Shōnen Sekai facts for kids
A black and white issue of Shōnen Sekai, volume 2, issue 5, from the Meiji era. Old postal stamps are also seen.
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| Editor | Sazanami Iwaya |
|---|---|
| Categories | manga, shōnen, fiction, nonfiction, art |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Publisher | Sazanami Iwaya |
| Founded | 1895 |
| Final issue | 1914 |
| Company | Hakubunkan |
| Country | Japan |
| Based in | Tokyo |
| Language | Japanese |
Shōnen Sekai (少年世界, "The Youth's World") was one of the very first magazines made just for boys in Japan. It was published by a company called Hakubunkan from 1895 to 1914. Shōnen Sekai was created as part of Hakubunkan's plan to make many different magazines for various groups in Japanese society.
Sazanami Iwaya started the Shōnen Sekai magazine. He did this after writing a popular children's book called Koganemaru. After Japan had a war with Russia, a similar magazine was made for girls, called Shōjo Sekai. Shōnen Sekai also published Japanese versions of children's books from other countries. The magazine had many fun extras too, like sugoroku game boards and baseball cards. Even though Shōnen Sekai was mentioned in many American books, none of its stories were ever translated into English.
What Was Inside Shōnen Sekai?
The Shōnen Sekai magazine often came with cool extras. One popular extra was sugoroku game boards. For example, the Shōnen Sekai Kyōso Sugoroku board was a special gift with the magazine. You can still see it today at the Tsukiji Sugoroku Museum in Japan!
In a February 1915 issue, the magazine even included packs of baseball cards. These cards featured famous players like Fumio Fujimura, Makoto Kozuru, Shigeru Chiba, and Hideo Fujimoto.
Stories and Books for Kids
Many manga and children's stories were published in Shōnen Sekai. For instance, Iwaya Sazanami, the magazine's creator, wrote a story called Shin Hakken-den. This story had a common theme for children's fiction in the 20th century: rewarding good people and punishing bad ones. Shin Hakken-den was based on an older story called Nansō Satomi Hakkenden from the Edo period. That original story was written by Takizawa Bakin.
Shōnen Sekai also featured many stories about war and brave acts during wartime. These were often written by Hyōtayu Shimanuki. The magazine also translated some books from other languages into Japanese. For example, a French novel from the 1800s, Deux ans de vacances, was translated by Morita Shiken as Jūgo Shōnen (十五少年). The famous book The Jungle Book was also published in Shōnen Sekai.
Shōnen Sekai in English Books
Shōnen Sekai was mentioned several times in different English books.
- In The New Japanese Women: Modernity, Media, and Women in Interwar Japan, it was noted as one of many magazines Hakubunkan made to connect with different parts of society.
- Daily Lives of Civilians in Wartime Asia: From the Taiping Rebellion to the Vietnam War mentioned Shōnen Sekai as a popular magazine of its time. It also noted Shōjo Sekai, the magazine for girls.
- Issei: Japanese Immigrants in Hawaii simply mentioned Shōnen Sekai as a publication from Hakubunkan.
- No Sword to Bury: Japanese Americans in Hawai'i During World War II mentioned Hyotayu Shimanuki, who wrote about immigration in Shōnen Sekai.
- It was also mentioned in The Similitude of Blossoms: A Critical Biography of Izumi Kyōka (1873–1939), Japanese Novelist and Playwright and Japan's Modern Myths: Ideology in the Late Meiji Period.
The closest thing to a story from Shōnen Sekai being available in English was The Jungle Book. This book was originally written in English. The Jungle Book was first published in the United States by Macmillan Publishers in 1894.
