Japan

JAPAN

NARA PERIOD (GOLDEN AGE OF JAPANESE COURT POETRY)

KOJIKI (Records of Ancient Matters, 712 A -"Records of Ancient Matters" or "An Account of Ancient Matters"), also sometimes read as Furukotofumi, is the oldest extant chronicle in Japan, dating from the early 8th century (711–712) and composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Genmei with the purpose of sanctifying the imperial court's claims to supremacy over rival clans. The Kojiki is a collection of myths, early legends, songs, genealogies, oral traditions and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, and the Kami (神). The myths contained in the Kojiki as well as the Nihon Shoki (日本書紀) are part of the inspiration behind many practices. Later, the myths were re-appropriated for Shinto practices such as the misogi purification ritual.

NIHON SHOKI

• -also called Nihon-gi, (Japanese: “Chronicles of Japan”), text that, together with the Kojiki(q.v.), comprises the oldest official history of Japan, covering the period from its mythical origins to AD697. • The Nihon shoki, written in Chinese, reflects the influence of Chinese civilization on Japan. It was compiled in 720 by order of the imperial court to give the newly Sinicized court a history that could be compared with the annals of the Chinese. It was the first of six officially compiled chronicles that were continued to 887 by imperial command. • The Nihon shoki consists of 30 chapters. The first part deals with many myths and legends of ancient Japan and is an important source for Shintō thought. The later chapters, for the period from about the 5th century on, are historically more accurate and contain records of several of the politically powerful clans as well as of the imperial family. Among the events described are the introduction of Buddhism and the Taika reforms of the 7th century.

HEIAN • in Japanese history, the period between 794 and 1185, named for the location of the imperial capital, which was moved from Nara to Heian-kyō (Kyōto) in 794. The Chinese pattern of centralized government that was first adopted in the Nara period (710–784) gradually changed as the growth of private estates (shōen), exempt from taxation, encroached upon the public domain and reduced the substance of state administration. From the mid-9th century the court was dominated by members of the Fujiwara family, who controlled the imperial line as regents by marrying their daughters to imperial heirs. Their influence reached its peak under Fujiwara Michinaga, who dominated the court from 995 to 1027, but then declined as a succession of nonFujiwara emperors came to power. A new centre of authority emerged in 1086 when Emperor Shirakawa retired early and established a cloistered regime (insei) to rule behind the throne, a system continued sporadically by later emperors.

THE PILLOW BOOK • The Pillow Book (枕草子 Makura no Sōshi) is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Empress Consort Teishi ( 定子) during the 990s and early 1000s in Heian Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002. • The work of Shōnagon consists of a collection of essays, anecdotes, poems, and descriptive passages that have little connection to one another except for the fact that they are ideas and whims of what Shōnagon was thinking of in any given moment in her daily life. In it she included lists of all kinds, personal thoughts, interesting events in court, poetry, and some opinions on her contemporaries. While it is mostly a personal work, Shōnagon's writing and poetic skill makes it interesting as a work of literature, and it is valuable as a historical document. Shōnagon’s writing in The Pillow Book was originally meant for her eyes only, but part of it was revealed to the Court by accident during her life; this occurred “when she inadvertently left it [her writing] on a cushion she put out for a visiting guest, who eagerly carried it off despite her pleas." [1] She wrote The Pillow Book as a private endeavor of enjoyment for herself; it seemed to be a way for her to express her inner thoughts and feelings that she was not allowed to state publicly due to her lower standing position in the court. Shōnagon never intended for her work to be viewed by an audience or to be read by eyes other than her own, although this was not the case, considering her work has become a famous piece in most of literature throughout the centuries. The book was first translated into English in 1889 by T. Purcell and W. G. Aston. Other notable English translations were by Arthur Waley in 1928, Ivan Morris in 1967, and Meredith McKinney in 2006.

THE TALE OF GENJI • The Tale of Genji (源氏物語 Genji monogatari) is a classic work of Japanese literature written by the noblewoman and lady-in-waitingMurasaki Shikibu in the early years of the 11th century. The original manuscript no longer exists. It was made in "concertina" or "orihon" style[1]: several sheets of paper pasted together and folded alternately in one direction then the other, around the peak of the Heian period. The work is a unique depiction of the lifestyles of high courtiers during the Heian period, written in archaic language and a poetic and confusing style that make it unreadable to the average Japanese without dedicated study.[2] It was not until the early 20th century that Genji was translated into modern Japanese, by the poet Akiko Yosano. The first English translation was attempted in 1882, but was of poor quality and incomplete. • The work recounts the life of Hikaru Genji, or "Shining Genji", the son of an ancient Japanese emperor, known to readers as Emperor Kiritsubo, and a lowranking concubine called Kiritsubo Consort. For political reasons, the emperor removes Genji from the line of succession, demoting him to a commoner by giving him the surname Minamoto, and he pursues a career as an imperial officer. The tale concentrates on Genji's romantic life and describes the customs of the aristocratic society of the time. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first psychological novel or the first novel still to be considered a classic. While regarded as a masterpiece, its precise classification and influence in both the Western and Eastern canons has been a matter of debate.

