was a socialist monthly magazine, published in Tokyo, Japan, between November 1905 and November 1906.Mackie, Vera. Feminism in Modern Japan. Contemporary Japanese society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. p. 258Shin kigen = New era : a monthly socialist review
History and profile Shinkigen emerged after the October 1905 split in the Heiminsha. The first issue was published on November 10, 1905. Shinkigen was the organ of the reformist socialist group, dominated by Christian social democrats. Shinkigen was edited by personalities such as Abe Isoo, Sen Katayama, Sanshiro Ishikawa, and Naoe Kinoshita.Beckmann, George M., and Genji Okubo. The Japanese Communist Party 1922-1945. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1969. p. 3Mackie, Vera C. Creating Socialist Women in Japan: Gender, Labour and Activism, 1900-1937. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. pp. 47, 232Masaoka, Naoichi. Japan to America: A Symposium of Papers by Political Leaders and Representative Citizens of Japan on Conditions in Japan and on the Relations between Japan and the United States. New York, N.Y.: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1914. p. 113 Shinkigen argued in favour of universal suffrage and social reform (through parliamentary means). The first issue of the magazine included an article by Uchimura Kanzō, which stated "Though I am not a socialist, I cannot refrain from the greatest sympathy for this gentemanly work."Howes, John F. Japan's Modern Prophet: Uchimura Kanzô, 1861-1930. Asian religions and society series. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2005. pp. 137, 417
Shinkigen was characterized by a humanistic worldview. Its conception of socialism was spiritualistic and highly individualistic. The magazine frequently featured (Christian) religious motifs, with imagery such having an angel or a shining cross depicted on the cover page or with article titles such as 'The Revolutionary Thought of Mother Mary'. The magazine did however also feature criticisms of Christianity.
In February 1906 Shinkigen and the other faction that emerged from Heiminsha, the materialists, founded a political party together, the Japan Socialist Party.
Like other leftwing and liberal media, Shinkigen was targeted by government repression.Strong, Kenneth. Ox against the Storm: A Biography of Tanaka Shozo, Japan's Conservationist Pioneer. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1977. p. 181 All in all, thirteen issues of Shinkigen were published.Pioneers of the Women's Movement in Japan: Hiratsuka Raicho and Fukuda Hideko seen through their Journals, Seito and Sekai Fujin The Japan Socialist Party survived until February 1907, when it was banned by police following its first party congress.The History of the Workers' Movement in Japan, ii
In 1961, a volume containing the editions of Shinkigen were reprinted by Meiji Bunken Shiryo Kankokai.
See also Socialist thought in Imperial Japan
References