Japan: Notable Writers (and their Most Famous Works and Notable Biographical Information and Information about their Works), Literary Terms and Concepts (inc. Genres), Notable Orators / Rhetoricians (and their Most Famous Works, Contributions, Concepts, and Notable Biographical Information), and Anonymous Founding Legends

700s - 723 - O No Yasumaro: Kojiki (All Facts)

• Early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the kami, and the Japanese imperial line

  • It was an astonishing account of the history of Japan from its birth

• It is considered the first (extant) oldest literary work of Japan

676 - 735 - Prince Toneri: Nippon Shoki (All Facts)

• Japanese chronicle which expands on the previously compiled chronicle, making it the second (extant) oldest literary work of Japan

• The namesake was the supervisor but it was compiled by a team of scholars including the author of the book upon which it expanded

• Based on collections of legends and hearsay, its authors describe the establishment in 660 BCE of Japan under the first of the imperial line, Jimmu Tenno

Kokin Wakashu (All Facts)

• Anthology of “pure” Japanese poetry completed in 905

• It consisted of an anthology of short poems with themes of love and nostalgia

• It showed the flexibility made possibly the phonetic “kana” script

• It exemplified the Classical Japanese literature that emerged during the Heian period

966 - 1025 - Sei Shonagon (All Facts)

• Japanese lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court during the Heian period

• She is best known for her work “Pillow Book”

973 - 1025 - Murasaki Shikibu (All Facts)

• Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court during the Heian period

• Japanese ladies of the Heian court like her wrote witty prose

973 - 1025 - Murasaki Shikibu: The Tale of Genji (All Facts)

• Considered the first novel ever written in history

  • It is considered one of the greatest Japanese novels of all time

  • The author used her own position at court to provide a fascinating picture of court society in Japan

• It is the story of a Japanese prince and his life at court, particularly his many romances

  • It is an elaborate and realistic tale of court life

  • The namesake character is an emperor’s son who is not in the line of succession to the throne, and is therefore able to follow a political career while still enjoying royal privileges

• Represented Japan’s literature moving away from the traditions of China, often emulated during the Heian Period

Calligraphy (All Facts)

• The art of writing, it became an important part of Japanese art and life

• It underwent a reformation when Zed Buddhism from China spread to Japan during the Kamakura Shogunate

  • Its new style displayed both the writer’s depth of conviction and his freedom of spirit in Zen

  • It added a new dimension to the beauty and range of the traditional Japanese form of the namesake

1200s - 1333 - Kamakura Shogunate (All Facts)

• During this period, literature in Japan declined with the exception of war tales, which became supper common and an established form

• The most famous of these war tales is called the “Heike Monogatari”

Noh (All Facts)

• Genre of Play that emerged in Japan in its classic form during the Ashikaga Shogunate

• Drama which is formal in style, incorporating music and dancing

• Performed without scenery by males who wear masks to portray women, old men, or supernatural beings

• Established by Kanami Motokiyo and his son Zeami Motokiyo

1363 - 1443 - Zeami Motokiyo (All Facts)

• Japanese Playwright

• He invented the “Noh” Play

• He wrote nearly 100 plays of this style, most of which still survive