LPW 02 Lesson 2: Japanese Literature

Japanese Literature

• Oral literature is mostly poetry

• Heavily influenced by cultural contact with China

Kojiki

• (The Records of Ancient Matters) (A.D. 712)

- Creation of the world, gods and goddesses, facts about ancient Japan

Nihongi

• (The Chronicles of Japan) (A.D. 720)

- History of Japan in poetry and influence of China

Manyoshu

• (Book of Ten Thousand Leaves) (347-759 A.D.)

- oldest collection of Japanese poetry

Contains poems which were all written in the Japanese of that time, le, using Chinese characters phonetically.

Consists of 4,496 poems organised into 20 books, the vast majority being in the tänka style, that is each poom has precisely 31 syllables in five lines (5+7+5+7+7).

The poems come in three broad thematic categorles: zoka (miscellaneous), somon (mutual inquiries Love poems), and sanka (elecies).

The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon

- Includes anecdotes, character sketches, lists, diary entries, conversations, poetry, etc.

The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki Shikibu

- Often considered the world's first novel/psychological novel

It is an absorbing Introduction to the culture of the aristocracy in early Helan Japan Ito forms of entertainment, its manner of dress, its daily life, and its mural code. The era exquisitely re-created through the story of Genji. courtier. the handsome, sensitive, gifted excellent lover and a worthy friend. Most of the Story concerns the loves of Genil, and each of the women in fils life is vivialy delineated. The work shows supreme sensitivity to human emotions and the beauties of nature, but as it proceeds its darkening tone reflects the Buddhist corviction of this world's transience.

Medieval Literature

Many civil wars led to the development of a warrior class, war tales, and histories (insights into life and death, simple lifestyles, and Seppuku)

Tale of the Heike

- an epic account of the struggle between two clans for control of Japan at the end of the twelfth century

Edo Period

• The Tokugawa Period

• The capital of Japan moved from Kyoto to Edo (modern Tokyo)

• Scholarly work continued to be published in Chinese

• Many genres of literature made their debut helped by a rising literacy rate among the growing population of townspeople, as well as the development of lending libraries

Chikamatsu Monzaemon

a kabuki dramatist, known as the Japan's Shakespeare

Meiji Period

• The re-opening of Japan to the West, and a period of rapid industrialization

• European literature brought free verse into the poetic repertoire. It became widely used for longer works embodying new intellectual themes.

• Prose writers and dramatists struggled with a whole galaxy of new ideas and artistic schools, but novelists were the first to assimilate some of these concepts successfully

Ancient Period (till 794 A.D.)

• Kojiki (The Records of Ancient Matters) (A.D. 712)

- Creation of the world, gods and goddesses, facts about ancient Japan

• Nihongi (The Chronicles of Japan) (A.D. 720)

- History of Japan in poetry and influence of China

Classical Literature

• Manyoshu (Book of Ten Thousand Leaves) (347-759 A.D.)

- oldest collection of Japanese poetry

• The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon

- Includes anecdotes, character sketches, lists, diary entries, conversations, poetry, etc.

• The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki Shikibu

- Often considered the world's first novel/psychological novel

Haiku

• 17-syllable poem in three lines (5-7-5)

Tanka

• 31-syllable poem in five lines (5-7-5-7-7)

Choka

poetic form/ unlimited lines of alternating lines of 5 and 7 syllables

Noh Play

- National theater, bare stage, actors wearing masks, written in a highly poetic prose

• Joruri (Bunraku)

- a puppet or doll play wherein dolls are life-like

Kabuki

- using elaborate and colorful costume and sets

• Seami Motokiyo

• Matsuo Basho

• Yosa Buson

• Kobayashi Issa

• Dazai Ozamu

• Ryunosuke Akutagawa "In the Grove"

• Oe Kenzaburo

• Yasunari Kawabata (Japan's first Nobel Prize winner)

• Junichiro Tanizaki

Japanese Writers

• Manga

• Cellphone Literature

Contemporary