Chūō Kōron

Chūō Kōron (中央公論, Central Review) is a monthly Japanese literary magazine (sōgō-zasshi (総合雑誌, literally general magazine)), first established during the Meiji period and continuing to this day. It is published by Chūōkōron Shinsha. The headquarters is in Tokyo.[1]

Chūō Kōron
CategoriesLiterary magazine
FrequencyMonthly
First issue1 January 1887 (1887-01-01)
CompanyChūōkōron Shinsha
CountryJapan
Based inTokyo
LanguageJapanese
WebsiteChūōkōron

Chūō Kōron publishes a wide variety of material, including novels, photographs and reports based on various philosophical, economic, political, cultural and social topics.[2][3]

History and profile

The magazine was first published in January 1887[4] under the title Hanseikai Zasshi (反省会雑誌) in Kyoto by the Hanseikai (反省会, Review society), a literary group of professors and students of Ryukoku University.[2] In 1899, the magazine changed its name to Chūō Kōron.[2]

In the 1920s, journalist Yūsaku Shimanaka rose to become editor-in-chief and later owner of Chūō Kōron. In 1949, ownership and control of the magazine passed to his son, Hōji Shimanaka, who would serve as its president for the next 45 years.

Under the Shimanakas, Chūō Kōron became one of Japan's foremost general-interest magazines, and has been cited as having a profound influence on several Japanese intellectuals.[2][3] The noted author Ryōtarō Shiba once stated that the magazine's history corresponded to the history of modern Japan itself.[2] There have been numerous famous contributors to the magazine, including Princess Takamatsu, Tama Morita, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, Tōson Shimazaki, Shōfu Muramatsu, his grandson Tomomi Muramatsu, Yaeko Nogami, Tomoyoshi Murayama, Motojirō Kajii, Sakuzō Yoshino, Nanami Shiono, Shichirō Fukazawa, and Masao Horino.

From 1985 to 1988 Motohiro Kondo served as the editor-in-chief of the magazine.[2]

In 1994, Shimanaka resigned as president of Chūō Kōron after 45 years, succeeded by his eldest son Yukio, and became chairman of the board of directors. However two years later, in 1996, he fired Yukio and for a time the company had no president.

When Shimanaka died on April 3, 1997, it was discovered that he had co-mingled the company's finances with his own, leaving behind a massive debt of 15 billion yen. Shimanaka's wife Masako became chairman and president, but was not able to resolve the company's financial crisis. In 1999, Chūōkōron-sha and all of its assets were bought out by the Yomiuri Shinbun newspaper company. Thereafter, the magazine's tone and content took a decidedly more politically conservative direction, in line with Yomiuri's broader editorial stance.

In 2006 the circulation of Chūō Kōron was 40,975 copies.[5]

References
  1. The Far East and Australasia 2003. Psychology Press. 2002. p. 626. ISBN 978-1-85743-133-9.
  2. Motohiro Kondo. "The Development of Monthly Magazines in Japan" (PDF). GSCS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 April 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  3. Masaaki Takane (June 1965). "Economic Growth and the "End of Ideology" in Japan". Asian Survey. 5 (6): 295–304. doi:10.1525/as.1965.5.6.01p0081i.
  4. "History of Magazines in Japan: 1867-1988". Kanzaki. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  5. "Manga Anthology Circulations 2004-2006". ComiPress. 27 December 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.