卓越的な「中間文化」としてのミステリとその読者

早川書房の戦略に着目して

抄録

    Based on the analyses of retrospectives and interviews with the Hayakawa Publishing Corporation staff, as published in Hayakawa publications and other sources, this study examines the strategy applied by Hayakawa Publishing to promote mystery fiction as a form of “middle culture” to secure a more prominent position within this cultural landscape, and explores the readership influenced by this strategy. The organization began publishing Hayakawa Pocket Mystery in 1953, seeking readership expansion via renewal of the detective genre, in terms of form-with its unique format and abstract covers-and content-with its translated works for general readers. This approach was carried over into the July 1956 launch of the monthly Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, featuring a saddle-stitched binding, abstract artwork, and emphasis on original publishing. Hayakawa Publishing defined the mystery genre as an intellectual pastime-a notion widely embraced by its readers. Following its strategy to elevate the status of the genre, the classification of mystery publications shifted from Honkaku/Henkaku to Honkaku/English entertainment.

    Additionally, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Hayakawa Pocket Mystery functioned as symbols of aesthetic and intellectual excellence. Mystery, which provided readers with a sense of elitism, held a pre-eminent position within the “middle culture.” Hence, these publications were commonly read on commuter trains, alongside weekly magazines. Readers navigated two perspectives: one that regarded mystery as a form of mental exercise and a way to learn about the U.S.; the other that regarded it as entertainment, justifying it based on its intellectual appeal. Thus, the genre of mystery evolved into intellectual entertainment that appealed to the pride of the elite, and transformed into a form of entertainment that could be excused, even when dismissed by a culturally oriented society.