Early works of Japanese literature were heavily
influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written
in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the
diffusion of Buddhism in Japan. Eventually, Japanese literature developed into
a separate style in its own right as Japanese writers began writing their own
works about Japan, although the influence of Chinese literature and Classical
Chinese remained until the end of the Edo period. Since Japan reopened its
ports to Western trading and diplomacy in the 19th century, Western and Eastern
literature have strongly affected each other and continue to do so.
Nara Period (710-794)
Japanese literature traces its beginnings to oral
traditions that were first recorded in written form in the early eighth century
after a writing system was introduced from China. The Kojiki (Record of
Ancient Matters) and Nihon shoki (Chronicle of Japan) were completed
in 712 and 720, respectively, as government projects. The former is an
anthology of myths, legends, and other stories, while the latter is a
chronological record of history. The Fudoki (Records of Wind and Earth),
compiled by provincial officials beginning in 713, describe the history,
geography, products, and folklore of the various provinces.
The most brilliant literary product of this period was the Man'yoshu (Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves), an anthology of 4,500 poems composed by people ranging from unknown commoners to emperors and compiled around 759. Already emerging was a verse form comprising 31 syllables (5-7-5-7-7) known as tanka. In 905 the Kokin wakashu or Kokinshu (Collection of Poems from Ancient and Modern Times) was published as the first poetry anthology commissioned by an emperor; its preface paid high tribute to the vast possibilities of literature.
Kamakura-Muromachi Period (1185-1573)
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 (The Tale of the Heike), which depicts the rise and fall of the Taira with the spotlight on their wars with the Minamoto clan (Genji), was completed in the first half of the thirteenth century [before 1219]. It is a grand epic deeply rooted in Buddhist ethics and filled with sorrow for those who perished, colorful descriptions of its varied characters, and stirring battle scenes. In former times the tale was narrated to the accompaniment of a Japanese lute. The Shin kokin wakashu (New Collection of Poems from Ancient and Modern Times), an anthology of poetry commissioned by retired Emperor Go-Toba, was also completed around this time [ca 1205?]; it is dedicated to the pursuit of a subtle, profound beauty far removed from the mundane reality of civil strife.
This period also produced literature by recluses, typified by Kamo Chōmei's Hojoki (An Account of My Hut) [1212], which reflects on the uncertainty of existence, and Yoshida Kenko 's Tsurezuregusa (Essays in Idleness) [ca 1330], a work marked by penetrating reflections on life. Both works raise the question of spiritual salvation. Meanwhile, the profound thoughts and incisive logic of the Shobo Genzo (Treasury of the True Dharma Eye) [before 1237], one of the first Buddhist texts written in Japanese rather than Chinese, marked a major development in Zen thought. The Taiheiki (Chronicle of the Great Peace), depicting the 50 years from 1318 to 1367 when two rival imperial courts struggled for power, is a valuable historical record, while the noh plays perfected by Kan'ami and his son Zeami are of great literary value. Zeami 's Fushi kaden (The Transmission of the Flower of Acting Style) [1400] also known as the Kaden sho), “flower” representing the freshness and appropriateness of fine acting. It is a brilliant essay on dramatic art.
Edo Period (1603-1868)
Around this time the function of literature as a means of social intercourse broadened. Composing renga meaning "linked poem" (successive linked verses by several people forming a long poem) became a favorite pastime, and this gave birth to haikai (a sort of jocular renga) in the sixteenth century. It was the renowned seventeenth century poet Matsuo Basho who perfected a new condensed poetic form of 17 syllables (5-7-5) known as haiku, an embodiment of elegant simplicity and tranquility.
In the Genroku era (1688-1704) city-dwelling artisans and merchants became the main supporters of literature, and professional artists began to appear. Two giants emerged in the field of prose: Ihara Saikaku, who realistically portrayed the life of Osaka merchants, and Chikamatsu Monzaemon, who wrote joruri, a form of storytelling involving chanted lines, and kabuki plays. He is credited with more than 100 plays, most of which were written as jōruri dramas, performed by puppets. He was the first author of jōruri to write works that not only gave the puppet operator the opportunity to display his skill but also were of considerable literary merit. These writers brought about a great flowering of literature. Later Yosa Buson composed superb haiku depicting nature, while fiction writer Ueda Akinari produced a collection of gothic stories called Ugetsu monogatari (Tales of Moonlight and Rain) [1776].
