Literature
Heian Literature 794-1185
The Heian Era was notable for the beginning of the great age of classical Japanese literature. One of the things that made this possible was the invention of a simplified system of characters built for the Japanese language.
In Heian times, writing that was considered important was in Chinese and was written for the bureaucracy. It was thought that women would have no use for Chinese writing, so they were not taught to write in Chinese. It is not surprising then that the most widely read Heian literature has been that of women, because they wrote in Japanese, which was much easier to read and understand.
In the court, the ladies were part of the palace intrigue. When Fujiwara no Michinaga placed his daughter Shōshi as a wife of Emperor Ichijo, he understood that she was in competition with other women. Therefore, Michinaga selected several women to help Shōshi have a very good retinue. In doing so, Michinaga also furthered Japanese literature. Two of the women he chose were the famous authors, Sei Shonagon and Murasaki Shikibu.
Shonagon wrote The Pillow Book. It is a collection of several witty essays on taste and court life.
Murasaki Shikibu was one of the few women who had learned Chinese. She came from a family steeped in literature and was an accomplished author when chosen by Michinaga. She wrote The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari), which is a novel of court intrigue, life, and manners. Prince Genji, the main character, exemplifies masculine perfection in physical appearance and behavior. It deals mainly with his many loves. It is considered the great masterpiece of Japanese literature. She also wrote a famous diary, The Diary of Murasaki Shikibu (Murasaki Shikibu Nikki) (978?-1015?), which is the chief source of information about her and is a vivid portrayal of court life at the height of Heian culture.
Also in Shōshi’s retinue was Izumi Shikibu, who was a great poet and wrote a famous diary, Izumi Shikibu Nikki and Akazone Emon, who was a lady in waiting not only for Michinaga’s wife, the author of A Tale of Flowering Fortunes.
Other famous works in the Fujiwara Era include Kagerō Nikki by the mother of Fujiwara no Michitsuna, a memoir of an unhappy marriage to a high-ranking court official.
Sugawara no Michizane (845 –903) is known because of visits to Kitano Tenman-gū where he is revered in Shinto as the god of learning, Tenman-Tenjin. Michizane was a scholar, poet, and politician. In literature, he was very well known for kanshi poetry (poetry in Chinese) and waka poetry. He published Kanke Bunsō, a compilation of his Chinese poems upon the suggestion of Emperor Daigo.
A famous book of epic poetry is Tales of Ise (Ise Monogatari). It is a tribute to the life and works of Ariwara Narihira, a poet who died in 880.
Kamakura Period Literature 1185-1333
Buddhism profoundly influenced the great classics of the Kamakura Period. The Tale of the Heike (Heike Monogatari) began with Buddhist symbols of a bell in India and ended with the tolling of a bell in Japan. Hōjōki (An Account of my Hut) explored the tension between the renunciation of the world and artistic pleasures. Setsuwa (Tales of Time Now Past), Shinokenshu (New Collection of Ancient and Modern Poetry), and Kokochomonjū (Stories Heard from Writers Old and New) were collections with many Buddhist themes.
The Tale of the Heike (Heike Monogatari) is an epic account of the Genpei War (1180–1185) compiled from a collection of oral stories told by monks for the repose of the souls of the Heike (Taira). The central theme is the Buddhist stress on the impermanence of life. The Heike’s great power and wealth proved to be impermanent for it vanished at the end. A second Buddhist theme developed in the epic is karma. Every action has consequences that are seen in another life.
Hōjōki (An Account of My Hut) by Kamo no Chōmei is a story about Chōmei’s life as a recluse and about the tension of the dichotomy of his desire to pursue artistic pursuits and his desire to renounce the world to seek salvation as a Buddhist monk.
Kamo no Chōmei (1153 or 1155–1216) was a Japanese author, waka poet, and essayist. In his forties, Chōmei enjoyed the patronage of the cloistered emperor Go-Toba, working at the court, when he decided to become a recluse. He left court society, took Buddhist vows, and built a small hut alongside a mountain, living alone.
In Hōjōki, Chōmei states that he was able to leave the world behind because he was not attached to society by marriage or offspring. He wrote about the various natural and social disasters he witnessed firsthand. He contrasted the chaos in the capital with his peaceful life. His careful depictions of the natural surroundings of his hut and of the natural and social disasters form a unique view of life during those days. Attention to nature and self-reflection characterize the genre known as recluse literature (sōan bungaku).
The emperor and his court set the standards of taste and culture of the era. After retirement (at age 18), Emperor Go-Toba devoted his time to calligraphy, painting, music, poetry, literature and criticism, and editing. Go-Toba’s great contribution to literature was in creating and editing the Shin Kokinshū (The New Anthology of Ancient and Modern Poems). The Shin Kokinshū is considered one of the three greatest anthologies of waka.
Shin Kokinshū covered a broad range of poetic ages and included ancient poems. It was significant for the technical expertise of the compilers, the extensive use of the honkadori technique, and its effects upon future Japanese poetry. By including some lesser poems (at Go-Toba’s insistence), it created a source to examine both good and poor poems. The linking format, honkadori technique, was continued and expanded later on by renga poetry (linked verse).
Lady Nijō (1258 – after 1307) wrote her memoir Towazugatari (“An Unasked-For Tale“, or The Confessions of Lady Nijō) that describes her life at court as a concubine of Emperor Go-Fukakusa from 1271 to 1283. Towazugatari begins when Nijō, aged 14, is given by her father to Go-Fukakusa as a concubine. It describes a complicated and difficult life. Go-Fukakusa’s consort, leading to her expulsion and becoming a traveling Buddhist nun. It ends in 1306 and nothing more is known of Nijō.
