Chūō Kōron
Japanese literary magazine
Chūō Kōron (中央公論; Central Review) is a monthly Japanese literary magazine (sōgō-zasshi (総合雑誌; literally general magazine)), first established during the Meiji period and continuing to this day. It is published by its namesake-bearing Chūōkōron Shinsha (formerly Chūōkōron-sha). The headquarters is in Tokyo.
Chūō Kōron publishes a wide variety of material, including novels, photographs and reports based on various philosophical, economic, political, cultural and social topics.
Early history
The magazine was first published in January 1887 under the title Hanseikai Zasshi (反省会雑誌) in Kyoto by the Hanseikai (反省会, Review society), a literary group of professors and students of Ryukoku University. In 1899, the magazine changed its name to Chūō Kōron.
In the 1920s, journalist Yūsaku Shimanaka rose to become editor-in-chief and later owner of Chūō Kōron. During the World War II editors of the magazine were arrested in the Yokohama incident. In 1944 the magazine was closed down due to its anti-war sentiments but publication resumed in 1946. In 1949, ownership and control of the magazine passed to his son, Hōji Shimanaka, who would serve as its president for the next 45 years.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Chūō Kōron” as japanese literary magazine. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as japanese literary magazine. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2972186. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1887, 1899, 1944 and 1946.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Chūō Kōron” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.