JAPANESE
LITERATURE
The Kojiki (Records of
Ancient Matters) and Nihon
shoki (Chronicles of Japan)
comprise the oldest written
documents about the history
of Japan.
KOJIKI (COMPLETED IN AD
712) IS A COMPILATION OF
MYTHS ABOUT THE ORIGINS
OF THE ISLANDS OF JAPAN,
AND OF THE GENEALOGY
OF THE IMPERIAL FAMILY.
NIHON SHOKI (COMPLETED IN
AD 720), A COLLECTION OF
THIRTY BOOKS WRITTEN IN
CHINESE, CONTAINS THE
COMPLETE EXISTING
HISTORICAL RECORDS OF
JAPAN, CHRONICLING THE
REIGNS OF EMPERORS OF JAPAN
FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO
AD 697.
Most literary works in the
Heian period were dominated
by noble women and their
culture.
Lady Murasaki Shikibu wrote
Genji Monogatari (The Tale of
Genji) which was considered to
be the world’s first novel..
SEI SHŌNAGON , WROTE THE MAKURA NOSOSHI (THE PILLOW
BOOK), WHICH WAS A DETAILED RECORD OF LIFE AT THE
JAPANESE IMPERIAL COURT.
ONO NO KOMACHI, ONE OF
JAPAN’S GREATEST FEMALE
POETS OF THE HEIAN PERIOD,
WAS RENOWNED FOR HER
POEMS IN TANKA FORM.
TANKA- (“SHORT SONG”) IS A
FIVE-LINE POEM WITH
THIRTY-ONE SYLLABLES AND
FOLLOWS A 5–7–5–7–7
PATTERN
Example of TANKA
Hana no iro wa The flowers withered
Utsurinikeri na Their color faded away
Itazura ni While meaninglessly
Wa ga mi yo ni furu I spent my days in the
world
Nagame seshi ma ni
And the long rains were
falling
-Ono no Komachi
—Translated by Donald Keene
HAIKU
a traditional Japanese poem that
gained recognition during the
Edo or Tokugawaperiod (1603–
1868).
It is a short verse composed of three
lines with five, seven, and five
syllables, respectively, making a total
of seventeen syllables.
Its subjects are often about the essence
of life, a feeling or an emotion, and the
beauty of nature.
Kigo is an important element of a
haiku. It is a word or a phrase that
indicates the season a haiku is
written.
Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694), a
Japanese poet in the seventeenth
century, was considered the greatest
master of the haiku.
Other great haiku poets include
Yosa Buson (1716–1783) and
Kobayashi Issa (1763–1827).
EXAMPLES OF FAMOUS
HAIKUS
furu ike ya The quiet pond
kawazu tobikomu A frog leaps in,
mizu no oto The sound of the water.
—Matsuo Bashō —Translated by Edward
Seidensticker
yuki tokete The snow is melting
mura ippai no and the village is flooded
kodomo kana with children.
—Kobayashi Issa —Translated by Robert Hass
JAPANESE TRADITIONAL
THEATER
chiefly characterized by
movement and dance.
Two of the most popular forms
of traditional Japanese theater
are the Noh and the Kabuki.
NOH PLAY
is the oldest existing form of
Japanese theater, having started in
the fourteenth century. It was a
combination of dance, music, and
drama.
It is characterized by the slow
movement of the characters,
poetic dialogues, and
monotonous tone.
The main plot varies from
legends/mythologies to historical
events to current events.
Zeami Motokiyo, a
playwright, popularized Noh
during the Muromachi period
(1333−1573). Along with his
father, Kan’ami, they were
noted as the founders of Noh
theater.
Noh characters wear costumes that are
heavy, colorful, and have intricate
details/design, among others. The
main character of the play, shite,
wears a mask.
The mask tells the audience
what role or character the shite
was trying to portray. Below
are the following characters in
Noh theater (note that these
roles are all portrayed by
men):
There are six types of Noh plays:
◦ shite—leading character; portrays a demon,
deity, spirit, living man, etc.
◦ waki—supporting character; portrays a samurai,
monk, etc.
