Interactions Between Literature and Art : A Study on KOMURA Sttai's Book Illustrations

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15H06350
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Japanese literature
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: ARAI YUMI 大阪大学, 文学研究科, 助教 (40756722)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-08-28 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 近代文学 / 挿絵 / 新聞小説 / 小村雪岱 / 大衆文学 / 演劇 / 装幀 / 邦枝完二

Outline of Final Research Achievements

A list was created for the first publications for works which had illustrations provided by KOMURA Settai. By carefully examining the relation between Settai’s accomplished illustrations and the text in KUNIEDA Kanji’s novels, the methodology in Settai’s illustrations became clear by understanding the relation between the illustrations and existing pictures, his affinity with the base viewpoint of theatrical stage setting, clear vision of the motif, etc. It can be understood that Settai strived to create illustrations worthy of the novel’s world by reading the text carefully and clearly understanding the author’s intentions.
Also, upon the creation of books for serialized novels, the inclusion of Settai’s illustrations revealed that there was a specific phenomenon in the printing form of the era’s artistic books involving the important role played SHIMA Genshiro, the owner of Shinshosetsu-sha.

Free Research Field

近代文学