Japanese Literature, Meiji to Heisei: A Brief Research Guide: Meiji and Taishō (1863-1912-1926)

Niihara Ryūnosuke (新原 龍之介), known by the pen name Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, was predominantly active during the Taishō period, and is regarded as the "father of the Japanese short story." Along with his friends, Akutagawa revived the literary journal Shinshichõ where they published their literary works and translations. His works are recognized for their modernist and realist style, and he was a strong opponent of naturalism. The Akutagawa Prize, one of Japan's most prestigious literary award, is named after him. 

Fukuzawa Yukichi was an educator, philosopher, writer, and samurai, widely known as an advocate for the reform of Japan. He was a strong advocate for education, equality of opportunity, and women's rights. He was the son of a Confucian scholar, and thus extensively studied the Chinese school of Han learning. He was also educated through Dutch studies (rangaku), thus also receiving a European style of education. His first publication was an English-Japanese Dictionary. He was on the ¥10,000 Japanese banknotes (1984-2024).

Higuchi Natsuko (樋口 夏子), known by her pen name Higuchi Ichiyō, is recognized as Japan's first professional woman writer in modern literature. Her works are recognized for the integration of romances with criticism of contemporary society, particularly on the lives of women and their disadvantages in the face of social and familial hierarchy. She spent most of her life in poverty, and she became a novelist as a way to support her family after seeing the success of one of her classmates. Her portrait appears on the ¥5000 Japanese banknotes (2004~2027).

Hiratsuka Haru (平塚 明), known by the pen name Hiratsuka Raichō, was a Japanese writer, journalist, political activist, anarchist, and a pioneer of feminism in Japan. Her works in feminism are influenced by Western philosophy, including  Swedish feminist Ellen Key. In 1911, she founded Japan's first all-women literary magazine, Seitō (青鞜), also known as Bluestocking in English. In 1920, she founded the New Women's Association, with works on Japanese women's suffrage movement. She was also heavily involved in peace and feminist movements after the war.

Itō Noe was a Japanese writer, feminist, and anarchist, known for her progressive anarcho-feminist ideology, and as the editor-in-chief of feminist literary magazine Seitō. During her time with Seitō, she is known for her inclusive attitude towards topics such as abortion, prostitution, and free love. The journal was seen to be more radical, with five issues banned by the government. Itō and her lover were murdered due to their ideas and works on anarchism, in what is now known as the Amakasu Incident.

Izumi Kyōtarō (泉 鏡太郎), known by the pen name Izumi Kyōka, was a novelist and playwright. His works are known to be influenced by Japanese works from the Edo period, and bear the characteristics of Romanticism. His narrative style is also known to have borrowed from rakugo, a traditional verbal comedy, and dramatic dialogues from kabuki. The Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature is a literary award dedicated named after him and organized in his hometown, Kanazawa.

Kōda Shigeyuki (幸田 成行), known by the pen name Kōda Rohan, was an author known for his styles in Japanese pseudo-classicism, with heavy themes of Buddhism and samurai. He received a high level of education in Chinese history and Chinese philosophy. Along with Ozaki Kōyō, they were known for establishing an era known as the KoRo period (紅露時代) in the late 1880s.

Kunikida Doppo was a novelist and poet active during the Meiji period. In the early twentieth century, many Japanese writers explored and redefined the Western literary concept of naturalism, and Kunikida is considered as one of the figures among these poets. His work initially can be seen as romantic pieces, but would rather shift towards naturalism, and he was particularly influenced by the Lake Poets Williams Wordsworth. In 1892, he founded the literary journal Seinen Bungaku (青年文學, "Literature for Youth"), and taught English and mathematics as a career. He also worked as a news staff for the Kokumin Shimbun newspaper as a war reporter, including from the front of the First Sino-Japanese War.

Mori Rintarō (森 林太郎), known by the pen name Mori Ōgai, was a Japanese Army Surgeon general officer, translator, and writer. He was educated in both Confucian classics and rangaku ("Dutch learning"). He is known for introducing translated German literary works to the Japanese public. His short story The Dancing Girl (1890), inspired by his experience as a student in Germany, is regarded as one of the first works in Japanese literature to incorporate a subjective first-person narration.

Nagai Kafū, born Nagai Sōkichi, was a writer, editor, and translator. His works were initially influenced by French Naturalism, such as by Émile Zola, but later shifted towards Aestheticism. He also translated the works of modern French writers, including Zola, Paul Verlaine, and Charles Baudelaire into Japanese. In 1910, upon recommendations of fellow writers Udea Bin (上田 敏) and Mori Ōgai, Nagai was appointed as a professor of literature at Keiō University, where he would help the publication of the literary magazine Mita Bungaku (三田文学). The journal published a few early works of other Japanese writers, including Izumi Kyōka, Tanizaki Jun'ichiro, and Akutagawa Ryūnosuke.

Natsume Kin'nosuke (夏目 金之助), known by the pen name Natsume Sōseki, was a novelist and scholar of British literature. In 1900, he was sent by the Japanese government to study in Great Britain to study English literature. In 1906, his success in writing allowed him to leave his teaching post at Tokyo Imperial University to write full-time. He is known for pointing out the need for certain Western ideas, such as individualism, while also being critical of the Westernization of Japanese societies. He was on the Japanese ¥1000 banknotes (1984-2004).

Ozaki Tokutarō (尾崎 徳太郎), also known by pen-names Ozaki Kōyō, Enzan (縁山), and Tochimandō (十千万堂), was a writer best known for his essays, haikus, and novels. He is also regarded as one of the pioneers of modern Japanese literature. Through his studies of Tokugawa literature, his poetry is known for its aesthetics and romantic realism In 1885, while enrolled at Tokyo Imperial University, he started the literary magazine Ken'yūsha with his friends, and the magazine is regarded as having had a major influence on the development of the Japanese novel. Along with Kōda Rohan, they were known for establishing an era known as the KoRo period (紅露時代) in the late 1880s

Shiga Naoya was a writer active during the Taishō and Shōwa periods, regarded as "god of the novel." He is a prominent writer in the I-novel (Shishōsetsu, 私小説) genre, a form of confessional literature in which the events of a writing corresponds to the events of the writer's life. In 1910, he co-founded the literary magazine Shirakaba (White Birch, 白樺), which published the works of members of Shirakabaha, a literary coterie active around 1910-1923. The magazine was known for its avant-garde orientation, and the coterie is known for rejecting Confucianism and naturalism, while championing for individualism, idealism, and humanitarianism.

Tayama Katai, born Tayama Rokuya, was a writer known for his style of naturalism, the introspective I-novels and experience with wars. In 1896, he joined the literary magazine Bungakukai and befriended Doppo Kunikida (国木田 独歩), a naturalist writer, who introduced him to various Western writers. In 1899, he became part of the staff for the newspaper Hakubunkan, through which he was sent to Manchuria as a war correspondent in 1904, and later also inspired his short story "One Soldier." His work Futon (The Quilt), published in 1907, is considered one of the first pieces of the I-novel (私小説, Shishōsetsu) genre, a form of confessional literature.

Hō Shō (鳳 志やう), known by the pen name Yosano Akiko, was a poet, pacifist, and feminist, active through the late Meiji, Taishō, and Shōwa eras. She is considered one of the most controversial post-classical female poets of Japan. Her first collection of tanka (a genre of Japanese poetry), was denounced by contemporary critics for radical departure from cultural norms, but remained widely read and considered an inspiration for fellow feminists. She turned to social commentary during the Taishō period, and her late commentaries during the Shōwa period tended also to praise militarism, such as her support for the Second Sino-Japanese War.