Japanese Literature and Nobel Prize Winners: Key Facts and Classic Works

Yasunari Kawabata

The first Japanese novelist to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Yasushi Inoue

The second Japanese novelist to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Neko [Cat]

The title of Soseki Natsume's novel, 'Wagahai wa ( ) de aru [I Am a ___]'.

Dogo Onsen

The hot spring in Ehime Prefecture written about in 'Botchan,' a novel by Soseki Natsume.

Mainichi Shimbun

The newspaper company Soseki Natsume worked and wrote novels for.

around 1000 C.E.

The time when Murasaki Shikibu's 'Genji Monogatari [The Tale of Genji]' was written.

Hikaru Genji

The leading character of 'Genji Monogatari [The Tale of Genji]'.

54 volumes

The number of volumes in 'Genji Monogatari [The Tale of Genji]'.

haru wa akebono

The first word in 'Makura no Soshi [The Pillow Book],' an essay of the Heian period.

haiku

The style of Japanese short poem containing 5-7-5 syllables.

Hyakunin Isshu

A collection of tanka poems composed by 100 persons, which is also used for a karuta game.

Taketori Monogatari [The Tale of the Bamboo-Cutter]

The oldest Japanese novel.

the moon

Where did Princess Kaguya go back to in 'Taketori Monogatari [The Tale of the Bamboo-Cutter],' the oldest Japanese novel?

a foreign country

Where did Princess Kaguya go back to in 'Taketori Monogatari [The Tale of the Bamboo-Cutter],' the oldest Japanese novel?

the bowels of the earth

Where did Princess Kaguya go back to in 'Taketori Monogatari [The Tale of the Bamboo-Cutter],' the oldest Japanese novel?

into the sea

Where did Princess Kaguya go back to in 'Taketori Monogatari [The Tale of the Bamboo-Cutter],' the oldest Japanese novel?

pigeon

Which animal befriended Momotaro in the old tale 'Momotarō [Peach Boy],' other than a dog and a monkey?

pheasant

Which animal befriended Momotaro in the old tale 'Momotarō [Peach Boy],' other than a dog and a monkey?

crow

Which animal befriended Momotaro in the old tale 'Momotarō [Peach Boy],' other than a dog and a monkey?

chicken

Which animal befriended Momotaro in the old tale 'Momotarō [Peach Boy],' other than a dog and a monkey?

persimmon

What seed did the crab trade for the monkey's rice ball in the old tale 'Saru Kani Gassen'?

peach

What seed did the crab trade for the monkey's rice ball in the old tale 'Saru Kani Gassen'?

tangerine

What seed did the crab trade for the monkey's rice ball in the old tale 'Saru Kani Gassen'?

apple

What seed did the crab trade for the monkey's rice ball in the old tale 'Saru Kani Gassen'?

turtle

What did Taro turn into when he opened a tamatebako treasure box at the end of the old tale 'Urashima Tarō'?

woman

What did Taro turn into when he opened a tamatebako treasure box at the end of the old tale 'Urashima Tarō'?

baby

What did Taro turn into when he opened a tamatebako treasure box at the end of the old tale 'Urashima Tarō'?

old man

What did Taro turn into when he opened a tamatebako treasure box at the end of the old tale 'Urashima Tarō'?

soil

What did the old man sprinkle to make the tree bloom in the old tale 'Hanasaka Jīsan [Old Man Who Made Withered Tree to Blossom]'?

salt

What did the old man sprinkle to make the tree bloom in the old tale 'Hanasaka Jīsan [Old Man Who Made Withered Tree to Blossom]'?

ash

What did the old man sprinkle to make the tree bloom in the old tale 'Hanasaka Jīsan [Old Man Who Made Withered Tree to Blossom]'?

sand

What did the old man sprinkle to make the tree bloom in the old tale 'Hanasaka Jīsan [Old Man Who Made Withered Tree to Blossom]'?

3cm

How many centimeters is 1-sun, the height of Issun Boshi of an old tale of the same title?

