A PA

LITERATURE
J SE N
E
Prepared By :
San Pedro, Jessica
Traje, Ericson
 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 thought

Taiheiki (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 Present
In 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 Japan

Nihongi (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