I know some backgrounds of Japan, especially about the people in Japan. They are hardworking, kind, they really love their labour and they are discipline. That’s why I want to travel in Japan because even their values and traditions triggered me the most. Now, let’s go back to Japanese Literature and let’s about first the Japanese Writing System.
The modern Japanese writing uses:
KANJI- are the adopted logographic Chinese characters that are used in the Japanese writing system.
KANA- are the syllabaries that form parts of the Japanese writing system, contrasted with the logographic Chinese characters known in Japan as kanji. It consists Hiragan and Katakana. When we say Hiragana it used for native Japanese words it is along with Katakana. While the Katakana, it is used for transcription of words from foreign languages or loanwords to replace Kanji or Hiragana for emphasis.
In order for us to know the developments of Japanese Literature, read the Periods of Japanese Literature.
Periods of Japanese Literature
· Ancient Literature- There are two oldest Japanese Literature the Kojiki and Nihongi. When we say Kojiki it relates to the creation of the world, describes gods and goddess of the mythological period, and it contains facts about ancient Japan. While Nihongi tells the history of Japan in poetry and shows the profound influence of Chinese. They are the oldest surviving works , the two historical records which were completed in the early 8th century.
· Classical Literature- The golden era of Japanese art and literature is the Heian Period. The oldest collection of Japanese Poetry collected in the year 800 is Man’yoshu (Collection of Myriad Leaves). However, the considered the pre-eminent masterpiece of Heian fiction and the first example of a work of fiction in the form of a novel written by court lady named Murasaki Shikibu and this is the Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji). They are the oldest surviving literary works of Japan in Classical Literature up to 1868.
· Medieval Literature- can be broadly divided into two periods: the early and late Middle Ages, the former lasting roughly 150 years from the late 12th to the mid-14th century, and the latter until the end of the 16th century. Japan experienced many civil wars which led to the development of a warrior class, and subsequent war tales, histories and related stories. This period is notable for its insights into life and death, simple lifestyles and Seppuku, when we say seppuku it sometimes referred to as harakiri is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Lastly, the Tale of the Heike, an epic account of the struggle between two clans for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century.
· Modern Literature- is typically further divided into early modern and modern literature. The first period corresponds to the Edo period, while the second starts with the Meiji period (1868-1912) when Japan opened to the West and entered the period of industrialisation. When we say Edo Period during this time was written during the largely peaceful Tokugawa Period (commonly referred to as the Edo Period). Due in large part to the rise of the working and middle classes in the new capital of Edo (modern Tokyo), forms of popular drama developed which would later evolve into kabuki. Scholarly work continued to be published in Chinese which was the language of the learned much as Latin in Europe. And also they have this kabuki dramatist, known as the Japanese Shakespeare called Chikamatsu Monzaemon. Many genres of literature made by their debut during the Edo Period as well as the development of lending libraries. Chinese vernacular fiction influence on the development of Early Modern Japanese Fiction. Genres included horror, crime stories, comedy and pornography, accompanied by colourful woodcut prints. In Meji Period, marks the re-opening of Japan to the West, and a period of rapid industrialization.In the early Meiji period (1868–1880s), Fukuzawa Yukichi and Water Margin authored Enlightenment literature, while pre-modern popular books depicted the quickly changing country. War time Japan saw the debut of several authors bet known for the beauty of their language and their tales of love and sensuality. Kawabata Yasunari, great sensibility expresses the essence of the Japanese mind became Japan’s first winner of the Nobel Prize for literature.
· Post-War and Contemporary Period- World War II, and Japan's defeat, deeply influenced Japanese literature by seppuku, began writing in the post-war period. Asia and ancient Japan, in order to portray present human fate. Many authors wrote stories of disaffection, loss of purpose, and the coping with defeat. Prominent writers of the 1970s and 1980s were identified with intellectual and moral issues in their attempts to raise social and political consciousness. Modern Japanese writers covered a wide variety of subjects they approach stressed their subjects’ inner lives. In Japanese fiction, plot development and action have often been of secondary interest to emotional issues. Many old themes re-emerged, and some authors turned consciously to the past.
J
APANESE DRAMA
· NOH PLAY- Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed. Noh is often based on tales from traditional literature with a supernatural being transformed into human form as a hero narrating a story.
· JORURI PLAY- a type of chanted recitative that came to be used as a script in bunraku puppet drama. Its name derives from the Jōrurihime monogatari, a 15th-century romantic tale, the leading character of which is Lady Jōruri.
· KABUKI- The highly stylized classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing, dance , and skill.
JAPANESE POETRY
· TANKA- in literature, a five-line, 31-syllable poem that has historically been the basic form of Japanese poetry. The term tanka is synonymous with the term waka (q.v.), which more broadly denotes all traditional Japanese poetry in classical forms.
· HAIKU- unrhymed poetic form consisting of 17 syllables arranged in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively. The haiku first emerged in Japanese literature during the 17th century, as a terse reaction to elaborate poetic traditions, though it did not become known by the name haiku until the 19th century.
Examples of Haiku:
AUTUMN MOONLIGHT
a worm digs silently
into the chestnut.
Means “See a problem early so you may easily avoid it”.
Poetry and Love
will fill your heart forever
or rip it to shreds!
Means “the feelings may be depends on the content, not all stories ends with a smile, and not all stories ends with tears.”
The Thief Who Became a Disciple
Zen story
The Thief Who Became a Disciple" is about a man named Shichiri Kojun who was reciting sutras and a theif with a sharp sword entered. The theif told Shichiri to give him all his money, and Shichiri told him that he could take it, but leave him some so he could pay his taxes. The theif took half and thanked Shichiri for the money. The theif was caught, so Shichiri went to court and told the people that the theif didn't steal his money, he gave it to him as a gift. The theif still went to jail, but after he finished his prison term he became Shichiri disciple.
You don't have to steal to get what you want. all you have to do is ask for it.
Means “is about a man named Shichiri Kojun who was reciting sutras and a thief with a sharp sword entered. The thief still went to jail, but after he finished his prison term he became Shichiri disciple. You don’t have to steal to get what you want. All you have to do is ask for it.”
END!!!
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