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Japanese literature - History

Japanese literature - History: Encyclopedia II - Japanese literature - History

Japanese Literature is generally divided into three main periods: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. Japanese literature - Ancient Literature pre-8th Century. With the introduction of kanji (Chinese characters) from the Asian mainland, writing became possible. Before this there had been no native writing system. The only literary language was classical Chinese to begin with; later, Chinese characters were adapted to write Japanese, creating what is known as the man'yōgana, the earliest form of kana, or syllab ...

Japanese literature: Encyclopedia II - Japanese literature - History

Japanese literature - History

Japanese Literature is generally divided into three main periods: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern.

Japanese literature - Ancient Literature pre-8th Century

With the introduction of kanji (Chinese characters) from the Asian mainland, writing became possible. Before this there had been no native writing system. The only literary language was classical Chinese to begin with; later, Chinese characters were adapted to write Japanese, creating what is known as the man'yōgana, the earliest form of kana, or syllabic writing. Works created in the Nara Period include Kojiki (712: a partly mythological, partly factual history of Japan), Nihonshoki (720: a chronicle with a slightly more solid foundation in historical records than Kojiki), and Man'yōshū (759: a poetry anthology). The language used in the works of this period differs significantly from later periods in both its grammar and phonology. Even in this early era, significant dialectal differences within Japanese are apparent.

Japanese literature - Classical Literature 8th Century - 12th Century

Classical Japanese literature generally refers to literature produced during the Heian Period, what some would consider a golden era of art and literature. The Tale of Genji (early 11th century) by Murasaki Shikibu is considered the preeminent masterpiece of Heian fiction and an early example of a work of fiction in the form of a novel. Other important works of this period include the Kokin Wakashu (905, waka anthology) and The Pillow Book (990s), the latter written by Murasaki Shikibu's contemporary and rival, Sei Shonagon, about the life, loves, and pastimes of nobles in the Emperor's court. The iroha poem, one of the standard orderings for the Japanese syllabary, was also written during the early part of this period.

In this time the imperial court and highest ranked kuge (nobility) patronized the poets. There were no professional poets. Most of them were courtiers or ladies-in-waiting. Editing anthologies of poetry was a national pastime. Reflecting the aristocratic atmosphere, the poetry was elegant and sophiscated and expressed emotions in a rhetorical style.

Japanese literature - Medieval Literature 13th Century - 16th Century

Medieval Japanese Literature is marked by the strong influence of Zen Buddhism, where characters are priests, travellers, or ascetic poets. Also during this period, Japan experienced many civil wars which led to the development of a warrior class, and subsequently to the mystique of the Samurai, with war tales, histories, and related stories. Work from this period is notable for its insights into life and death, simple lifestyles, and redemption through killing. A representative work is The Tale of the Heike (1371), an epic account of the struggle between the Minamoto and Taira clans for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century. Other important tales of the period include Kamo no Chōmei's Hōjōki (1212) and Yoshida Kenko's Tsurezuregusa (1331). Writing using a mixture of kanji and kana, the way it is done today, started with these works in the medieval period.

Other notable genres in this period were renga, collective poetry and Noh theater. Both were rapidly developed in the middle of the 14th century, the early Muromachi period.

Japanese literature - Early-Modern Literature 17th Century - mid-19th Century

Literature during this time was written during the largely peaceful Tokugawa Period (commonly referred to as the Edo Period). Due in large part to the rise of the working and middle classes in the new capital of Edo (modern Tokyo), forms of popular drama developed which would later evolve into kabuki. The joruri and kabuki dramatist Chikamatsu Monzaemon became popular from the end of the 17th century. Matsuo Bashō, best known for Oku no Hosomichi (奥の細道, 1702: a travel diary variously rendered in English as 'Narrow Road to the Far North', 'Narrow Road to Oku', and so on), is considered to be one of the first and greatest masters of haiku poetry. Hokusai, perhaps Japan's most famous wood block print artist, also illustrated fiction as well as his famous 36 Views of Mount Fuji.

Many genres of literature made their debut during the Edo Period, helped by a rising literacy rate that reached well over 90% (according to some sources), as well as the development of a library-like system. Ihara Saikaku might be said to have given birth to the modern consciousness of the novel in Japan. Jippensha Ikku (十返舎一九) wrote Tokaido chuhizakurige (東海道中膝栗毛), a mix of travelogue and comedy. Ueda Akinari initiated the modern tradition of weird fiction in Japan with his Ugetsu Monogatari, while Kyokutei Bakin wrote the extremely popular fantasy/historical romance Nanso Satomi Hakkenden (南総里見八犬伝). Santō Kyōden wrote tales of the gay quarters until the Kansei edicts banned such works. Genres included horror, crime stories, morality stories, comedy, and pornography—often accompanied by colorful woodcut prints. Formats included yomihon, various zōshi, and chapbooks.

Japanese literature - Meiji and Taisho Literature late 19th Century - WW II

The Meiji era marks the re-opening of Japan to the West, and a period of rapid industrialization. The introduction of European literature brought free verse into the poetic repertoire; it became widely used for longer works embodying new intellectual themes. Young Japanese prose writers and dramatists struggled with a whole galaxy of new ideas and artistic schools, but novelists were the first to successfully assimilate some of these concepts. A new colloquial literature developed centering on the "I novel", with some unusual protagonists such as the cat narrator of Natsume Soseki's Wagahai wa neko de aru (I Am a Cat). Natsume Soseki also wrote the famous novels Botchan and Kokoro (1914). Shiga Naoya, the so called "god of the novel," and Mori Ogai were instrumental in adopting and adapting Western literary conventions and techniques. Akutagawa Ryunosuke is known especially for his historical short stories. Ozaki Koyo, Izumi Kyoka, and Higuchi Ichiyo represent a strain of writers whose style hearkens back to early-Modern Japanese literature.

War-time Japan saw the debut of several authors best known for the beauty of their language and their tales of love and sensuality, notably Tanizaki Junichiro and Japan's first winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Kawabata Yasunari, a master of psychological fiction.