Japanese · 1899–1981
Genzaburo Yoshino (1899-1981) was a Japanese editor, writer and critic. Born in Tokyo, he studied philosophy at Tokyo Imperial University. In the 1930s he edited the Shin Shonen Bunko, a series of books for young readers, and wrote How Do You Live? (1937) for it. The book mixes a boy's school life with his uncle's notebook essays on science, society and conscience, and it was published as militarism tightened in Japan. After the Second World War he became the first editor-in-chief of the magazine Sekai, launched by Iwanami Shoten in 1946, which shaped postwar liberal and democratic thought. He later led the Peace Problems Discussion Group and served as head of the Japan P.E.N. Club's board. He also wrote essays and translated works on ethics and philosophy. How Do You Live? stayed in print for decades, was adapted as a manga in 2017, and inspired Hayao Miyazaki's 2023 film of the same name.