MEIJI PERIOD • The Meiji period (明治時代 Meiji-jidai), or Meiji era, is an era of Japanese history which extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.[1] This era represents the first half of the Empire of Japan, during which period the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonisation by European powers to the new paradigm of a modern, industrialised nationstateand emergent great power influenced by Western scientific, technological, philosophical, political, legal, and aesthetic ideas. As a result of such wholesale adoption of radically-different ideas the changes to Japan were profound, and affected its social structure, internal politics, economy, military, and foreign relations. The period corresponded to the reign of Emperor Meiji and was succeeded upon the accession of Emperor Taishō by the Taishō period.

THE TALE OF HAIKE

THE TALE OF HAIKE • The Tale of the Heike (平家物語 Heike Monogatari) is an epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). Heike (平家) refers to the Taira ( 平), heibeing an alternate reading of the first kanji. Note that in the title of the Genpei War, "hei" is in this combination read as "pei" and the "gen" ( 源) is the first kanji used in the Minamoto (also known as "Genji") clan's name. The Tale of Heike is often likened to a Japanese Iliad. • It has been translated into English at least five times, the first by Arthur Lindsay Sadler in 1918–1921.[1] A complete translation in nearly 800 pages by Hiroshi Kitagawa & Bruce T. Tsuchida was published in 1975. Also translated by Helen McCullough in 1988. An abridged translation by Burton Watson was published in 2006. In 2012, Royall Tyler completed his translation, which seeks to be mindful of the performance style for which the work was originally intended. • It was famously retold in Japanese prose by historical novelist Eiji Yoshikawa, published in Asahi Weekly in 1950 with the title New Tale of the Heike (Shin Heike Monogatari).

ESSAYS IN IDLEESS • Tsurezuregusa (徒然草, Essays in Idleness, also known as The Harvest of Leisure) is a collection of essays written by the Japanese monk Yoshida Kenkō between 1330 and 1332. The work is widely considered a gem of medieval Japanese literature and one of the three representative works of the zuihitsu[1] genre, along with Makura no Sōshi and the Hōjōki.

TOKUGAWA • Tokugawa period, also called Edo period, (1603–1867), the final period of traditional Japan, a time of internal peace, political stability, and economic growth under the shogunate (military dictatorship) founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu. As shogun, Ieyasu achieved hegemony over the entire country by balancing the power of potentially hostile domains (tozama) with strategically placed allies (fudai) and collateral houses (shimpan). As a further strategy of control, beginning in 1635, Ieyasu’s successor required the domainal lords, or daimyo, to maintain households in the Tokugawa administrative capital of Edo (modern Tokyo) and reside there for several months every other year. The resulting system of semi-autonomous domains directed by the central authority of the Tokugawa shogunatelasted for more than 250 years.

KAI OI • The Seashell Game (貝おほひ Kai Ōi) is a 1672 anthology compiled by Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō, in which each haiku is followed by critical commentary he made as referee for a haiku contest.[1] It is Bashō's earliest known book, and the only book he published in his own name.[2][3] The work contains 60 haiku by 36 poets, including two by Bashō himself.[4] • The format is based on a children's game where two seashells were placed side by side and compared. Bashō compares pairs of haiku by different authors in the same manner in the book. According to scholar Sam Hamill, The Seashell Game shows Bashō "to be witty, deeply knowledgeable, and rather light-hearted."[5]

OKU NO HSOMICHI • Oku no Hosomichi (奥の細道, originally おくのほそ道, meaning "Narrow road to/of the interior"), translated alternately as The Narrow Road to the Deep North and The Narrow Road to the Interior, is a major work of haibun by the Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō, considered one of the major texts of Japanese literature of the Edo period.[1] • The text is written in the form of a prose and verse travel diary and was penned as Bashō made an epic and dangerous journey on foot through the Edo Japan of the late 17th century. While the poetic work became seminal of its own account, the poet's travels in the text have since inspired many people to follow in his footsteps and trace his journey for themselves. In one of its most memorable passages, Bashō suggests that "every day is a journey, and the journey itself home".[2] The text was also influenced by the works of Du Fu, who was highly revered by Bashō.[3] • Of Oku no Hosomichi, Kenji Miyazawa once suggested, "It was as if the very soul of Japan had itself written it."[4]

20TH CENTURY PRESENT • By the end of the Meiji Period (1868-1912), Japan was a considerable power in Asia. And following its participation during the short Taisho Period (19121926) in the First World War, under the AngloJapanese Alliance of 1902, it was recognized as one of the world's great powers. But following the World War and the Russian Revolution, the world was undergoing great turmoil. As if to mirror this, Japan suffered the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 in which 140,000 people were killed or missing. This was followed by the succession of the Emperor Hirohito (Showa) and his Showa Period (1926-1989).

• Yasunari kawabata • (川端 康成 Kawabata Yasunari, 11 June 1899 – 16 April

1972) was a Japanese novelist and short story writer whose spare, lyrical, subtly-shaded prose works won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968, the first Japanese author to receive the award. His works have enjoyed broad international appeal and are still widely read.

• Ryunosuke akugawa • (芥川 龍之介 Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, 1 March 1892 – 24 July 1927) , art name Chōkōdō Shujin (澄江堂主人) was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "Father of the Japanese short story" and Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him. He committed suicide at the age of 35 through an overdose of barbital.

TANKA - Is composed of five lines of 31 syllables (5,7,5,7,7 syllables on each line)

CHOKA • - is a narrative poem alternating five and seven syllable lines; some Choka have 150 lines.