The Human Condition (novel) (original) (raw)

The Human Condition (人間の條件, Ningen no jōken) is a six-part novel written by Junpei Gomikawa. It was first published in Japan in 1958. The novel was an immediate bestseller and sold 2.4 million copies within its first three years after being published. It became the basis for Masaki Kobayashi's film trilogy The Human Condition, released between 1959 and 1961. It had also been broadcast as a radio drama before the film release. Right-wing critics in Japan criticized the novel's "sentimental humanism." Currently, no English translation of the novel exists.