Kokumin no Tomo (å½æ°Âä¹ÂÃ¥ÂÂ; The People's Friend) was a Japanese language political and general interest magazine that existed between 1887 and 1898. It was one of the signature periodicals of the Meiji period. The magazine was headquartered in Tokyo, capital of Japan. It was one of the earliest examples of independent and coherent intellectual magazines in Japan. This was reflected in the magazineâÂÂs motto, printed as its subheading - âÂÂSeiji shakai keizai oyobi bungaku no hyà Âronâ æ¿治社ä¼ÂçµÂæ¸ÂÃ¥ÂÂæÂÂå¦ä¹Âè©Âè« (Political, Social, Economic and Literary Critiques).
Kokumin no Tomo was established by Tokutomi Soho in 1887. The first issue appeared on 15 February 1887. It was modelled on the American news magazine, The Nation.
The publisher of Kokumin no Tomo was Min'yà «sha, a publishing company also founded by Tokutomi Soho which was based in Tokyo. Although the magazine mostly covered politics, it also published articles on literary and cultural topics. Kokumin no Tomo had several supplements. Several examples of the ancient and modern Eastern and Western poems were first featured in one of these supplements dated August 1889 which are called Omokage, verses emerged in the Meiji period.
Kokumin no Tomo was the first Japanese magazine to feature a review section, providing critical coverage of recent publications. This section was entitled âÂÂCriticismâ (hihyà  æ¹è©Â), and first appeared in the September 1887 issue.
An English version of Kokumin no Tomo, titled The Far East, was published from 1896-1898
Regulars contributors to Kokumin no Tomo included Yamaji Aizan, and Mori à Âgai, who contributed an article to the magazine almost every month between April 1889 and 1892, including one of his most famous stories - Maihime èÂÂ姫 (The Dancing Girl) .
Kokumin no Tomo ceased publication in 1898.