New Sensationalist school

The New Sensationalist school, or Shinkankaku-ha, was a Japanese literary movement in the 1920s influenced by European avant-garde trends. Led by writers like Yokomitsu Riichi and Kawabata Yasunari, this school rejected the autobiographical focus of naturalism and the social commentary of proletarian literature. Instead, they emphasized fresh and striking presentations of sensual impressions. Yokomitsu's story "Heads and Bellies" was hailed as a new style of writing, and his work explored themes of mechanistic principles governing human behavior. Kawabata, who later won the Nobel Prize, is known for his lyrical and skillfully constructed works, often focusing on women.12