JAPANESE LITERATURE

JAPANESE LITERATURE WAS MOST POPULAR IN THE MID 17TH- 18TH CENTURY.

Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in classical Chinese. indian literature also had an influence on Japanese literature through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan.

Japanese literature spans a period of almost two thousand years. Early work is heavily influenced by Chinese literature, but Japan quickly developed a style and quality of its own. When Japan reopened its ports to western trading and diplomacy in the 19th century, exposure to Western literature had a strong effect on Japanese writers and this influence is still seen today.

Development of kana(syllabic writing) helped spur production of new literary forms. Commercial printing and publishing first became popular in Kyoto. By the mid-17th century, printing houses appeared in Osaka and in the 18th century, they were established in Edo and other large castle towns. Printing was a private industry not controlled by the bakufu. There could be no writings on Christianity, and nothing could be written that could be considered offensive.

Prose gradually became far less formal. The language became simpler and the subject matter far less sophisticated. The topics were similar to the themes used by the block printers when they created there sketches of the floating world, Showing images of the arts and everyday life. During the Edo period the rise of an urban middle class developed a number of new genres, such as kabuki theatre, comedy, and morality stories.

The earliest works were created in the Nara period. Kojiki (712) is one of the earliest historical record that chronicles ancient Japanese mythology and folk songs. Urashima taro has been identified as the earliest example of a story involving time travel.

The heian period brought about Classical Japanese literature, It is also referred to as the golden era. The tale of genji was written by a murasaki shikibu and is considered the first example of fiction in the form of a novel.

During the generally peaceful Edo period,The writer ihara Saikaku (ee-hah-rah-sigh-Kah-koo) (1642-1693) chose themes that would be popular with the commoners. Many of his books were tales of rascals and their adventures.

Basho Matsuo developed a new poetic form called haiku. Eventually people of all walks of life, even in the most remote areas of Japan, took pride in writing haiku.

The major influence of western culture on Japan, greatly affected Japanese literature creating extremely popular genres for the youth such as anime and manga.

Prominent writers of the 1970's and 1980's were identified with intellectual and moral issues in their attempts to raise social and political consciousness. One of them, Oe kenzaburo wrote his best known work, a personal matter, in 1964 and became Japan's second winner of the Nobel prize for literature.

Japanese literature can be difficult to read and understand, statements are often referring to a specific region or social class. Japan's deliberate isolation during the 17th and 18th centuries created a strong cultural sameness, and the literature of that period incorporated many common understandings that can not be understood by someone who does not share the same background.

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REFERENCES

• www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Japanese_literature
• www.britannica.com/art/Japanese-literature
• www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Japanese_literature.aspx
• www.gojapango.com/culture/japanese_literature.html
• www.kanzaki.com/jinfo/jliterature.html
• Grade eight social text book