Japanese Literature and Poetry

Stop what you’re thinking. Although the topic may be of “Literature” which some people might not be so hyped up to read about, this is Japanese literature and you may be surprised to find an interesting fact or two – or your money back guarantee – just kidding, no refunds. If that were to be the case perhaps a Haiku or two might change your mind. In the Edo period, it was the renowned seventeenth century poet Matsou Basho who perfected a new condensed poetic form of 17 syllables (5-7-5) known as haiku, an embodiment of elegant simplicity and tranquillity.

At a time when Japan had no written language, Chinese literature was introduced. Early work was heavily influenced by Chinese literature, but Japan quickly developed a style and quality of its own. Japanese literature consists of almost two millennia (two thousand years) worth of scriptures - however vague the first millennium might have been. It is the body of written works produced by Japanese authors which is regarded as one of the major literatures of the world, comparable in age, richness, and volume to English literature.

A rich collection of folklore derived in a rural village named Tono had transcribed the oral tradition into a collated book in the early nineteenth century involving legends of spirits, animals and supernatural creatures – the book was dubbed the ‘Legends of Tono’. Story telling performances (in Japanese) at these folk villages, museums and at some of the hotels around town illustrate the wonderful inner working of this special folklore. Unfortunately the oral nature of the early seventh century poetry meant that it couldn’t be transcribed and almost entirely lost.   

After the renaming of the city of Edo to Tokyo, Emperor Meiji would seek knowledge from the entire world. The Kojiki (record of Ancient Matters: myths, legends, and other stories,) and Nihon shoki (chronological record of history) were completed in 712 and 720, respectively, as government projects. Man'yoshu (Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves), an anthology of 4,500 poems composed by people ranging from unknown commoners to emperors.

For hours of reading and a complete knowledge-base on the topics visit these great sites:

• http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2110.html
• http://www.britannica.com/art/Japanese-literature
• http://www.gojapango.com/culture/japanese_literature.html
• http://www.tofugu.com/2014/08/05/a-crash-course-in-japanese-poetry/
• http://www.kanzaki.com/jinfo/jliterature.html
• http://www.gojapango.com/japanese_language/kanji.htm