Shinkigen
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Shinkigen (新紀元, Shinjiken; "New Era") was a socialist monthly magazine, published in Tokyo, Japan, between November 1905 and November 1906.[1][2][3]
| Editor | Abe Isoo |
|---|---|
| Editor | Sen Katayama |
| Editor | Kinoshita Naoe |
| Editor | Ishikawa Sanshirō |
| Categories | |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Founded | 1905 |
| First issue | November 10, 1905 |
| Final issue | November 1906 |
| Country | Empire of Japan |
| Based in | Tokyo |
| Language | Japanese |
History and profile
Shinkigen emerged after the October 1905 split in the Heiminsha.[1][4] The first issue was published on November 10, 1905.[5] Shinkigen was the organ of the reformist socialist group, dominated by Christian social democrats. Shinkigen was edited by personalities such as Abe Isoo, Sen Katayama, Sanshiro Ishikawa, and Naoe Kinoshita.[1][4][6] Shinkigen argued in favour of universal suffrage and social reform (through parliamentary means).[1] The first issue of the magazine included an article by Uchimura Kanzō, which stated "Though I am not a socialist, I cannot refrain from the greatest sympathy for this gentemanly work."[5]
Shinkigen was characterized by a humanistic worldview.[1] Its conception of socialism was spiritualistic and highly individualistic. The magazine frequently featured (Christian) religious motifs, with imagery such having an angel or a shining cross depicted on the cover page or with article titles such as 'The Revolutionary Thought of Mother Mary'. The magazine did however also feature criticisms of Christianity.[7]
In February 1906 Shinkigen and the other faction that emerged from Heiminsha, the materialists, founded a political party together, the Japan Socialist Party.[4]
Like other leftwing and liberal media, Shinkigen was targeted by government repression.[8] All in all, thirteen issues of Shinkigen were published.[9] The Japan Socialist Party survived until February 1907, when it was banned by police following its first party congress.[4][10]
In 1961, a volume containing the editions of Shinkigen were reprinted by Meiji Bunken Shiryo Kankokai.[3]