978 - 1 - 107 - 02903 - 3 - The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature

This book is organized according to the major periods of Japanese history – ancient (up to 794), Heian (794–1185), medieval (1185–1600), early modern or Edo (1600–1867), and modern (1868–present). Each part begins with a brief historical overview, followed by short essays on major genres, texts, and authors. A number of the traditional genres – such as waka (classical Japanese poetry), kanshi (classical Chinese poetry), monogatari (tale literature), setsuwa (anecdotal literature), and gunki-mono (warrior narratives) – span multiple periods, so some entries cover a time-span beyond the section in which they appear. As a literary history, this book attempts to cover the so-called masterpieces of Japanese literature – from The Tale of Genji and The Tales of the Heike to such major modern authors as Natsume Sōseki – and to provide a balanced view of key genres and themes. At the same time, it is also intended to shed light on many genres that have been overlooked in the modern conception of Japanese literature, examining them from a perspective not limited to European notions of literary history. Japan has one of the richest and most complex literary traditions in the world, and defining and describing it is difficult. Indeed, it is only in recent decades, as popular genres and the enormous tradition of Literary Sinitic or Sino-Japanese (kanbun) writings have received renewed attention alongside better-studied materials, that the full complexity and variety of the Japanese literary heritage has come into view. The modern term for “Japanese literature” (Nihon bungaku) came to mean literature written in the “Japanese” language, using the native writing system based on kana (hiragana and katakana), a vernacular syllabary developed in the ancient period and in fairly common use by the ninth century. Such a definition, taken to its logical conclusion, extends beyond Japan’s present borders and would include writing in Japanese by Koreans or Taiwanese during the long periods of Japanese occupation in the twentieth century or by early Japanese immigrants to California or Brazil.