Abstract: Shimaki Kensaku's The Quest for Life was written during the heated period of Japanese militarism, and is a masterpiece of "Tenko Literature". The theme of the novel is the exploration of how to reconstruct identity after one's renunciation of Marxism. It is a very special Bildungsroman in a reactionary era. The novel is about a young intellectual's journey to reconstruct his identity through social practice and personal cultivation in a political system where free will has been harshly destroyed. Shimaki's tenko writings are different from other tenko literature. Through providing an insight into the internal causes of political conversion, as well as a detailed and realistic portrayal of rural life, it subverts the discursive order of "Political Conversion = Defection", unites reason and emotion in a seemingly apolitical way.

Key words: The Quest for Life, Japanese intellectual youth, identity reconstruction