There were also compilations of setsuwa. Setsuwa (“spoken story”) is a genre consisting of myths, legends, folktales, and anecdotes. They are usually either general or Buddhist. Buddhist setsuwa have themes of karmic retribution or miracles. General setsuwa have secular or Shinto themes. Many setsuwa collections were made by Buddhist monks in the Heian and Kamakura periods such as Tales of Times Now Past and Kokonchomonjū (Stories Heard From Writers Old and New).
Muromachi Period: 1333-1600
During the Muromachi Period, literature continued to be heavily influenced by Buddhist themes, such as Essays in Idleness by Yoshida Kenkō (1284-1350) who was a Buddhist monk living as a hermit. It is a collection of nostalgic essays on the beauty of nature, the transience of life, traditions, and friendship. It is written in the zuihitsu (“follow the brush”) style, which is much like stream of consciousness.
Historical works were popular. Taiheiki (Records of Great Pacification, Chronicle of Great Peace) recounts the wars between the northern and southern courts. The Masukagami (Mirror of Increase or Mirror of Clarity) is an historical romance based on events between 1184 and 1333, from the accession of Emperor Go-Toba to the exile of Emperor Go-Daigo. Both of these emperors attempted to assert imperial power against the military class and both were defeated and sent into exile on the Island of Oki.
In poetry, renga (collaborative poetry) or linked verse came into full flower. It was popularized by the Zen Buddhist monk Sōgi (1421–1502) from Shōkoku-ji in Kyoto. In his renga, two or more poets collaborate to create a poem by writing alternate stanzas. Each renga therefore consists of two stanzas; the opening stanza, called the hokku, became the basis for the modern haiku form of poetry. Renga was popular with the warrior class as well as courtiers, and some of the best were commoners.
Edo Period 1600-1868
The Genroku Era (1688-1704) occurred during the Edo Period. The word Genroku means “original happiness.” The art, architecture, and culture of the townspeople, merchants, and samurai flourished as a result of several years of peace and stability.
The upper strata enjoyed elaborate and expensive rituals, elegant architecture, landscaped gardens, Noh, patronage of the arts, and the tea ceremony. The surplus wealth of merchants led to leisure entertainment: teahouses, taverns, pleasure quarters, theaters, public baths, and tourism. Such things that are normally associated with Japan such as kabuki, puppet theater, and woodblock prints began during this time.
Ukiyo-e flourished through the 19th century. It is the genre of Japanese art that featured woodblock prints and paintings of female beauties, kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, historical events and folk tales, travels and landscapes, and erotica. The term “ukiyo-e” means “pictures of the floating world.” The term “floating world” refers to the Buddhist idea of the impermanence and fleeting nature of human pleasures. The term “floating world” evolved into referring to a hedonistic lifestyle thanks to Asai Ryoi in Tales of the Floating World, where he wrote:
“living only for the moment, savouring the moon, the snow, the cherry blossoms, and the maple leaves, singing songs, drinking wine, and diverting oneself in simply floating, unconcerned by the prospect of imminent poverty, buoyant and carefree, like a gourd carried along with the current of the river…”
Ihara Saikaku (1642-1693) wrote about bourgeois life, materialism, and love of pleasure. He authored Five Women Who Loved Love and writing about the samurai passion for boys penned, The Life of an Amorous Man. Matsuo Basho (1644-94) was a poet, a master of 17 syllable poems called haiku.
Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724) became the great puppet theater master and is best known for Chushingura or Forty-Seven Ronin and the majority of the great puppet theater scripts. Here are passages from Chikamatsu Monzaemon found in Donald Keene’s Anthology of Japanese Literature.
Jōruri differs from other forms of fiction in that, since it is primarily concerned with puppets, the words must all be living and full of action. … the author must impart to lifeless wooden puppets a variety of emotions, and attempt in this way to capture the interest of the audience….Thus, even descriptive passages … must be charged with feeling or they will be greeted with scant applause. …if a poet should fail to bring emotion to his praise of even the superb scenery of Matsushima … it would be like looking at the carelessly drawn portrait of a beautiful woman. For this reason, it should be borne in mind that feeling is the basis of writing.
Art is something which lies in the slender margin between the real and the unreal.
It was during this time that the events of the forty-seven ronin occurred. In 1701, Asano Naganori, the daimyō of Akō han, having been allegedly insulted by Kira Yoshihisa, attempted to kill him. Kira Yoshihisa was a kōke (master of ceremonies) and taught protocol. Kira was assigned to tutor Asano on matters of protocol for an upcoming visit by representatives of the Emperor. Kira demanded bribes for tutoring. Asano refused to pay. Kira then began to call Asano an ignorant and unmannered country boor. After Asano failed to kill Kira, Shogun Tsunayoshi ordered that he commit seppuku. But Kira was not punished. After two years of secret plotting, a group of forty-seven of Asano’s retainers (the Forty-Seven Ronin), who avoided suspicion by frequenting the geisha houses in Kyoto, avenged Asano’s death by breaking into Kira’s mansion and decapitating Kira. They surrendered and were ordered to commit seppuku for the murder. This was considered an honorable death instead of beheading. The story of The Forty-seven Ronin was retold in the puppet theater, kabuki, and in various works of literature.