◦ hayashi—musicians; provide musical
accompaniment for the act
◦ jiutai—the narrators; assist the shite in narrating
the story
◦ koken—stage crew; assist the performers
• Some of the notable Noh plays
include Kan’ami’s Matsukaze
(Wind in the Pines); Zeami
Motokiyo’s Kakyō
(The Mirror of the Flower),Sandō
(The Three Ways), Takasago, and
Izutsu(The Well Head); and
Komparu Zechiku’s Yōkihi.
• Some of the famous Noh playwrights
include Komparu Zenpō, Komparu
Zenchiku, andKanze Kojiro Nobumitsu.
• The United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) listed
Nôgaku Theater, which covers Noh and
Kyôgen, as one of the Masterpieces of the
Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in
2001. (Kyôgen is a comical piece performed
during intervals in a Noh play.)
KABUKI
originated in Kyoto. It is a combination of singing,
dancing, and acting. It is known for the actors’
exaggerated manner of presentation.
The actors wear white makeup
with odd details, big and peculiar
wigs, and elaborate costumes.
The main plot usually includes
historical events, conspiracies, and
moral issues, among others.
Another distinct feature of
Kabuki is that the characters
only perform a part of an entire
story. Thus, members of the
audience are encouraged to read
about the story first before
watching a show.
THERE WERE THREE EARLY
VARIANTS OF KABUKI:
◦ onna kabuki (“women’s kabuki”)
—It was described as an erotic
performance of the
actors,associating it with
prostitution. It was banned in 1629.
◦ wakashū kabuki (“young men’s
kabuki”)
—young boys replaced women. In
1652, it was banned due to
widespread homosexuality.
◦ yaro kabuki (“male’s kabuki”)—
It had an all-male cast. This variant
endures up to the present day.
• Actors who play male
roles are called
tachiyaku, whereas
others who play female
roles are called
onnagata.
There are three main types of Kabuki
theater:
◦ jidaimono (“historical play”)—It is a play
that chiefly depicts samurai battles. It is
usuallyset in a period before the Tokugawa
shogunate.
◦ sewamono (“domestic play”)—It portrays the
life of the common people of the Edo period.
◦ shosagato (“dance play”)—It refers to the
dance-drama performed by the onnagata.
Some of the notable Kabuki plays
include Chūshingura (The Treasury of
Loyal Retainers; adapted into film as 47
Ronin); Okamoto Kidō’s Banshō
Sarayashiki; and Takeda Izumo I,
Miyoshi Shôraku, Takeda Izumo II, and
Namiki Sôsuke’s Sugawara denju
tenarai kagami(Sugawara and the
Secrets of Calligraphy).
• Some of the famous Kabuki
playwrights include Kawatake Mokuami
and Chikamatsu Monzaemon.
• In 2005, UNESCO named the Kabuki
Theater as one of the Masterpieces of the
Oral and Intangible Heritage of
Humanity.
BUNRAKU
Bunraku ( 文楽 ) is the traditional
puppet theater of Japan. It started of as
popular entertainment for the
commoners during the Edo Period
(1603-1868) in Osaka and evolved
into artistic theater during the late 17th
century.
Bunraku puppets are about one-half life size and
each is operated by three performers: a principal
operator and two assistants. Strings are not used,
but rather the puppeteers co-operate to maneuver
the limbs, eyelids, eyeballs, eyebrows and mouths
of the puppets, thereby producing life-like actions
and facial expressions. The puppeteers are in full
view of the audience, but are dressed in black to
symbolize that they are to be taken as "invisible".
JAPANESE MODERN LITERATURE
(FROM 1898 TO PRESENT)
Some of the notable writers of modern
Japanese literature include Mori Ōgai,
Natsume Sōseki, Ryūnosuke
Akutagawa, Yasunari Kawabata,
Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, Haruki
Murakami, and Ryū Murakami.
• Former Harvard professor Jay Rubin translated
Akutagawa’s famous work Rashomon and Other
Stories (1915), which was published by Penguin in
2006. The 1950 film adaptation ofAkira Kurosawa,
Rashomon, was based on “Rashomon” and “Yabu
no naka” (“In a Grove,”1921). The Akutagawa
Prize, a tribute to Akutagawa, was established in
1935, which was asprestigious as the Naoki Prize.
• In 1968, Yasunari Kawabata won a Nobel
Peace Prize in Literature. His famous novel,
Yukiguni (Snow Country, 1948), was a striking
collaboration of a haiku and a novel.
