<研究ノート>1950年代前半における大衆娯楽雑誌の受容経験 : 『平凡』の共同体的受容と共振性

Abstract

In this paper, I examine "Heibon", a popular magazine for amusement, during the first half of the 1950's to understand its acceptance. Until its discontinuance in 1987, it had two periods of enlarging its circulation. The former is the first half of the 1950's and the latter is the first half of the 1970's. The data of public opinion polls about "Heibon" indicate that the relative order among people of the former is higher, therefore it is more important. In addition, the acceptance of "Heibon" in this period has importance for two reasons. First, "Heibon", which was founded in 1945, is the origin of magazines of "Magazine House", which later launched important magazines of youth culture in post-war Japan -- "Heibon Punch" (1964), "anan" (1970), "POPEYE" (1976). Second, during the first half of the 1950's, "Heibon" had influence on the existing popular magazines and it started to be imitated in large numbers. In this period, before the communication of Japanese people drastically changed, what experience did they have from "Heibon"? "Heibon" had two important themes, popular songs and movies, so it was tied up with both radio (a medium of songs) and cinema. And it had two main elements -- photogravures and serial stories. The former changed distinguished film stars to familiar celebrities. In addition, the words of popular songs were printed in "Heibon" to be connected with radio. This led to a collection of songs, "Utabon", as well as the radio program "Heibon Hour". In this period, radio was listened to by all members of families, this program enabled them to sing, looking at photogravures and listening to the radio program tied up with them. As a result, in this acceptance by communities, people acted together. Serial stories were printed in order to be made into movies. And some of them were related to radio dramas. I suppose these were read by family members sitting around the radio. This kind of acting goes back to the acceptance of novels by communities (that is, one is reading aloud and the surrounding people are listening to him or her). As we see, as to both novels and photogravures, in the acceptance of "Heibon" through communities of the first period, the readers acted together. In the second, serial stories were not published any more, but photogravures became the main elements of this magazine. And its relative position among people was lower in the second period than in the first one. From this one may conclude that higher position of the first period was related to the acceptance by communities. "Heibon" in the first period was read mainly by young people, and partly by older people too. "Heibon" was accepted through communities -- families and groups. In addition, in this acceptance, they acted together -- they did not only "sing" and "listen to", but also "come together". As we see, the readers received "Heibon" through communities acting together during the first period. But this disappeared due to the structural change of communication during the high economic growth. As a consequence, new popular magazines divided the readers and came to deal with trips and shoppings which can be done alone or with a few friends. In the acceptance of these new magazines, readers don't act together any more but they passively enjoy reading, merely by "seeing gravures".