A Brief

Introduction to
Japanese
Literature
Ancient Period [till 794 A.D.]
Kojiki, or Records of Ancient Matters (712)
Collection of myths and praise of the Imperial family
Manyoshu, or Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves
Spans 347 AD to 759 AD
Utilized earliest Japanese writing system, the manyogana
Tonight I am coming/To visit you in your dream,
And none will see and question me/Be sure to leave your door unlocked!
Kaifuso, or Fond Recollections of Poetry(751)
Oldest collection of Chinese poetry written by Japanese authors
Heian Period [794 1184]
The Tales of Ise
125 sections of tanka poetry and prose, attributed authorship to Ariwara no
Narihira
In former times when Narihira, having fallen ill, felt that he was going to
die, he wrote this poem:
That it is a road/Which some day we all travel
I had heard before,/Yet I never expected/To take it so soon
myself.
Kagero Nikki, or The Gossamer Years (974)
Diary of a noblewoman in 10th century Japan
Concerns her marriage, religious pilgrimages, and children

Murasaki Shikibus The Tale of Genji
Written in the early 11th century
Often considered the worlds first
novel/psychological novel
Tells the life of Hikaru Genji, his romances, and
aristocratic society
Notable translations by Arthur Waley,
Edward Seidensticker, and Royall Tyler

"The Tale of Genji in particular is the highest pinnacle of Japanese
literature. Even down to our day there has not been a piece of fiction to
compare with it." Yasunari Kawabata
Sei Shonagons The Pillow Book
Sei Shonagon was a contemporary and rival of Lady Murasaki
Includes anecdotes, character sketches, lists, diary entries, conversations,
poetry, etc.
From Hateful Things
One is just about to be told some interesting piece of news when a baby starts crying.
I cannot stand people who leave without closing the panel behind them.
Ladies-in-waiting who want to know everything that is going on.
From Pleasing Things
"Finding a large number of tales that one has not read before. Or acquiring the
second volume of a tale whose first volume one has enjoyed. But often it is a
disappointment."


Kamakura Period [1185 1333]
Kamo no Chomeis Hojoki (1212)
Chronicles late 12 century disasters in Kyoto famine, fire,
earthquakes



The Tale of the Heike
Chronicles late 12th century struggle between the Genji and Heike
families
Episodic; compiled from numerous oral sources
People die
and are born-
whence they come
and where they go,
I do not know.
Muromachi Period [1333 1600]
Noh theatre Zeami and Aesthetics
Yoshida Kenkos Essays in Idleness
A more melancholy Pillow Book
Essays on moral opinions, aesthetic tastes, and
memoirs
What a strange, demented feeling it gives me when I
realize I have spent whole days before this inkstone,
with nothing better to do, jotting down at random
whatever nonsensical thoughts that have entered my
head.
Tokugawa Period [1600 1868]
Ihara Saikaku
Speed haiku: 4,000 verses in one day, Saikaku Many Verses
Vernacular fiction, mostly amorous tales
Ueda Akinaris Tales of Moonlight and Rain
Alludes to both Chinese and Japanese classics/myth
Matsuo Basho
furu ike ya / kawazu tobikomu / mizu no otoan - ancient pond / a frog jumps in / the splash of water
Chikamatsu Monzaemon
Prolific writer of bunraku (puppet theatre) and kabuki plays
Wrote of tragedies involving ordinary people; The Love Suicides at Amijima
Taisho Period [1912 - 1926]
Ryunosuke Akutagawa [1892 1927]
In a Grove
The Nose
Shiga Naoya [1883 1971]
A Dark Nights Passing
Junichiro Tanizaki [1886 1965]
Naomi
The Makioka Sisters



Showa Period [1926-1989]
Yasunari Kawabata [1899-1972]
- Snow Country
Osamu Dazai [1909 1948]
- No Longer Human
Yukio Mishima [1925-1970]
- The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
Kobo Abe [1924 1993]
- Woman in the Dunes
Kenzaburo Oe [1935 - ]
- A Personal Matter