후지타 쓰구하루와 요코미쓰 리이치의 ‘전쟁’ － 전전 미술과 문학에 있어 ‘일본회귀’의 한 방식－

Abstract

On April 12, 1937, the Tokyo Daily News featured a preview of Ryosyu, anew serial novel written by Yokomitsu Riichi and illustrated by FoujitaTsuguharu. They shared many similarities in their life. Their publishing careersbegan in the avant-garde era that occurred around the time of the First WorldWar. By the mid 1930s, they were both recognized as major creative forceswith note-worthy works. Yokomitsu aimed at producing popular fictions as wellas pure literature, while Foujita was a muralist, print artist as well as painter. Both artists primarily selected mass media such as women’s magazine as avenue to showcase their works. When the war broke out, it brought themsimilar opportunities and misfortunes, as their opportunistic and cooperativeattitudes regarding the war were harshly condemned by the post-war literaryand artistic circles. However, while the careers of Yokomitsu and Foujita followed a similar pathin many aspects, their reputation in Japan differed in their origins. Foujita, whoachieved success in the West by using Japan as his subject matter, returned toJapan for recognition and success in Japan. Meanwhile, Yokomitsu, who hadsucceeded in Japan by using the West as his literary material, returned toJapan from Europe with a skeptical view and complex of the West. In otherwords, Yokomitsu’s return to Japan was paradoxically inspired by his view ofthe West. This study investigates the paths and patterns of these two artistsand their return to Japan.