KUME MASAO

(1891–1952)

   Kume Masao was a novelist, playwright, literary critic, and haiku poet (under the pseudonym Santei). He had a natural talent for haiku and attended Tokyo Imperial University, studying under Natsume Soseki with Akutagawa Ryunosuke and Kikuchi Kan as notable classmates. He made his debut as a playwright with Gyunyuya no kyodai (The Milkman’s Brother, 1914), which was well received. Two years later he published his first novel, Chichi no shi (My Father’s Death, 1916) and in 1918 cofounded the Kokumin bungeikai (People’s Arts Movement) with Osanai Kaoru and Kubota Mantaro (1889–1963). In 1925, he coined the term junbungaku (pure literature) and argued that the I-Novel is junbungaku.

   See also LITERARY CRITICISM; MODERN THEATER.