The ideas and practice in reading guidance during World War II ―Focusing on the guidance of the reading party―

Abstract

  The purpose of this study is to clarify the ideas and practices of reading guidance at libraries or in Young Men's Association (Seinen-dan).

  It is recognized that War-time thought control of youth was planned through collective guidance, activities such as reading parties at the libraries or Young Men's Associaions.

  By analyzing the theory of reading guidance at that time, the study suggests that the idea of ‘recommendation good books’ changed into ‘reading guidance’, which attempted to control the thoughts of young people. Otobe Senzauburo, who was the chief librarian of Nagano Prefectural Library, tried to organize reading parties for the farm youth.

  Leaders of reading guidance in farm communities, such as Miyazawa Sanji, encouraged reading parties for the purpose of improving the lives of young people and activating discussion of the texts. In this paper, it is demonstrated that there was the possibility of the existence of reading parties which were based on different ideas to those of bureaucrats.