Shirakaba Literature, Taisho Cultural Perspective

As a climax in the development of modern Japanese literature, Shirakaba School is not only a very important literary school in the Taishou Period, but a reflection of the intellectuals' spiritual history in this period. Writers expressed their understandings toward the society, themselves and life; revealed the inner world of intellectuals through the description of the self-world and social activities. Focusing the research viewpoint on the special circumstance of Taishou Period which is the environment of Shirakaba School's development and with the help of theories in literary appreciation, this paper attempts to reflect the spiritual world of intellectuals at that time and discover the cultural evolution in the transition period of Japanese society.The main body of this research paper is divided into four chapters.Chapter One talks about the formation of Shirakaba School. All the intellectuals, including the Shirakaba School were searching for new way out in the late years of Meiji Period which were ideologically perplexed. Based on the special class background and merged with the influence of foreign cultures, the Shirakaba School formed their self-consciousness and humanitarian thought.Chapter Two is mainly about the prosperity of Shirakaba School. World War I spurred Japan's economic development as well as the development of democratic thought. Shirakaba School literature focuses the theme of writing on anti-war, anti-repression and pursuing the individual liberation. They guided the aesthetic trend of that time and pushed democratic movement. Therefore they acquired the readers' attention and stepped into their writing productivity.Chapter Three discussed the decline of Shirakaba School. Economic crisis influenced the Japanese society sharply and social conflict was aggravated due to the division of rich and poor. Hence the change of social trend of thought. Socialism and supra-nationalism appeared and clashed with the capitalistthought of freedom and democracy. The Shirakaba School was also criticized because they still held their artistic stand. On the other hand, the change in social cultures contributed to the split in the Shirakaba School itself and at last its decline.Chapter Four is our evaluation and reflection. Although the Shirakaba School declined, the spirit of humanitariamsm proposed was later inherited by some new ideological thoughts and proletarian literature. However, Japanese literature didn't insist on the theme of self-importance until after World War II.The rise and decline of Shirakaba School offers us some insights of investigating the relationship between literature and our society. Through the analysis of Shirakaba School and their works, we can get a better understanding toward the Japanese literature nowadays and a new look at Chinese literature after the May 4th Movement.