Abstract
The present paper deals with the way some writings by the Japanese modernists influenced shōnen ai, a contemporary manga and popular literature genre whose subject is love between boys and its audience mainly young women. At the first section of the paper I provide a definition of the shōnen ai genre, and then proceed to search for its roots.
Although there is a large body of Edo period texts dealing with male-male relationships, they are very different from the relationships depicted in shōnen ai works. It is the writings of the Japanese modernist that provide additional qualities shaping the genre - namely their depictions of relations between schoolboys, which offer equality lacking in the older texts.
From all modernist writers dealing with the subject of love between schoolboys, I focus on Hori Tatsuo and his story Moyuru hoho, and Inagaki Taruho and his stories R-chan to S no hanashi and Hana megane. All three of these stories are characterized by highly metaphoric and estheticized language, subtlety of expression and lyricism.
The relationships depicted are platonic and the focus is on the characters' romantic feelings. R-chan to S no hanashi was also probably the first story of this kind written for female audience.