An Introduction to New Materials of Ineko Sata: A Letter for Nami Akanegakubo and an Essay entitled “A Letter for My Friend”

Abstract

This essay is an introduction to the new materials—letter and essay—of Ineko Sata during the postwar period. One is a letter to her friend Nami Aganegakubo who lived in Maebashi city (Gunma prefecture), dated August 13, 1945. In this letter, Sata expressed her concern about the safety of Akanegakubo and her family after the Maebashi air raid on August 5. The another new material is an essay written by Sata. This essay, “A Letter for My Friend” was published in the first issue (July 1947) of a local literary magazine named “Azuma”, which was co-edited by Akanegakubo. It mentioned the significance of women's active commitment in activities that involve expression. This magazine was not owned by the Gordon W. Prange Collection, a vast and comprehensive archive of Japanese print publications during the Occupation of Japan, with many of them subjected to censorship. Despite the apparent insignificance of the content, research on this kind of magazine would bring about awareness of connection which supported the movement of local culture. These magazines were made of very poor quality paper due to the lack of resources after the war. Seen in this light, there is an urgent need to conduct research on these local magazines.