| 2. Japanese Literature |
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Brief History:
From Nara Period to Present
Nara period (710-784): Japanese literature traces its beginnings
to oral traditions that were first recorded in written form
in the early eighth century after a writing system was introduced
from China. The Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters) and Nihon
shoki (Chronicle of Japan) were completed in 712 and 720, respectively,
as the government projects.
Heian (794-1192) to Kamakura (1192-1333) period: In 905 the
Kokin wakashu or Kokinshu (A Collection of Poems Ancient and
Modern) was published as the first poetry anthology to be commissioned
by an emperor. Murasaki Shikibu, wrote the 54-chapter novel
Genji monogatari (Tale of Genji), while another, Sei Shonagon,
wrote Makura no soshi (The Pillow Book), a diverse collection
of jottings and essays. Heike monogatari (The Tale of the Heike),
which depicts the rise and fall of the Taira with the spotlight
on their wars with Minamoto clan (Genji), was completed in the
first half of the thirteenth century.
Muromachi (1338-1573) to Azuchi-Momoyama (1573-1603) period:
The Taiheiki (Chronicle of the Great Peace) is a valuable historical
record, depicting the 50 years from 1318 to 1367 when two rival
imperial courts struggled for power. Composing renga (successively
linked verses by several people forming a long poem) became
a favorite pastime, and this gave birth to haikai (a sort of
jocular renga) in the sixteenth century.
Edo period (1603-1867): Two giants emerged in the field of prose
in this period: Ihara Saikaku, who realistically portrayed the
life of Osaka merchants, and Chikamatsu Monzaemon, who wrote
joruri, a form of storytelling involving chants lines, and kabuki
plays. Also, fiction writer Ueda Akinari produced a collection
of gothic stories called Ugetsu monogatari.
Meiji to present (1868-): Unification of the written and spoken
language was advocated in the Meiji era (1868-1912), and Futabatei
Shimei's Ukigumo (Drifting Clouds) won acclaim as a new form
of novel. Novelists Mori Ogai and Natsume Soseki studied in
Germany and Britain. Akutagawa Ryunosuke, wrote many superb
novelettes based on his detailed knowledge of the Japanese classics.
Shimazaki Toson is noted for the "I novel," a style
of novel typical of Japan in which the authors themselves described
their own experiences and expressed their inner thoughts.
Increasing Popularity Abroad
In 1968 Kawabata Yasunari became the first Japanese to win the
Noble Prize for literature, and Oe Kenzaburo won it in 1994.
They and other contemporary writers, such as Tanizaki Jun'ichiro,
Mishima Yukio, Abe Kobo, Inoue Yasushi, and Endo Shusaku, have
been translated into other languages.
In the last few years works by the remarkably active postwar-generation
writers including Murakami Ryu, Murakami Haruki, Yoshimoto Banana,
and Miyabe Miyuki have been translated into many languages and
have gained tremendous popularity overseas. A new trend in the
filed of Japanese literature has been spreading in Japan through
the best seller of Saito Takashi's Koenidashite yomitai nihongo
("Japanese to be recited"), stressing the importance
of reading Japanese aloud, published in 2001.
* All the Japanese names in this section follow the Japanese
practice of placing the surname first.
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