NEOPERCEPTIONIST SCHOOL

The term Shinkankaku-ha (Neoperceptionist School) was coined by author Chiba Kameo (1878–1935) to describe a literary movement of the 1920s and 1930s centered among rising novelists who published in the literary journal Bungei jidai (Literary Times). Trademarks of the neoperceptionsts include the rejection of traditional I-Novel realism, an emphasis on creating an intellectual reality grounded in modes of perception (hearing, sight, taste, etc.), and a subjective approach to understanding modern consciousness, sensation, and circumstance. The school’s popularity rivaled that of the contemporary proletarian literature movement. Authors prominently involved in the movement include Yokomitsu Riichi, Kawabata Yasunari, Nakagawa Yoichi (1897–1994), and Kataoka Teppei (1894–1944).

See also MODERNISM.