Shunrō Oshikawa
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was a Japanese
author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
, journalist and editor, best known as a pioneer of science fiction.


Education and early career

While studying law at Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō (present day
Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...
) at the turn of the century, Oshikawa published ''Kaitō Bōken Kidan: Kaitei Gunkan'' (海島冒険奇譚 海底軍艦 lit. "Undersea Warship: A Fantastic Tale of Island Adventure"), the story of an armoured,
ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...
-armed
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
in a
future history A future history is a postulated history of the future and is used by authors of science fiction and other speculative fiction to construct a common background for fiction. Sometimes the author publishes a timeline of events in the history, whil ...
of war between Japan and Russia. The novel reflects the
imperialist Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
ambitions of Japan at the time, and foreshadowed the
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
that followed in 1904, driven by much the same motivation. Oshikawa's father was
Masayoshi Oshikawa Masayoshi Oshikawa (押川方義; 1850–1928) was a Japanese evangelist, political activist and founder and first president of Tohoku Gakuin University. Early life and education Masayoshi Oshikawa was born in 1850 in Iyo Province (current Eh ...
, evangelist, political activist and founder and first president of Tohoku Gakuin University and his brother was Kiyoshi Oshikawa, founder of the first professional baseball team in Japan. While at Waseda, Oshikawa played on the baseball team under
Abe Isoo was a Japanese Christian socialist, parliamentarian and pacifist. He largely contributed to development of baseball in Japan, and was called "Father of Japanese baseball." He created a baseball club of Waseda University. Early life and educ ...
, along with his brother. He wrote a prologue for a baseball technique book that came from this trip, discussing how baseball should be considered the same as
bushidō is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. There are multiple bushido types which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. ...
in spirit. He was a member of the Waseda team that in 1905 traveled to the U.S. to play American teams, the first time for Japanese baseball.


