Japanese Literature

Japanese Literature Japanese Literature Japanese literature reveals a lot of influence b y the Chinese literature from the ancient period all the way to the Edo  period (1603-1868 (1603-1868 which corresponds to to the early modern Japanese literature! literature! Japanese literary wor"s also also reveal elements of #ndian and later of $estern elements but above all% they reveal a distinct style which has also &reatly influenced both Eastern and $estern $estern literatures!

Japanese literature is typically divided into four periods:

Ancient Literature (until 794) 'he earliest Japanese literary wor"s date to the 8th century and mostly deal with Japanese le&ends and myths! 'he finest eample is )o*i"i which his thou&ht to be written by + no ,asumaro ,asumaro in the early 8th century! century! +ther notable wor"s durin& the ancient period include ihon .ho"i (/0 which has been shown to be partly based on real historical events and an2yoshu (/4 which is the oldest eample of Japanese poetry!

Classical Literature (794-1185) 5urin& the eian period that followed the ara period (ancient period% the Japanese literature reached its &olden a&e! 7 Japanese noblewoman and lady-in-waitin& urasa"i .hi"ibu wrote the 'ale of en*i (en*i ono&atari% early 11th century which is considered the world2s first first novel% while the 10th century fol"-tale 'a"etori ono&atari is considered one of the first eamples of proto-science fiction! +ther notable wor"s and authors from the classical period include )o"in $a"ashu $a "ashu (c! 40% a"ura no .oshi by .ei .hona&on and )on*a"u ono&atarishu!

edieval Literature (1185-1!"#) edieval Japanese literature was &reatly influenced by civil wars and the emer&ence of the warrior class% resultin& in the rise of war tales! 7mon& the finest eamples of are the 'ale 'ale of the ei"e (ei"e ono&atari% late 1th century which deals with the stru&&le between the two powerful Japanese clans% o*o"i (11 by )amo no Chomei and 'sure9ure&usa (c!1330-133 by ,oshida )en"o! :esides war tales% the medieval period also saw the rise of the so-called ren&a% a &enre of Japanese poetry which is one of the most prominent literary arts in Japan before the modern period!

odern Literature (1!"#- ) odern Japanese literature is typically further divided into early modern and modern literature! 'he first period corresponds to the Edo period% while the second starts with the ei*i period (1868-141 when Japan opened to the $e $est st and entered the period of industrialisation! 'he early modern Japanese literature saw the rise of the many new &enres includin& "abu"i or Japanese dance-drama% hai"u (ho""u poetry and yomihon% a type of Japanese boo"s which% unli"e others in the Edo period such as "usa9oshi% put little emphasis on illustration! otable authors from the early modern period include #hara .ai"a"u% Jippensha #""u% 'o"aidochu i9a"uri&e% ;eda 7"inari and .anto )yoden! odern Japanese literature was mar"ed by the emer&ence of new styles includin& romanticism that was introduced by ori +&ai in the late 14th century and reached its hei&ht in the early 0th century!
'he .econd $orld $ar $ar has &reatly influenced post-war Japanese literature but soon% Japanese authors also started to deal with the problems of the modern society! Just li"e the $estern $estern authors% the contemporary c ontemporary Japanese authors cover *ust about all &enres and sub*ects! :ut despite the influence of &lobalisation% Japanese literature has mana&ed to retain its distinct style as well as remained a b reedin& &round for new literary forms! +ne of the best eamples are the man&a comic boo"s which have also achieved a ma*or success on the international boo" mar"et! .ome of the most prominent modern Japanese authors include= 'oson .hima9a"i% )afu a&ai% 'a"i*i )obayashi% 5en*i )uroshima% ,asunari ,asunari )awabata% +samu 5a9ai% obuo )o*ima% )obi 7be and aru"i ura"ami to mention only a few!