Japan: Tryst of the Old and New

Prepared by: Ms. Elsie C. Crisostomo

Background

9th and 12th centuries was the

Classic Age of Japanese Literature.
All the arts enjoyed patronage
Historically, Japanese literature
emanating from the Imperial
developed from the Chinese but it
Family at Kyoto. This age was
has a distinctive individuality.
marked by verse compilations and
a number of prose romances and
tales.
 First playwright produced in Japan.

Called the Shakespeare of his country

Chikamatsu Wrote some fifty dramas in which he freely

intermingled comedy and tragedy

His plays were different from the classics.

 Revived the novel during the 18th century

Kyokutei Known in literary circles as the Japanese Mark Twain

Baken & The latter wrote a novel entitled Shank’s Mare which is
Jippensha considered a “first cousin” to Huckleberry Finn, Pickwick
Pepers, Don Quixote, and Dead Souls
Ikku
The former has a masterpiece called New Moon (Sailor
Moon is inspired) which is still popular in Japan.
 Japan’s greatest haiku poet, believed that real poetry was leading a beautiful
life with nature. And to live poetry was better than to write it.

Once, Basho was with one of his pupils named Kikaku.

Kikaku spied a beautiful red dragonfly, and he thought that the lovely
creature, were it not for its wings, would look very much like a red cayenne
pepper pod. So he made up a verse on the spot and said:

Matsuo Basho “Pluck off the wings

From a bright red dragonfly and see!

There a pepper pod will be!”

 Basho reined in his horse at once.
“That is not poetry!,” he said. “So cruel a thought as plucking off the wings of a
dragonfly is not poetry. Instead of what you have just said, you should word your
verse like this:
Add but wings
To a bright red pepper pod, and see-
There a dragonfly will be!”
 Haiku
A Japanese verse form
most often composed, in Features an image, or pair
English versions, of three of images, meant to depict
unrhymed lines of five, the essence of a specific
seven, and five syllables moment in time
(5,7,5).
Sample Haiku of
Basho

An old silent pond…

A frog jumps into the
pond,
Splash! Silence again.
What does the 3
lines mean?