Masakazu Nakai

The tabloid Doyōbi, founded by Masakazu Nakai

Masakazu Nakai (中井 正一 Nakai Masakazu, alternative romanization Nakai Shōichi[1]) (14 February 1900 - 18 May 1952) was a Japanese aesthetician, film theorist, librarian, and social activist.

Career

Born in Hiroshima Prefecture, Nakai studied philosophy at Kyoto University, particularly aesthetics under Yasukazu Fukuda.[2] He started the dōjinshi Bi hihyō in 1930, which changed its name to Sekai bunka in 1935.[2] He became a lecturer at Kyoto University while being active in left-wing social movements, protesting Japan's tilt towards fascism and promoting popular forms of culture through such concepts at the "logic of the committee."[2] He founded the popular culture tabloid Doyōbi (Saturday) in 1936, but was arrested for his activities in 1937 and lost his university position.[2] After World War II, he continued his political activism by teaching philosophy as part of the Hiroshima Culture Movement and by running for governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, only losing by a narrow margin.[3] He was appointed the first Vice Librarian (fukukanchō) of the National Diet Library in 1948.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Iwamoto, Kenji. "Film Criticism and The Study of Cinema In Japan: A Historical Survey (PDF)". Iconics vol. 1 (1987). Accessed 28 November 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Nakai Masakazu". Nihon jinmei daijiten + Plus (in Japanese). Kōdansha. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  3. ↑ Leslie Pincus, "A Salon for the Soul: Nakai Masakazu and the Hiroshima Culture Movement," positions 10.1 (2002), pp. 173-194.

External links