Translation guide
A cultural, artistic, and intellectual movement emphasizing a break from tradition and the embrace of new forms of expression, roughly from the late 19th to mid-20th century. In Japanese, the term is often used in art, literature, and architecture contexts.
modernism (art/literature)
Referring to the broad cultural movement of modernism in art, literature, or architecture.
The standard loanword for 'modernism' in artistic and literary contexts. Widely understood.
He is a scholar of modernist literature.
A more formal, Sino-Japanese term for modernism, often used in academic or historical discussions.
Modernist architecture emphasizes functionality.
Describing a style characterized by clean lines, minimalism, and rejection of ornamentation, especially in architecture and design.
Referring to the intellectual underpinnings of modernism, including a belief in progress, rationality, and the rejection of tradition.
Used for the philosophical or ideological aspect of modernism.
Modernist thought spread in the early 20th century.
In everyday conversation, 'modern' (モダン) is more common than 'modernism'. Use モダニズム when specifically referring to the historical movement.
Many modernist buildings remain in Tokyo.