Between the Meiji and Shōwa eras there is an essential change in the way literary authorship is conceptualized, that is patently visible in biographical narratives of modern authors. A good term of comparison for these biographical narratives are memorializations of Meiji authors that are generally centered around relationships of personal acquaintance, and emphasize master and disciple networks, and the tightly knit communities around coterie journals and other similar venues for and by writers. By contrast, Taishō biographies of writers emphasize the value of their objects’ lives as models, if not always for behavior, very often for a modern artistic sensibility that the public could participate in through their life and work. Taishō biographers, often aspiring authors themselves, argue their suitability to present the lives of their objects to the public, not because they were present in the private moments of the biography’s subjects, but because they shared with them a unique artistic sensibility through a certain fraternity of artists beyond personal connections. These features point to a conception of authorship based around individual sensibility and creativity that would supersede the relationships of mentorship and patronage that had dominated the literary world in the Meiji era.