Japanese Literature
The Japanese were greatly influenced by China from ancient times. They used Chinese as their written
language for many centuries. Not until the 9th century did the Japanese develop a writing system of their
own. This system is one of the most complicated in the world. It is based on a combination of Chinese
characters (adapted to Japanese words) and kana. Kana are symbols used to represent the basic sounds
(syllables) of the Japanese language.
The Japanese language is structurally very different from Chinese. But it has borrowed many Chinese words.
So an educated Japanese person can understand Chinese well enough to get an idea of what is being said,
even with no formal instruction in Chinese. For more information on the Japanese language, see the article
Japan.
The Japanese developed literary forms and traditions different from those of China. However, they were
influenced by Chinese literature until the modern age. The modern age is usually thought of as beginning in
1868 with the period known as the Meiji Restoration.
Poetry
The history of Japanese literature begins with poetry put into writing in the 700's. This was when the
Emperor's court was located in the city of Nara. The Japanese preference for short poems was evident even
from this early period. Japan's first poetry collection, the Man'yoshu (Ten Thousand Leaves), was compiled
about the mid-700's. Most of its 4,500 poems are written in the tanka, or "short poem," form. A tanka has
only five lines and a total of 31 syllables. (The structure of Japanese poetry is based on syllable count rather
than on accent or rhyme.)
The classical tradition of court poetry, centered on the tanka, reached its high point during the Heian period
(794–1185). This was when the royal court was located at Heian (present-day Kyoto). Court poets used the
tanka mainly to express their feelings about love and the beauty of nature. Because of the brief length of the
tanka, poets relied on the power of suggestion and tried to achieve many layers of meaning in their verses.
From the late 1100's to the late 1500's, "linked verse" gradually replaced the tanka as the main form of
poetry. This was when the samurai, or warrior, class ruled Japan. Linked verse was created by dividing the
five lines of the tanka into two units, or "links," of three lines and two lines. Without preparing in advance,
poets joined in groups of three or more to compose. Each, in turn, composed a link of poetry, alternating
three-line and two-line links. Each link had to be related in some way to the one just before it. These jointly
written poems often extended to 100 or even 1,000 links. Linked verse was greatly influenced by the
traditions of earlier court poetry. But it also dealt with more earthy, everyday subjects. And it was composed
by people from all classes of society, not just court poets.
The last major form of poetry that developed in pre-modern Japan was the haiku. Haiku was a product of the
merchant culture that flourished in the cities during the peaceful and prosperous Tokugawa period (1600–
1867). This was when Japan was ruled by the military government of the Tokugawa family. Haiku is
probably the shortest form of poetry ever used for serious purposes. It consists of only three lines and a total
of 17 syllables. This is the same structure as the first three lines of the tanka and the first link of linked verse.
Like the tanka poets, writers of haiku often use the form to express their feelings about nature. And they try
to suggest more than can be said in three brief lines. Unlike tanka and linked verse, haiku remains
enormously popular among the Japanese.
Prose
Prose literature first evolved in Japan during the 800's and 900's. From the beginning it was closely linked to
poetry. In fact, the oldest examples of Japanese prose writing are explanatory introductions to poems.
The masterpiece of Japanese prose literature is The Tale of Genji. It is a lengthy novel written in the early
1000's by Lady Murasaki, a lady-in-waiting at the royal court. In recounting the adventures of its hero, Genji,
the novel brings to life Japanese court society in Kyoto during its most brilliant period. The Tale of Genji has
had a powerful influence on the thinking and taste of later Japanese writers.
Despite the example of The Tale of Genji, the Japanese of pre-modern times much preferred briefer forms of
prose. These included diaries and collections of stories, essays, and the like. Even long works of prose tend to
have very loosely constructed plots. One famous example is The Tale of the Heike. It is a "war tale" that tells
of the fighting between two great warrior clans in the 1100's. The same is true of later works, such as the
writings of Ihara Saikaku, who recorded the way of life of the merchant class of the late 1600's. Saikaku's
books are sometimes called novels. But they are more like series of loosely connected stories. They have
little of the character development found in Genji or in modern novels.
In modern times (after 1868), the most important form of literature in Japan has been the novel. In
developing the novel, Japanese writers of the late 1800's and 1900's centuries were greatly influenced by the
literature of Western countries, including France, England, Russia, Germany, and the United States. Today,
Japanese novels have been translated into many languages and are widely admired. The modern Japanese
novel gained special recognition in 1968, when Kawabata Yasunari won the Nobel Prize for literature.
Theater
Some of the best Japanese literature has been written for the theater. The first major form of Japanese
theater was the Nō or "ability," theater. It was created in the late 1300's and early 1400's, largely by Kan'ami
and his son Zeami. They were actors and playwrights who were supported by the warrior rulers of that age.
Centered on dancing, the Nō is extremely slow-moving and symbolic. The most popular Nō plays deal with
events and legends from the past. They are often concerned with the quest for Buddhist salvation or
enlightenment. The richest literary passages of a Nō play are written in the language of classical court poetry.
The second major form of theater in Japanese history is Bunraku, or puppet theater. Like haiku poetry and
the prose of Ihara Saikaku, Bunraku was a product of the merchant culture of the Tokugawa period. The
puppet theater's greatest playwright was Chikamatsu Monzaemon, who flourished in the early 18th century.
Perhaps best known among Chikamatsu's plays are those that deal with the double suicide of lovers torn
between their human feelings and the rigid demands of society.
The Kabuki theater was also created during the Tokugawa period. In Kabuki, however, scripts merely
provide guidelines for actors and do not have the same literary value as the scripts of the puppet theater.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------How to cite this article:
MLA (Modern Language Association) style:
Varley, Paul. "Japanese Literature." The New Book of Knowledge. Grolier Online, 2013. Web. 9 Apr. 2013.