Japan literature

LITERATURE

Prepared By :San Pedro, JessicaTraje, Ericson

JA P A

NE

S E

Did you know that ….

• The population of Japan is approximately 127 million

• The total area of Japan is 378,000 square kilometers (145,945 square miles).

• The fastest Rollercoaster in the world is the "Dodonpa". 

Did you know that ….

• The oldest novel in the world was written in Japan over a thousand years ago.

Religion in Japan

• SHINTOISM• BUDDHISM• CHRISTIANITY

• ISLAM• HINDUISM• JUDAISM

History of Japanese Literature

• Japanese literature spans a period of almost 2 millennia of writing

• Writing are influence by Chinese literature

• Japanese are generally based on important in political and cultural events

Japanese Ancient Literature

• Introduction of Kanji

• Man’yogana-earliest form of kana or syllabic writing

History of Japanese Literature

• Nara Period (710-794)

• Heian Period (794-

1185)

• Kamakura-Muromachi

Period (1185-1573)

• Edo Period (1603-1868)

• Meiji Period to Present

Nara Period (710-794)

• Japanese literature traces its beggings to oral traditions that were first recorded in written form in the early 18th century

• Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters)

• Nihon Shoki (Chronicle of Japan)

• Fudoki (Records of Wind and Water)

• The most brilliant literary product of this period was the Man’yoshu (Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves)• Tanka a verse form comprising 31 syllables (5-7-5-7-7)

•In 905, Kokinwakashu or Kokinshu (Collection of Poems from Ancient and Modern Times) was published as the first poetry anthology commissioned by an emperor

Heian Period (794-1185)In the resplendent aristocratic culture that thrived early in the 11th century

•Murasaki Shikibu wrote the 54 chapter novel Genjimonogatari (Tale of Genji)

Sei Shonagon,wrote Makura no Soshi (Pillow Book)

Konjakumonogatari (Tales of a Time That Is Now Past) added new dimension to literature

Kamakura-Muromachi Period

• In the latter half of the twelfth century warriors of the Taira clan (Heike) seized political power at the imperial court,virtually forming a new aristocracy

Heike Mono-gatari (Tales of Heike) ,which depicts the rise and fall of the Taira with the spotlight on their wars with the Minamoto clan (Genji)

Shin Kokinwakashu (New Collection of Poems from Ancient and Modern Times) an anthology of poetry commissioned by retired Emperor GoToba

Kamo No Chomei’s Hojoki (An Account of My Hut)

Yoshida Kenko’s Tsurezuregusa (Essay of Idleness)

Shobogenzo (Treasury of the True Dharma Eye) one of the first Buddist text written in Japanese rather than Chinese,mark a major development in Zen thoughtTaiheiki (Chronicle of the Great Peace)

Zeami’s Fushikaden (The Transmission of the Flower of Acting Style) is a brilliant essay on dramatic art

Edo Period (1603-1868)Around this time the fucntion of literature as a mean of social intercourse broadened.

Composing Renga (successive linked verses by several people forming a long poem) became a favorite past time, and give birth to Haikal (a sort of jocolar renga) in the sixteenth century

Matsuo Basho who perfected a new condensed poetic form form of 17 syllables (5-7-50 known as Haiku, an embodiment of elegant simplicity and tranquility

In the Genroku era (1688-1704) city of dwelling artisans and merchants became the main supporters of literature and professional artists began to appear

Ihara Saikaku ,who realistically portrayed the life of Osaka merchant

Chikamatsu Monzaemon, who wrote joruri,a form of storytelling involving chanted lines and kabuki lines

Yosa Buson composed superb haiku depicting nature

Ueda Akinari produced a collection of gothic stories called Ugetsumonogatari (Tales of Moonlight and Rain)

Meiji Period to PresentIn Meiji era unification of the written and spoken language was advocated

Futabatei Shimei’s Ukigumo (Drifting Clouds) as a new form of novel

Emile Zola dominated Japan’s literary world for the first decade of twentieth century

LITERARY WORKS

Kojiki (Records of the Ancient Matter).This tells about the creation of the world, the god ,the goddess of the

mythological period and facts about the earliest history of

JapanNihongi (Chronicles of Japan) It tells about the early history of poetry in Japan

Three Types of Haiku

Noh Play is the national theater play in Japan. This is a dance play invented by the Gods

Puppet Play. Puppets are beautifully made and lifelike size

Kabuki is the play for the masses.it is less intelectual more realistic even sensational

HAIKU

It is a poem written in free verse. It is made up of 17 syllables divided into three lines. The first line has 5 syllables ,second line has 7 syllables , third line has 5 syllables .It is allegorical in meaning. It is short and covers a wide scope in meaning

HAIKU POETS

Matsou Basho – the most Famous of the Haiku poeats

Takai Kito – an outstanding poet who lived in a century after Basho’s time

THANK YOU