Categories Political
literary Publisher Bungeishunjū Based in Tokyo | Frequency Monthly Country Japan | |
Year founded 1923; 94 years ago (1923) | ||
Bungeishunjū (文藝春秋) is a leading Japanese monthly magazine based in Tokyo, Japan.
History and profile
Bungeishunjū was started by writer Kikuchi Kan (1888-1948) in 1923 in tandem with the founding of Bungeishunjū. The name of the magazine and publishing house came from the title of the literary review column in the magazine Shinchō by Kan. Bungeishunjū is published on a monthly basis. The magazine's stance is described as conservative, with strong support for the emperor. The headquarters of the magazine is in Tokyo.
Bungeishunjū covers a wide range of topics from politics to sports. Each issue usually contains about 30 articles by politicians, researchers, journalists or non-fiction writers. It is claimed that he magazine never features articles by members of the Japanese Communist Party or the Social Democratic Party but this is actually false as there are some exceptions. It has published writing by Takako Doi, former leader of the Japan Socialist Party, in September 2005, and by Tetsuzo Fuwa, the chairman of the secretariat of the JCP, when the Soviet Union collapsed.
In 1974 Bungeishunjū published an article concerning the bribery allegation about the then Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka. Following the event he was arrested in 1976.
The magazine grants literary awards every year. The February issues announce recipients of The Reader's Prize (文藝春秋読者賞, Bungeishunjūdokushashō). In the March and September issues the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, established in 1935, recipients are announced; in June issues the Ohya non-fiction prize; in July issues the recipients of the Matsumoto Seichō prize; and the December issues announce recipients of the Kikuchi Kan prize which was started by the magazine in 1939. The prize is named for Kikuchi Kan who is the founder of the magazine.
In 2006 Bungeishunjū sold 620,850 copies.