GEOGRAPHIC, LINGUISTIC, AND
ETHNIC DIMENSIONS OF
PHILIPPINE LITERARY HISTORY
DURING JAPANESE PERIOD
Historical Background ( 1941-
1945)
The writers stop wielding pens and started
wielding guns.
They introduce Nipponggo and their literary arts
and forms, such as Ikebana, Origami, and
Tempura and Sushi.
Worksof literature during this period were
poetry, fiction, drama, newspapers, and
essays.
Arts and Cuisine
Ikebana, or “arranging flowers” or “making flowers
alive”, is the Japanese art of flower arrangement.
Tempura is a Japanese cuisine made of fish, shellfish,
or vegetables, and fried in batter.
Sushi is a Japanese cuisine consisting of small balls
or rolls of vinegar-flavored cold cooked rice served
with a garnish of raw fish, vegetables, or egg.
Origamiis the Japanese art of folding paper into
decorative shapes and figures.
Forms
Poetry
Fiction
Drama
Newspapers
1. Essays
A. POETRY
The common theme of most poems during the
Japanese occupation was nationalism, country, love,
and life in the barrios, faith, religion and the arts.
Specifically, they introduced the following poetic
forms: Haiku, Tanka, and Senryu.
The arrival of the Japanese brought about one good
aspect to the Philippines, and that was the
prohibition of Philippine literature in English, which
had a favorable effect on a diminishing Tagalog
Literature
1. Haiku
Haiku is a descriptive poem about nature, consisting of 17
syllables; specifically, 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the
second line, and 5 in the third line (i.e. 5-7-5 syllabic
pattern).
The first noted Filipino poet to write haiku was Gonzalo K.
Flores, also known as Severino Gerundio, an avant-garde
poet during the Japanese period.
Here are some of his haiku (i.e. tutubi, anyaya), along
with translations, published in Liwayway, June 5, 1943.
1.Example of 5-7-5 syllabic
pattern
(Tutubi)
Tutubi (dragonfly)
Hila mo’y tabak… (5 syllables) pulling your
sword…
Ang bulaklak, nanginig! (7 syllables) the flower,
trembled!
Sa paglapit mo. (5 syllables) as you
approached.
Example 2:
(Anyaya)
Anyaya (invitation)
Ulilang damo lonely grass
Sa tahimik na ilog by the silent
river
Halika, sinta. Come, my dear
2. Tanka
The tanka is a thirty-one-syllable poem,
traditionally written in a single unbroken line.
A form of waka, Japanese song or verse, tanka
translates as “short song,” and is better known
in its five-line, following the 5-7-5-7-7 syllbic
pattern.
Example:
Araw na mulat (5)
Sa may gintong palayan (7)
Ngayong taglaags (5)
Di ko alam kung kelan (7)
Puso ay titigil na. (7)
3. Senryu
Senryu is a three-line poem similar to only the
structure of haiku.
The subject of senryu is human nature, and
the tone is satirical and ironical. (Sarcastic)
Example:
Baseball is tempting
As I stare out the window
Across my math book.
B. FICTION
The
field of the short story widened, and many
more writers wrote short stories.
C. DRAMA
Thedrama experienced a lull during the
Japanese period because movie houses
showing American films were closed. The big
movie houses were just made to show stage
shows. Many of the plays were reproductions
of English plays to Tagalog.
D. NEWSPAPERS
Writings that came out during this period were
journalistic in nature. Writers felt suppressed
but slowly, the spirit of nationalism started to
seep into their consciousness. While some
continued to write, the majority waited for a
better climate to publish their works.
ESSAYS
Essayswere composed to glorify the Filipinos
and at the same time to figuratively attack the
Japanese.
