Hiroshi (1994). "Taiyō no nai Machi" 太陽のない街. Encyclopedia Nipponica (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
- Sofue, Shōji (1994). "Senki" 戦旗. Encyclopedia Nipponica (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved 2017-11-23.