A Brief

Introduction to
Japanese
Literature
 Ancient Period [till 794 A.D.]
•
Kojiki, or “Records of Ancient Matters” (712)
– Collection of myths and praise of the Imperial family

•
Man’yoshu, or “Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves”
– Spans 347 AD to 759 AD
– Utilized earliest Japanese writing system, the man’yogana
– “Tonight I am coming/To visit you in your dream,

And none will see and question me—/Be sure to leave your door unlocked!”

•
Kaifuso, or “Fond Recollections of Poetry”(751)
– Oldest collection of Chinese poetry written by Japanese authors
 Heian Period [794 – 1184]
•
The Tales of Ise
– 125 sections of tanka poetry and prose, attributed authorship to Ariwara no
Narihira
– “In former times when Narihira, having fallen ill, felt that he was going to
die, he wrote this poem:
That it is a road/Which some day we all travel
I had heard before,/Yet I never expected/To take it so soon myself.”

•
Kagero Nikki, or “The Gossamer Years” (974)
– Diary of a noblewoman in 10th century Japan
– Concerns her marriage, religious pilgrimages, and children
 Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji
"The Tale of Genji in particular is the highest pinnacle of Japanese
literature. Even down to our day there has not been a piece of fiction to
compare with it." – Yasunari Kawabata

– Written in the early 11th century

– Often considered the world’s first
novel/psychological novel
– Tells the life of Hikaru Genji, his romances,
and aristocratic society
– Notable translations by Arthur Waley,
Edward Seidensticker, and Royall Tyler
 Sei Shonagon’s The Pillow Book
•
Sei Shonagon was a contemporary and rival of Lady Murasaki
•
Includes anecdotes, character sketches, lists, diary entries, conversations,
poetry, etc.
– From “Hateful Things”
•
“One is just about to be told some interesting piece of news when a baby starts crying.
•
I cannot stand people who leave without closing the panel behind them.
•
Ladies-in-waiting who want to know everything that is going on. “

– From “Pleasing Things”

•
"Finding a large number of tales that one has not read before. Or acquiring the
second volume of a tale whose first volume one has enjoyed. But often it is a
disappointment."
 Kamakura Period [1185 – 1333]
•
Kamo no Chomei’s Hojoki (1212)
– Chronicles late 12 century disasters in Kyoto – famine, fire,
earthquakes
— “People die
and are born-
whence they come
and where they go,
I do not know.”

•
The Tale of the Heike
– Chronicles late 12th century struggle between the Genji and Heike
families
– Episodic; compiled from numerous oral sources
 Muromachi Period [1333 – 1600]
•
Noh theatre – Zeami and Aesthetics
•
Yoshida Kenko’s Essays in Idleness
– A more melancholy Pillow Book
– Essays on moral opinions, aesthetic tastes, and
memoirs
– “What a strange, demented feeling it gives me when I
realize I have spent whole days before this inkstone,
with nothing better to do, jotting down at random
whatever nonsensical thoughts that have entered my
head.”
 Tokugawa Period [1600 – 1868]
•
Ihara Saikaku
– Speed haiku: 4,000 verses in one day, Saikaku Many Verses
– Vernacular fiction, mostly amorous tales

•
Ueda Akinari’s Tales of Moonlight and Rain
– Alludes to both Chinese and Japanese classics/myth

•
Matsuo Basho
– furu ike ya / kawazu tobikomu / mizu no otoan - ancient pond / a frog jumps in / the splash of water

•
Chikamatsu Monzaemon
– Prolific writer of bunraku (puppet theatre) and kabuki plays
– Wrote of tragedies involving ordinary people; The Love Suicides at Amijima
 Taisho Period [1912 - 1926]
•
Ryunosuke Akutagawa [1892 – 1927]
– “In a Grove”
– “The Nose”
•
Shiga Naoya [1883 – 1971]
– A Dark Night’s Passing
•
Junichiro Tanizaki [1886 – 1965]
– Naomi
– The Makioka Sisters
Showa Period [1926-1989]
•
Yasunari Kawabata [1899-1972]
- Snow Country
•
Osamu Dazai [1909 – 1948]
- No Longer Human
•
Yukio Mishima [1925-1970]
- The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
•
Kobo Abe [1924 – 1993]
- Woman in the Dunes
•
Kenzaburo Oe [1935 - ]
- A Personal Matter