新建設 / Shin kensetsu [= New construction]

Taihoku (Taipei): Shin Kensetu Magazine, 1945. Three issues, (vol. 3 no. 11, vol. 4 no. 1, vol. 4 no. 28); text in Japanese; text illustrations; staple-bound in pictorial paper wrappers; one volume with wrappers detached but present, another with some pen scribbling on upper cover, edgewear on all through, good. A labor magazine magazine, published in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period. While the articles are all written in Japanese, many have pronunciation aids (furigana) to assist readers for which Japanese is their second language. The content is largely jingoistic. New years haiku for example focus on the glory of a military victory, the strength of the Japanese empire, and protection from enemies. The inner cover of two issues are dedicated to statments intended to stoke up military fervor, including one titled "The soul of the Kamikaze corps" and a statement from the Koumin Houkoukai roughly translated as: "Everyone / A Collective Attack / Even a little assistance will have great effect on our military production. Gun cotton charges. Follow the "fireball spirit" of the Kamikaze Corps." Taiwan was the Japanese government's oldest colonial territory and was held up as a model of "Japanification" while at the same time locals endured the typical effects of colonial oppression. Of all the territories, its population was perhaps the most expected to adopt the nationalistic fervor of wartime Japan, as is evidenced by these magazines. Scarce, with about 10 listings of any issue in OCLC.