Before the Dawn

work by Shimazaki Tōson

Also known as: “Yoake mae”

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Before the Dawn, historical novel by Shimazaki Tōson, published serially as Yoake mae in the journal Chūō koron (“Central Review”) from 1929 to 1935 and printed in book form in 1935. It details the effects of Westernization on a rural Japanese community in the second half of the 19th century. Despite its stylistic simplicity and undeveloped characterizations, it is considered a modern masterpiece for its impressive scope.

The novel traces the life of Aoyama Hanzō from 1853 to 1886. Hanzō (who was based on Shimazaki’s father) eagerly welcomes the transfer of power from the military Tokugawa shogunate to the Meiji emperor. However, his idealism gives way to disillusionment as he is alienated by the old peasants and misled by the new bureaucrats. A tragic hero, he is convinced that the cause of pure patriotism has been betrayed by the modernizers; he dies alone and insane.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.