Before I begin the introduction to Japanese literature, I would like to ask you: What is Japanese literature?
You may know a lot about manga or anime. But I can well imagine that it is difficult to have a precise idea of Japanese literature.
When you look into this genre, you immediately realize that our literature, just like that of your country, is very complex and exciting.
So, to cut a long story short, let’s begin our journey into the world of Japanese written culture.
What is Japanese literature?
What is Japanese literature?1
We come back to the first question. When I am asked what Japanese literature is, I immediately answer: literature written in Japanese.
This may sound obvious, but this answer is still insufficient.
There are many authors like Tawada Yoko who write in both Japanese and other languages. If such authors write in a foreign language, are their works still Japanese literature?
And we also have to think about the tradition of Japanese literature.
Our writing culture has long been strongly influenced by Chinese culture and Kanbun (classical Chinese) or Kanshi (classical Chinese poetry) are the fruits of this Chinese influence.
The concept of Japanese literature cannot really be limited to the fact that it is written in Japanese. Kanbun and kanshi are also indispensable elements of Japanese literature.
Genre
Next, I would like to review three representative genres of Japanese literature: poetry, drama and novels.
Poetry
The art of poetry was perfected in Japan between the 9th and 11th centuries, when poetry had a special significance among the nobility.
Love at court was mainly expressed through poetry. Far from today’s sensibilities, it was taboo for court women to show their faces to anyone other than their authorised husbands.
Japanese poetry is characterised by a desire for perfection in every detail. It is also highly compressed in terms of meaning, so that even on a small scale it is possible to express the world within.
Two well-known forms of poetry are renga and haiku, which I would like to explain a little.
As the name suggests, renga (linked verse) is a single poem composed by several people taking turns to write it, while haiku is an independent poem that takes the first verse of a renga.
The haiku was born when the first stanza of the renga was made into an independent stanza.
In other words, renga was the original form of haiku. As haiku became more popular among the Japanese, renga seems to have received less attention.
Issa (1763-1827), one of the most famous Japanese poets, is said to have concentrated on writing haiku, not renga.
Drama
There are four main types of Japanese theatre: Noh, puppet theatre, Kabuki and Shingeki. Noh and puppet theatre are introduced here.
Noh was perfected by Kan’ami Kiyotsugu (1333-84) and his son Zeami Motokiyo (1363-1443) and revolves around the main character, Shite, and his partner, Waki.
One of the characteristics of Noh is the use of masks, called ‘Noh masks‘, and the music has a more solemn tone. The custom of performing Kyogen during the performance was then born.
With regard to puppet theatre, it is worth mentioning ‘Joruri‘. In ningyo joruri, a character called Tayu sings lyrics as a narrator, and a karakuri puppet performs to the accompaniment of a shamisen.
Compared to puppet theatre overseas, ningyo joruri in Japan was far more advanced and highly artistic. Japan’s greatest playwright, Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724), wrote all his famous stage works in the form of puppet plays.
Chikamatsu’s most famous work was Kokusenya Kassen (The Battle of Kokusei-ya), which attracted 240,000 spectators during its first 17-month run in Osaka. Considering that the population of Osaka at the time was around 300,000, this is an astonishing figure.
Novel
The novel, which has a long tradition, can trace its origins (if prose and a certain length are the requirements for a novel) to stories from around the 10th century.
The Ise Monogatari (Tales of Ise), probably written by Ariwara no Narihira and dating from the 10th century, consists of 125 episodes, each of which is centred on a poem. However, the prose of the tales lacks unity as there is no connection between the episodes.
Against this background, The Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji), written by Murasaki Shikibu (975?-1025?) around the year 1000, is a large work, but unlike Ise Monogatari and the early novel Utsuho Monogatari (The Tales of Utsuho), its structure is excellent.
The Tale of Genji, which recounts the love story of the beautiful Hikaru Genji and his life and those of his descendants, is set in a court showing signs of decadence, evoking the fleeting passage of time.
In the 17th century, after a period focused on warriors and warfare, Ihara Saikaku (1642-93) wrote Koshoku Ichidai Otoko (The Sensualist), which was well received. Kyokutei Bakin (1767-1848), who also translated Chinese novels and is known as the author of Nanso Satomi Hakkenden, should also be mentioned.
In the second half of the 19th century, Japanese novels began to be strongly influenced by the West. In his Shôsetsu Shinzui (The Essence of the Novel), Tsubouchi Shoyo (1859-1935) criticised the conventional state of Japanese literature and recommended a Western view of literature.
Conclusion
The genres of works we’ve explored so far fall within narrow historical periods, and the information provided for each is likely insufficient to form a concrete image of Japanese literature as a whole.
With the desire to create an introduction to the Japanese literature series, I’ve put together a brief overview here. For each genre, especially novels, I aim to write more detailed articles focusing on specific authors and time periods.
- Here, I will introduce Japanese literature with reference to the works of Donald Keene, a leading scholar in the field of Japanese literary studies. Specifically, I will draw upon his book Japanese Literature (translated by Ken’ichi Yoshida), published in 2020 by Chuokoron-Shinsha (Chuko Bunko). ↩︎
