List of literary works published in Asia Raya
# List of literary works published in Asia Raya

A total of sixty-nine poems, sixty short stories, and three serials were published in Asia Raya, a newspaper in the Dutch East Indies and early Indonesia. First published on 29 April 1942, months after the Empire of Japan invaded the Indies, Asia Raya was established under the occupation government and intended as a vehicle for pro-Japanese propaganda – including literature. Run by both Japanese and native staff, the newspaper remained in publication until 7 September 1945, closing less than a month after Indonesia proclaimed its independence.

During the occupation, the Japanese overlords enacted censorship standards, which Asia Raya – as an organ of the occupying forces – followed strictly. Writers looking to have their works published were limited in themes they could select by the Institute for People's Education and Cultural Guidance (in Indonesian, Poesat Keboedajaan; in Japanese, Keimin Bunka Shidōsho (啓民文化指導所)) in the capital at Jakarta. They were told that works dealing with internal struggle or otherwise depressing topics would "poison" society with confusion and despair. Instead, writers hoping to be published had to focus on positive themes in an effort to instill positive traits in society; by the end of the occupation, this meant a nationalistic struggle. To subvert these policies, writers often hid more personal anti-colonial subtexts in their works.

Asia Raya's contributors were Japanese or native, with the latter more active; works by two foreign authors, Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi, were also published in translation. The single most-published writer in Asia Raya was Rosihan Anwar, a recent senior high school graduate, who published seven poems and nine short stories while working for the newspaper. Andjar Asmara, a former film director, published the most serials; both of his serials were based on films he had made before the occupation.

The following list is divided into three tables, one for poems, one for short stories, and one for serials; the tables are initially arranged alphabetically by title, although they are also sortable. Author's names are given as recorded in Asia Raya, with explanatory notes indicating pseudonyms where known. Titles are given in the original spelling, with a literal English translation underneath. Dates, originally in the Japanese kōki (皇紀) calendar, are given in the Gregorian calendar. Unless otherwise noted, this list is based on the one compiled by Mahayana (2007, pp. 209–215).

## Explanatory notes

* ↑ By the end of the occupation the Japanese had begun helping Indonesians prepare for their independence. This included, among other efforts, forming the Committee for Preparatory Work for Indonesian Independence for deliberations and assisting with the proclamation of Indonesian independence, which was drafted in the home of a Japanese admiral (Dahm 1971, pp. 100–111).
* ↑ Title in Japanese
* ↑ Taken from a calendar advertisement.
* ↑ Credited to the Central Office of Independence War Funds
* ↑ In translation
* ↑ Pseudonym of Abu Hanifah (Jassin 1993, p. 15)
* 1 2 3 Edited by Rosi Tani
* ↑ A fairytale
* ↑ Title partially illegible (in parentheses)
* 1 2 3 4 5 Pseudonym of Abisin Abbas
* ↑ Edited by Rosihan Anwar
* 1 2 In two instalments
* ↑ In two instalments, translation by Darmawidjaja
* ↑ Translation by Darmawidjaja

## Footnotes

* ↑ Mahayana 2007, pp. 177–178.
* ↑ Mahayana 2007, p. 181.
* ↑ Jassin 1993, pp. 14–16.
* ↑ Jassin 1993, p. 18.
* ↑ The Jakarta Post 2011, In memoriam.
* 1 2 3 4 Mahayana 2007, pp. 201–202.
* ↑ Filmindonesia.or.id, Abisin Abbas.

## Works cited

* "Abisin Abbas". Filmindonesia.or.id (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Konfiden Foundation. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
* Dahm, Bernhard (1971). History of Indonesia in the Twentieth Century. Praeger. OCLC 230842.
* "In memoriam: Rosihan Anwar, the Last Mohican". The Jakarta Post. Jakarta. 14 April 2011. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
* Jassin, H.B. (1993). Kesusastraan Indonesia di Masa Jepang [Indonesian Literature in the Japanese Period]. Jakarta: Balai Pustaka. ISBN 978-979-407-307-0.
* Mahayana, Maman S. (2007). Ekstrinsikalitas Sastra Indonesia [Extrinsic Events in Indonesian Literature] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: RajaGrafindo Persada. ISBN 978-979-769-115-8.
