近代時期の青少年期を送った日本人にとって戦争は日常であった。しかし、敗戦後、戦争は、日本の大衆にとって関係のない事項で考えられやすかった。過ちは国や政治の主導権を握った存在にあると思われ、‘彼ら’に責任を問う形で戦争は扱われた。実際、帝国主義の基礎は少数の政治家や知識人によって構築され、これに同調して加担する多数によって完成される。今まで戦争と大衆文化の関係、特に＜青少年対象のメディア--戦争--読者＞について具体的に議論されてこなかった。当時の少年たちの間で流通された‘戦争’について考察することは、敗戦後の日本人の戦争に対する意識を把握するために重要な作業である。本研究は、近代時期の少年大衆の間に流通された雑誌『少年倶楽部』を探求することを通して、青少年の精神成形装置の実状を調べ、青少年大 衆が戦争に包摂されていく様相を考察している。

To Japanese who spent their childhood and adolescence in modern era, war was life and everyday routine. After the defeat, however, ‘war’ has been usually recognized as a distant history by the public of Japan. This has been often attributed to the fault of those who have had power in the country and politics, and ‘they’ have been held responsible for it. In fact, the base of Japanese imperialism was established by some politicians and educators, but it was completed by the majority who sympathized with and engaged in the movement. The relationship between war and popular culture, and, in particular, the ‘agents of the media for children and juveniles, war and enjoyment’ have not been discussed in detail. A discussions on the ideas of ‘war’ circulated among boys of the time is an important process to understand how war has been perceived by Japanese people after the defeat. This study aimed to review Shonenkurabu, a magazine circulated among Japanese boys in modern Japan, and to examine the means for the psychological formation of children and juveniles as an ‘agent of war,’ and how they were converged to it.