A Comparative Historical Study of Print and Reading Cultures in Japan, the UK, and the US in the Early 20th Century

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24520730
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Historical studies in general
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo (2014); Hosei University (2012-2013)
• Principal Investigator: MAESHIMA Shiho 東京大学, 総合文化研究科, 准教授 (10535173)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 日本 / 英国 / 米国 / 出版史 / 読書文化 / 比較文化 / メディア / ジェンダー

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This comparative study examined the democratization and popularization of print and reading culture in interwar Japan in conjunction with its UK and US counterparts in the early 20th century. Investigations and analysis revealed that similar changes in editing and marketing styles as well as in reading norms could be observed in these three countries, which suggests such democratic shifts in print and reading culture can be said to have been a world-wide phenomenon in the early 20th century. At the same time, significant differences are evident in the periodicals published in the three countries during that time in terms of their use of visuals, layout, actual reading habits, and their intersections with gender, from which one can infer historical continuity in such practices from the previous century in each area. The findings of this study have already been published as chapters of books in English and will also be included as part of a forthcoming book in Japanese.

Free Research Field

史学一般、人文学、比較文学、比較文化　（近代日本の出版・読書文化の比較出版史的研究）