Meiji Period (1868-1912)
In the Meiji era (1868-1912) unification of the written and spoken language was advocated, and Futabatei Shimei 's Ukigumo (Drifting Clouds) [1887] won acclaim as a new form of novel. In poetry circles the influence of translated foreign poems led to a "new style" poetry movement, and the scope of literary forms continued to widen. Novelists Mori Ogai and Natsume Soseki studied in Germany and Britain, respectively, and their works reflect the influence of the literature of those countries. Soseki nurtured many talented literary figures. One of them, Akutagawa Ryunosuke, wrote many superb novelettes based on his detailed knowledge of the Japanese classics. His suicide in 1927 was seen as a symbol of the agony Japan was experiencing in the process of rapid modernization, a major theme of modern Japanese literature.
Naturalism as advocated by Emile Zola dominated Japan's literary world for the first decade of the twentieth century. This school of literature, as represented by Shimazaki Toson, is noted for the "I novel" a style of novel typical of Japan. A number of pre-World War II literary currents, such as proletarian literature and neo-sensualism, petered out during the war but later regained strength, generating a diverse range of works.
In 1968 Kawabata Yasunari became the first Japanese to win the Nobel Prize for literature, and Oe Kenzaburo won it in 1994. They and other contemporary writers, such as Tanizaki Jun'ichiro, Mishima Yukio, Abe Kobo, and Inoue Yasushi, have been translated into other languages. In the last few years works by the remarkably active postwar-generation writers Murakami Ryu (who won the Akutagawa Prize), Murakami Haruki, Yoshimoto Banana, and others have also been translated into many languages and have gained tremendous popularity.
Taishō Period (1912-1926)
The intellectual aestheticism of Akutagawa Ryūnosuke and decadence of Tanizaki Jun'ichirō characterize this short period, as do (toward its end) the introduction of elements of Western literary modernism in the early work of Yokomitsu Riichi and Kawabata Yasunari, along with the first stirrings of proletarian literature. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 is sometimes taken as a major cultural divide in this process.
Shōwa (1926-1989), Heisei (1989-2019), and Reiwa (2019- ) Period
Proletarian literature was the chief literary movement of the 1920s, supplemented by the uniquely Japanese genre of autobiographical fiction known as the "I novel" (watakushi shōsetsu or shishōsetsu). Government suppression of proletarian literature in the 1930s was attended by the publication of "conversion" (tenkō) novels by writers compelled to renounce their communist ideals. The subsequent patriotic writings of the war years have largely been forgotten. The end of the war witnessed a resurgent cosmopolitanism that has resulted in a striking literary diversity and has led to a reassessment of the way in which tradition and modernity can be said to contribute to the Japanese sense of identity. This process of reevaluation can be seen in the choice of the two postwar Japanese winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature: Kawabata Yasunari (1968), who titled his acceptance speech "Japan the Beautiful and Myself," and Ōe Kenzaburō (1994), who in deliberate contrast chose the title "Japan the Ambiguous and Myself."
The situation since the 1980s has been characterized by an ever-increasing diversity, with the "postmodernism" of Murakami Haruki often being one of the last topics mentioned in recent general surveys. This means, in other words, that "accepted" literary history has not really caught up with developments since the late Shōwa period. But any future account of Heisei -- and now Reiwa -- literature will surely have to take note not only of growing categorical fragmentation and diversity but also of the profusion of visually oriented and non-print media (manga, anime, streaming, gaming) that is currently working to reshape the very definition of "literature."
Reference:
Japanese Literature. (n.d.). Scribd. https://www.scribd.com/document/377533648/Japanese-Literature
Japanese Literary History. (n.d.). https://www.jlit.net/reference/literary-history/index.html#:~:text=J%C5%8Ddai%20covers%20Japanese%20literary%20history,%2DMomoyama%20(1573%2D1600)
Kanzaki, M. (2004, March 24). Introduction to history of Japan’s Literature. https://www.kanzaki.com/jinfo/jliterature.html
Keene, D. (1998, July 20). Chikamatsu Monzaemon | Japanese playwright, puppet theater pioneer. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chikamatsu-Monzaemon
Fūshi kaden | work by Zeami Motokiyo. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fushi-kaden
Academy of American Poets. (n.d.). Renga. Poets.org. https://poets.org/glossary/renga#:~:text=A%20renga%20is%20a%20form,with%20seven%20syllables%20per%20line.
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