15cm

How many centimeters is 1-sun, the height of Issun Boshi of an old tale of the same title?

30cm

How many centimeters is 1-sun, the height of Issun Boshi of an old tale of the same title?

150cm

How many centimeters is 1-sun, the height of Issun Boshi of an old tale of the same title?

sword

What did the crane make out of her own feathers as a token of her thanks in the old tale 'Tsuru no Ongaeshi [The Grateful Crane]'?

hair accessory

What did the crane make out of her own feathers as a token of her thanks in the old tale 'Tsuru no Ongaeshi [The Grateful Crane]'?

bedding

What did the crane make out of her own feathers as a token of her thanks in the old tale 'Tsuru no Ongaeshi [The Grateful Crane]'?

kimono cloth

What did the crane make out of her own feathers as a token of her thanks in the old tale 'Tsuru no Ongaeshi [The Grateful Crane]'?

Greece

Which country was Yakumo Koizumi (Lafcadio Hearn), the writer of 'Kwaidan,' born in?

U.K.

Which country was Yakumo Koizumi (Lafcadio Hearn), the writer of 'Kwaidan,' born in?

Ireland

Which country was Yakumo Koizumi (Lafcadio Hearn), the writer of 'Kwaidan,' born in?

Germany

Which country was Yakumo Koizumi (Lafcadio Hearn), the writer of 'Kwaidan,' born in?

kuro oni [black ogre]

What kind of ogre was a friend of the aka oni [red ogre] in the fairy tale 'Naita Aka Oni [The Red Ogre Who Cried]'?

ao oni [blue ogre]

What kind of ogre was a friend of the aka oni [red ogre] in the fairy tale 'Naita Aka Oni [The Red Ogre Who Cried]'?

shiro oni [white ogre]

What kind of ogre was a friend of the aka oni [red ogre] in the fairy tale 'Naita Aka Oni [The Red Ogre Who Cried]'?

midori oni [green ogre]

What kind of ogre was a friend of the aka oni [red ogre] in the fairy tale 'Naita Aka Oni [The Red Ogre Who Cried]'?

thunder

What is mentioned as something you would not be defeated by in the poem 'Ame ni mo Makezu' written by Kenji Miyazawa, other than rain, wind, and snow?

typhoon

What is mentioned as something you would not be defeated by in the poem 'Ame ni mo Makezu' written by Kenji Miyazawa, other than rain, wind, and snow?

drought

What is mentioned as something you would not be defeated by in the poem 'Ame ni mo Makezu' written by Kenji Miyazawa, other than rain, wind, and snow?

heat of summer

What is mentioned as something you would not be defeated by in the poem 'Ame ni mo Makezu' written by Kenji Miyazawa, other than rain, wind, and snow?

Russia

Which country did the novelist Ogai Mori study in?

Britain

Which country did the novelist Ogai Mori study in?

America

Which country did the novelist Ogai Mori study in?

tori

bird

mushi

insect

hito

man

semi

cicada

Finland

Norway

Denmark

Kiyomizu-dera temple

Ryoan-ji temple

Horyu-ji temple

Kinkaku-ji temple

Akira Kuorosawa

Takeshi Kitano

Hayao Miyazaki

Juzo Itami

Susume

Go Forward

Hashire

Run

Ike

Go

Gambare

Try Hard

Kani

Crab

Ebi

Shrimp

Ika

Squid

Tako

Octopus

yamamichi

mountain road

tōge

mountain pass

fukai mori

deep forest

nagai tonneru

long tunnel

died

separated

married

went abroad together

Suna

Sand/Dune

Maboroshi

Illusion

Yoru

Night

Fuyu

Winter

Yoshimoto

the novelist who wrote 'Kitchen' and other popular works.

Mikan

Ringo

Banana

Ichigo

Ichiyōshū

Collection of One Leaf, the oldest collection of Japanese poetry.

Hyakuyōshū

Collection of Hundred Leaves.

Manyōshū

Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves.

Senyōshū

Collection of Thousand Leaves.

Heike Monogatari

The Tale of the Heike, passed down by biwa lute players.