New Art for a New World and Other Essays

What should art do for people whose lives are shaped by exhausting work, poverty, and inherited authority? Ōsugi Sakae argues that a new society needs more than access to old cultural privileges. It needs its own art, its own forms of participation, and the freedom to create a shared life.

These nine pieces range from brief reflections on morality and revolutionary spirit to an extended debate about people’s art. Drawing on Romain Rolland and Ellen Key, Ōsugi challenges literary complacency, examines conquest as a foundation of social institutions, and defends the audience’s right to answer a speaker. Two prison notices place these arguments beside the practical costs of publishing dissent.

First published between 1907 and 1920, the essays retain the urgency, sharp judgments, and contradictions of their historical moment. This complete new English translation includes every supplied piece in order, with all sections, quotations, subtitles, and closing passages. Twenty-six notes clarify people, publications, political terminology, and textual uncertainties while keeping Ōsugi’s distinctive voice in view.