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PERIOD
L
PERIOD
EDO ERA
WESTERN
INFLUENC
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POSTWAR
LITERATU
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HEIAN PERIOD
• In Japanese history, the period between 794 and 1185,
named for the location of the imperial capital, which was
moved from Nara to Heian-kyō (Kyōto) in 794.
• The Japanese had imported many things from China in the
few preceding centuries — Buddhism, Confucianism, poetry
(and the language, Chinese, in which poems were
recorded), art techniques, methods of organizing
government, even the plan for the city of Heian-kyô itself.
HEIAN PERIOD
• The aristocrats who lived in Kyôto considered poetry, music, and
indeed all the arts to be the most important human
accomplishments.
• They included aesthetic skills we rarely think of now, such as
mixing incense to make the most beautiful fragrances.
• Lovers courted each other with poetry, often written in the form
of waka or tanka, and affairs succeeded or failed according to the
sensitivity of the poems and the beauty of the writer's
handwriting (calligraphy).
WAKA
• In his travel journal Tosa Nikki [Tosa diary] (936), the poet Ki no
Tsurayuki assumed a female persona in order to write in
Japanese.
• Much Heian literature of note was written by aristocratic
women, foremost among whom was Murasaki Shikibu (Lady
Murasaki). Her Genji monogatari [tale of Genji] (early 11th
cent.) is ranked with the world's greatest novels.
HEIAN PERIOD
• Sei Shonagon, another contemporary court lady, wrote
Makura no soshi [the pillow book], a compilation of
miscellaneous notes and reflections that provides an
excellent portrait of Heian aristocratic life, with its
emphasis on elegance—always an important element of
the Japanese aesthetic.
• Ki no Tsurayuki was the leading spirit in the compilation of
the Kokinwakashu [collection of ancient and modern
verse], the first imperial anthology of Japanese poetry.
HEIAN PERIOD
• The Japanese have always esteemed poetry as
the highest of literary arts, and poets
regarded inclusion in a poetry anthology as a
supreme honor.
EXAMP
LES
L
PERIOD
L
PERIOD
OF JAPANESE LITERATURE
ANY IDEA?
MEDIEVAL PERIOD
In the subsequent medieval period (c.1200–1600), themes and
concerns central to the newly ascendant warrior class took
expression in such works as the Heike monogatari [tale of the
Heike], an epic account of the struggle between two great clans
that ended the Heian period.
MEDIEVAL PERIOD
• Medieval poetry and prose is colored by Buddhist
thought.
• Buddhist tale literature, ranging from collections of
short didactic lessons to lengthy narratives, was
also widely produced.
MEDIEVAL PERIOD