Influences and later works

Like other early science fiction writers of the period, he was influenced by the stories of
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
, whose technological
adventure novel Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction. History In the Introduction to the ''Encyclopedi ...
s had become popular in translation in the rapidly modernising
Meiji era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization b ...
Japan. Specifically, the above-mentioned speculative conception of
submarine warfare Submarine warfare is one of the four divisions of underwater warfare, the others being anti-submarine warfare, mine warfare and mine countermeasures. Submarine warfare consists primarily of diesel and nuclear submarines using torpedoes, missi ...
, based on ramming and making no mention of
torpedoes A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
, is shared with Verne (see "
Facing the Flag ''Facing the Flag'' or ''For the Flag'' (french: Face au drapeau) is an 1896 patriotic novel by Jules Verne. The book is part of the ''Voyages extraordinaires'' series. Like ''The Begum's Millions'', which Verne published in 1879, it has the th ...
", " HMS Sword"). Later, ''Kaitei gunkan'' became the first in a wildly successful, six-volume series set in the Pacific and Indian Oceans: ''Bukyō no Nippon'' (武侠の日本 lit. Heroic Japan, 1902), ''Shinzō Gunkan'' (新造軍艦 lit. The Newly Built Battleship, 1904), ''Bukyō Kantai'' (武侠艦隊 lit. Heroic Armada, 1904), ''Shin Nippontō'' (新日本島 lit. New Japan Isle, 1906), and ''Tōyō Bukyō Dan'' (東洋武侠団 lit. East Asian Heroic Troupe, 1907). The books remained in print for many years and later got much additional attention through a successful
film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...
. Oshikawa was enthusiastic about
sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...
s, especially
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
, and famously clashed with Inazō Nitobe — one of the main proponents of the baseball considered harmful ( 野球害毒論) argument. He has also contributed to the development of the
Japanese detective fiction , is a popular genre of Japanese literature. History Name When Western detective fiction spread to Japan, it created a new genre called detective fiction () in Japanese literature. After World War II the genre was renamed deductive reasoning fi ...
. Some of his stories incorporated elements of ratiocination, sleuthing, mystery and crime within stories of adventure, intrigue, the bizarre and the grotesque – though in his time this did not yet become a distinct genre on its own. In the detailed list compiled by "The Victorian Bookshelf" project of "Confluence 2000," tracing the early development of "The
Scientific Romance Scientific romance is an archaic, mainly British term for the genre of fiction now commonly known as science fiction. The term originated in the 1850s to describe both fiction and elements of scientific writing, but it has since come to refer to ...
and other Related Works", Oshikawa Shunrō is the only non-Western author mentioned for the pre-1900 period. However, all the above is inextricably mixed with Oshikawa's share in and responsibility for helping to perpetuate in
Japanese popular culture Japanese popular culture includes Japanese cinema, cuisine, television programs, anime, manga, video games, music, and doujinshi, all of which retain older artistic and literary traditions; many of their themes and styles of presentation can be ...
– especially through works greatly influencing children and youths which remained in print for many decades after his own time – themes of Japanese
nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
and patriotism, some which can be considered to promote
militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...
and
imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
as well. As noted by Jeffrey M. Angles in his 2003
Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
dissertation on Japanese popular authors in the early Twentieth Century, Shunro is best remembered in Japan for his important role in developing adventure tales into an independent genre of children's fiction. Oshikawa entered the publishing company
Hakubunkan is a Japanese publisher, publishing company founded in 1887 amidst the wealth and military prosperity of the Meiji era. Hakubunkan entered the publishing arena by printing a nationalist magazine as well as expanding into printing, advertising, pa ...
at the introduction of the author Iwaya Sazanami (1870–1933) and served as a lead reporter for '' Shaijitsu Gahō'' (写実画報 lit. Graphic Pictorial), a magazine that featured stories and photos about the
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
of 1904. This magazine ceased publication in 1907, but Oshikawa became co-editor of another Hakubunkan magazine, '' Bōken sekai'' (冒険世界 lit. World of Adventure). During and following the war with Russia there was a strong patriotic wave in Japan, and – though their country had won a decisive victory over the Russians and capitalized upon it to annex
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
– some Japanese were left feeling dissatisfied with the war's achievements. An earlier magazine – '' Tanken Sekai'' (探検世界 lit. World of Exploration), published by Hakubunkan's competitor Seikōzasshisha (成功雑誌社) – catered to those wishing to read tales of Japanese adventure and exploration abroad and fantasies of imperialistic superiority and Japanese valor, in which fiction was mixed with more or less factual accounts of exploration, record-breaking achievements and "unusual customs" from around the world. Hakubunkan's "Bōken sekai" (冒険世界), which Oshikawa co-edited, was – as clearly shown by researcher
Kawataro Nakajima was a Japanese researcher of Japanese popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or m ...
– designed to appeal to the same kind of public, which had shown itself attracted to tales of military adventure and heroism. "Bōken Sekai" often contained allegedly true stories of adventure, exploration, military prowess and accounts of "primitive" lands, all of which reflected Japanese nationalism and imperial ambitions. At the same time, however, it also published mysteries, including translations of Western Detective Stories, as well as
ghost stories A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature''. ...
. Virtually every issue of the magazine included a story or article by Oshikawa himself. After a dispute with his publisher, Oshikawa left Hakubunkan. In October 1911 he founded the magazine " Buykō Sekai" (武侠世界 lit. World of Heroism) with the capital of an entrepreneur named Yanaginuma Kensuke, whose publishing house (Bukyō Sekaisha, later Bukyōsha) concentrated at the time on books of adventure, sports and physical activity for young people. Oshikawa's new monthly magazine, which he edited until his death, strongly resembled his earlier one, and it too carried tales of exploration, non-fictional adventure stories, editorials, sports-related tales, and translations of mysteries. On August 6, 1914, Oshikawa was accompanied by several of the magazine's editors, contributors, illustrators and fans on an outing to a lakeshore in the northern part of the
Kantō region The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Slight ...
. Possibly because of his death shortly afterwards, that outing seemed to be long remembered by and influence the later work of participants such as the artist Kosugi Misei who had illustrated many of Oshikawa's stories and followed him from his earlier magazine to the later one. Oshikawa's works were never translated in any significant way to Western languages, leaving his literary influence limited mainly to Japan itself. However, the many loose
film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...
s of his books, starting in the 1960s, did gain a considerable audience in America and Europe, such as ''Kaitei Gunkan'' (1963, released in the US as ''
Atragon is a 1963 Japanese tokusatsu science fiction film produced and distributed by Toho. It is based on ''The Undersea Warship: A Fantastic Tale of Island Adventure'' by Shunrō Oshikawa and ''The Undersea Kingdom'' by Shigeru Komatsuzaki. The film ...
'') – an
adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
which came to be considered "a Classic of Science Fiction Films" – and ''Shin Kaitei Gunkan'' (1996 and 1998, released in the US as '' Super Atragon''). The film versions were considerably different from the original, both due to the addition of Science Fiction and Fantasy elements such as a kaiju and because the handling of Oshikawa's nationalist themes was naturally influenced by Japan's profound grappling with this issue in the aftermath of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The "Bukyō Sekai" magazine survived its founder and continued publication after Oshikawa's death, until 1923. The book '' Kaidanji: Oshikawa Shunrō'', by
Jun'ya Yokota was a Japanese science fiction writer and a researcher of Meiji era cultural history. He is the winner of multiple Taisho Awards, the Ozaki Memorial Prize, and the Mystery Writers of Japan Award. He also used the pseudonyms 横田順弥 (same ...
and
Shingo Aizu Shingo can refer to: Religion *Shingon Buddhism Locations *Shingō, Okayama (神郷町), a town located in Atetsu District, Okayama Prefecture, Japan *Shingō, Aomori is a village located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the village has an estima ...
, won the
Nihon SF Taisho Award The is a Japanese science fiction award. It has been compared to the Nebula Award as it is given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan or SFWJ. The Grand Prize is selected from not only Science Fiction novels, but also various SF mo ...
for 1988.


See also

*
Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japanes ...
*
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
*
Invasion literature Invasion literature (also the invasion novel) is a literary genre that was popular in the period between 1871 and the First World War (1914–1918). The invasion novel first was recognized as a literary genre in the UK, with the novella '' The ...


References


External links


Entry
in
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and f ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oshikawa, Shunro Oshikawa Shunro Oshikawa Shunro Oshikawa Shunro Oshikawa Shunro Japanese nationalists