Nara Period literature (710-794)

• Manga defines Japanese comic books
• Anime refers to Japanese cartoons
• Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry inspired by nature

History of Japanese Literature

Nara Period (710-794)

• Japanese literature started as oral traditions
• Writing these traditions began in the early 8th century
• This followed Japan's adaptation of a writing system from China

Key Works (Nara Period)

• 712: The Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) is an anthology of myths, legends, and other stories
• 720: Nihon shoki (Chronicles of Japan) provides a chronological record of history
• 713: The Fudoki (Records of Wind and Earth) details the history, geography, products, and folklore of various provinces
• Manyoshu (Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves) consists of 4,500 poems by commoners to emperors, compiled around 759
• The tanka, a verse form of 31 syllables (5-7-5-7-7), emerged during this period
• 905: The Kokinshu (Collection of Poems from Ancient and Modern Times), the first poetry anthology commissioned by an emperor, was published

Heian Period (794-1185)

• An aristocratic culture marked the early 11th century
• The hiragana alphabet, derived from Chinese characters, became widely used
• Court ladies played a vital role in developing Japanese literature

Notable Writers and Works (Heian Period)

• Murasaki Shikibu wrote Genji monogatari (Tale of Genji) around 1008
• Sei Shonagon penned Makura no soshi (The Pillow Books), a collection of notes and essays, around 996
• 1120: The Konjaku monogatari (Tales of a Time that Is Now Past) described the lives of nobles and commoners

Kamakura-Muromachi Period (1185-1573)

• Warriors of the Taira (Heike) clan gained political control in the late 12th century
• Heike monogatari (The Tale of Heike), completed before 1219, recounts the war between the Taira (Heike) and Minamoto (Genji) clans

Literature by recluses

• Yoshida Kenko's Tsurezuregusa (Essays in Idleness), written around 1330, are known for reflections on life
• The Taiheiki (Chronicle of the Great Peace) portrays the 50 years of power struggles (1318 to 1367) between rival imperial courts
• The Noh plays were refined by Kanami and his son Zeami
• Zeami wrote Fushikaden (The Transmission of the Flower of Acting Style), an essay on dramatic art, in 1400

Edo Period (1603-1868)

• Literature gained a broader role in social interaction

• Renga (linked verse writing) became a popular pastime

• Haikai, a humorous version, arose in the 16th century

• Haiku: Matsuo Basho (17th century) perfected the 17-syllable form (5-7-5), embodying simplicity and tranquility

Genruku era (1688-1704)

• Ihara Saikaku realistically portrayed the life of Osaka merchants
• Chikamatsu Monzaemon created joruri (chanted storytelling) and kabuki plays
• Yosa Buson composed haiku about nature
• 1776: Ueda Akinari wrote Ugetsu monogatari (Tales of Moonlight and Rain), gothic stories

Meiji Period to Present

• During the Meiji era (1868-1912), Japan unified written and spoken language
• 1887: Futabatei Shimei 's Ukigumo (Drifting Clouds) was acclaimed as a new form of novel
• A new style emerged and poetry scope widened with translated foreign poems
• Novelists Mori Ogai and Natsume Soseki, studied in Germany and Britain, wrote works reflecting those countries' literature
• Akutagawa Ryunosuke, a Soseki mentee, wrote novelettes
• In 1927, his suicide became a symbol of Japan's modernization

Nobel Prize Winners

• 1968: Kawabata Yasunari
• 1994: Oe Kenzaburo
• Other contemporary writers: Tanizaki Jun'ichiro, Mishima Yukio, Abe Kobo, and Inoue Yasushi
• Recent popular writers: Murakami Ryu, Murakami Haruki, Yoshimoto Banana