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The aesthetics of speed and the illogicality of politics: Ishihara Shintarō's literary debut

2005; Routledge; Volume: 17; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09555800500118156

1469-932X

Ann Sherif,

Japanese History and Culture

The mid-1950s literary debut of Ishihara Shintarō with his novel Season of the Sun (Taiyō no Kisetsu) marked a new interaction between Japanese mass culture and the historically dominant literary establishment. By skilfully mobilizing the emerging post-Occupation discourses of post-war film, literature, criticism and Cold War capitalist consumerism, Ishihara succeeded in creating a new emphasis on a youth culture divorced from the war responsibility debate. Ishihara's subsequent political career and his prominence as neo-conservative governor of Tokyo at the turn of the century also have their roots in his early literary activities.