CHUO KORON

Chuo Koron (Central Review) is a popular monthly Japanese literary journal established during the Meiji period and continuing to this day. Published by the Chuo Koron publishing house, the journal was founded in 1887 under the title Hanseikai zasshi in Kyoto by the Hanseikai (Reflection Society), a literary group of professors and students of Ryukoku University. In 1899, the journal changed its name to Chuo Koron and soon became one of Japan’s foremost general-interest magazines with an ongoing influence on Japan’s intellectual community. Shiba Ryotaro noted that the journal’s history corresponds to that of modern Japan itself. It publishes a wide variety of material, including novels, photographs, and reports based on various philosophical, economic, political, cultural, and social topics. Noteworthy contributors to the magazine include Tanizaki Jun’ichiro, Shimazaki Toson, and Kajii Motojiro.

See also MURO SAISEI; TANIZAKI JUN’ICHIRO PRIZE.