アバンギャルド

French avant-garde is documented as a military term in the 12th century in CNRTL, with avant "before" and garde "guard." CNRTL also records figurative literary use in the late 16th century. Shogakukan dictionaries gloss Japanese アバンギャルド as French avant-garde and explain its original sense as 前衛, the advance unit of an army. A Japanese citation appears in Nagai Kafu's essays from 1927-28. The Japanese borrowing is strongest in art, literature, theater, and political thought after World War I. Digital Daijisen connects it with European movements such as Cubism, Futurism, abstract art, and Surrealism. Japanese already had the Sino-Japanese word 前衛, a kanji counterpart for art criticism, so アバンギャルド could appear with 前衛芸術, モダニズム, シュールレアリスム, and ダダ. Modern Japanese uses アバンギャルド for experimental art, fashion, music, and film, often as an adjective with な. French still has the military noun and the cultural noun, while Japanese usually uses the cultural sense. English avant-garde can name a group or style; Japanese アバンギャルド often labels the work as experimental. In headlines, アバンギャルド映画 and 前衛映画 may refer to overlapping film traditions. Example: アバンギャルドな舞台 describes a stage work that rejects ordinary forms.