When it all started?

Japanese adapted Chinese & Korean culture to their own circumstances. The Japanese imported the
Chinese writing system and used it to produce their own distinct literature. But Japan quickly developed
a style and quality of its own. When Japan reopened its ports to Western trading and diplomacy in the
19th century, Western Literature had a strong effect on Japanese writers, and this influence is still seen
today.

Japanese Ancient Literature (pre-8th Century)

KANJI - (lit. "Chinese characters") no native writing system, these characters were adapted to write
Japanese

NARA Period

man'yōgana, the earliest form of kana, or syllabic writing

Kojiki (712: a partly mythological, partly accurate history of Japan)

Nihonshoki (720: a chronicle with a slightly more solid foundation in historical records than the Kojiki)

Man'yōshū (759: a poetry anthology)

The Man’yoshu

The first great literature of Japan, it is a mammoth collection of poetry by various authors.

“The Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves” and it was compiled in the eighth century (the last dated
poem is 759). Most poems are in tanka form. Tanka poems are short – 31 syllables – with syllabic/line
breakdown as follows: 5, 7, 5, 7, 7. They are like the last five lines of the choka, described below. The
chokas are long poems. There is no set number of lines. The lines alternate between 5 and 7 syllables,
but end in a couplet of 7 syllable lines.

In The Man’yoshu, many chokas have introductory and following tankas called “envoys.”

Japanese Classical Literature (8th Century - 12th Century)

Heian Period (The golden age of art and literature)

Tale of Genji (early 11th century) by Murasaki Shikibu. The world’s first novel - proto-science fiction

Kokin Wakashu (905, waka anthology)

The Pillow Book (990s) by Sei Shonagon

about the life, loves, and pastimes of nobles in the Emperor's court.

Commissioned by Emperor Daigo, the Kokinshu

(The Collection of Ancient and Modern Times)

established a precedent that would last through 500 years and 21 anthologies.

The Kokinshu combines great poems of the past with great poems of the present;

it also integrates short poems into longer narrative sequences, thereby becoming more than a mere
collection of poems.
 The tale of Genki

written by the noblewoman and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu in the early years of the 11th century,
around the peak of the Heian period.

called the world's first novel,

the first modern novel,

the first psychological novel

or the first novel still to be considered a classic.

The Pillow Book by Seishonagon

A collection of lists, gossip, poetry, observations, complaints written during her years in the court, a
miscellaneous genre of writing known as zuihitsu.

Shōnagon is also known for her rivalry with her contemporary, writer and court lady Murasaki Shikibu,
author of The Tale of Genji who served the Empress Shoshi, second consort of the Emperor Ichijō.

Donald Keene says, The Pillow Book is "perhaps the closest approach to high comedy in Japanese
literature," while Ivan Morris, the translator of the English edition, I have read (in abridged version), calls
it, "by far our most detailed source of factual material on the life of the time and . . . also a work of great
literary beauty, full of lively humor and subtle impressions of the world she lived in."

Japanese 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).

forms of popular drama developed which would later evolve into kabuki.

Oku no Hosomichi - (a travel diary) one of the first and greatest masters of haiku poetry.

Ihara Saikaku - given birth to the modern consciousness of the novel in Japan

Jippensha Ikku - wrote Tokaido chuhizakurige, a mix of travelogue and comedy.

Ueda Akinari initiated the modern tradition of weird fiction in Japan with his Ugetsu Monogatari,

Kyokutei Bakin wrote the extremely popular fantasy/historical romance Nanso Satomi Hakkenden

Santō Kyōden wrote tales of the gay quarters

Genres included horror, crime stories, morality stories, comedy, and pornography often accompanied by
colorful woodcut prints

Shintoism

What does Shinto mean? What do its followers believe?

Shinto means the way of the gods.

Shintoism - is an Ancient religion of Japan. It started at least as long ago as 1000 B.C.E.

Shintoists - is the followers of Shintoism

believe that spiritual powers exist in the natural world.

They believe that "spirits" called kami live in natural places such as in animals, plants, stones, mountains,
rivers, people and even the dead.

Where do Shinto followers worship?

Shinto places of worship are called shrines and are usually found in beautiful natural settings.

Shinto shrines are marked by a special archway called a torii. This archway is believed to separate the
sacred world of the shrine from the world outside.

There are about 80,000 shrines all over Japan.

The shrine contains an Inner Hall which is only entered by Shinto priests since it is believed kami are
present.

Shinto priests can be either male or female.

Purity is important to Shinto followers and therefore they rinse their mouths and wash their hands and
hang up wooden tablets with prayers on them before entering the prayer hall.

Once inside, the kami is summoned with a bell and offered rice or money.

After which the worshiper bows twice and claps twice to welcome the kami then bows again.

Who is the most important kami?

The most important kami is Amaterasu, the sun goddess.

She is believed to be the ancestor to the emperors of Japan.

Her shrine is at Ise and is the most important shrine in Japan.

Inari, the rice producer, is also an important kami since rice is such an important food in Japan.

NOH

Noh or Nogaku

derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent"—is a major form of classical Japanese
musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century.

Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art still regularly performed
today.

Noh is often based on tales from traditional literature with a supernatural being transformed into
human form as a hero narrating a story.

What is it?

Noh theater is structured around song and dance.

Movement is slow, language is poetic, tone is monotonous, and costumes are rich and heavy.

Plots are usually drawn from legend, history, literature and contemporary events.

Themes often relate to dreams, supernatural worlds, ghosts and spirits.

What is it?

Noh theater is structured around song and dance.

Movement is slow, language is poetic, tone is monotonous, and costumes are rich and heavy.

Plots are usually drawn from legend, history, literature and contemporary events.

Themes often relate to dreams, supernatural worlds, ghosts and spirits.

Roles

All performers in noh are male.

Shite - the leading character. Depending on the play, the shite may act as a holy old man, a deity, a
demon, a spirit or a living man. His movements express various moods.

Waki - the supporting actor. The waki plays roles such as a priest, monk or samurai. In contrast to the
shite, the waki always portrays living people.

Hayashi - the musicians. Four musicians provide accompaniment for the performance with a flute (fue),
shoulder drum (kotsuzumi), hip drum (otsuzumi) and stick drum (taiko).

Jiutai - the chorus. The chorus sits to the left of the stage and assists the shite in the narration of the
story.

Koken - stage attendants. Dressed in black, the stage attendants are not part of the play but assist the
performers in various ways, such as handing them props.

Masks

Tells the audience what kind of character is being portrayed.

Frequently used masks represent demons, spirits, as well as women and men of various ages.

The masks are carved from blocks of Japanese cypress.

Their three dimensional properties allow skilled actors to induce a variety of expressions with changes in
head orientation.

Costumes and Props

Costumes consist of multiple layers and textures that create an effect of resplendent elegance but also a
bulky, massive figure.
Expressiveness is enhanced by props, most notably a folding fan.

Closed, partly closed or open, the fan may represent any object as suggested by its shape and handling,
for example a dagger or a lantern.

Kyogen

Kyogen are the comic pieces performed at intervals between the main Noh performance.

They utilize satire and witty jokes and are often performed with rhythmical language and sometimes
exaggerated actions to inspire laughter from the audience.

Most kyogen pieces last for about 15 to 20 minutes and involve two or three actors.