On Shishi Bunroku s Oban : from Speculation to Investment, from Entertainment to Literature Tsukasa Izumi The novel Oban, by Shishi Bunroku, is a popular fiction set in the pre- to post-wwii period, describing the life story of a speculator, Akabane Ushinosuke. Shishi was a very popular novelist at that time and this novel became a movie. Oban describes the history of Japan s economy throughout the life of Ushinosuke, but gives the readers of this novel a history that conceals the invasion of other countries by the Empire of Japan. As a result, this novel won strong support among the common people. Moreover, during a period of high economic growth in Japan, the frank descriptions in Oban about the strong desire for money and women also gave it the support of the common people. Oban s story reflects on the end of the speculator period and the beginning of Japan s modern economy. Oban is an early text within the genre of keizai syosetsu, one based on Japan s economy, and its success represents how keizai syosetsu novels have changed from entertainment to literature.
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