Republic of the Philippines

CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE

F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines Norte – 4600, Philippines

Ret. Judge Antonio C. Entienza Campus

EDENG111
Survey of Afro-Asian Literature
2nd Semester A.Y. 2020-2021

What is Japanese literature?

It is considered that the emergence of Japanese literature spans about two millennia, moments in which the first
literary expressions are shown and in which it is possible to register a great influence from Chinese literature.

In its beginnings, Japanese was a language that did not have a defined or ungrammatical form of writing until the
arrival of Chinese ideograms, tools that will allow the recognition of the first recorded manifestations of Japanese
literature that come from oral transmission. Kanji was the official form of writing, as hanzi had previously been
used as the Chinese writing system and manyogana, an adaptation of the first model applied in Japanese territory.

History and origin of Japanese literature

Known as the Heian period, it consists of the classic stage of literary development in Japan, a time when interest in
foreign cultures, especially China, was reduced and the focus returned to Japanese culture, so that writers began
to create their works using Japanese characters, leaving aside those previously used. During this period, the
participation of both male and female writers was reflected. Women dedicated themselves to writing from their
own environments and were characterized by producing writings full of varied contents, marked by love, humor,
etc.

Later, Japan underwent one of its most complex periods, as from the 12th century until the beginning of the 17th
century it experienced a series of conditions that limited artistic production, such as constant wars, famine and the
poverty into which the nation fell. These conditions, consequently, allowed only monks to dedicate themselves to
writing, a time when other works written by monks became known. Even so, performances in the theater began to
appear, whose main objective would be that of patriotic exaltation, as well as religious propaganda, due to the
writing by Buddhist monks.

Development of literature in Japan

One of the most relevant works for Japanese literature is the Kokinshu, a collection of ancient and modern poems
that represents one of the most important genres of the region in terms of literary expression: the poem, which
for Japan is consolidated mainly as the waka or Japanese song. Its content reveals an inclination of the works
towards national vindication, as well as a quest to strengthen Japan’s identity in the face of the great influence it
had received from China in recent centuries.

Another fundamental moment for the development of Japanese literature took place with Matsuo Basho, who
dedicated himself to the composition of haiku, a type of poetry from this place that, with a minimum amount of
words and a focus on nature, seeks to express as much as possible by the poet.

Ultimately, Japanese literature, especially in its stage of emergence and consolidation, begins to work a great
variety of literary forms among which stand out the short poems that will be the beginning of the haiku, the
modern novel, the manga, the story, the tale, the epic, the songs, the anecdotes, the memoirs, the diaries, the
essay and the travel stories.

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE
F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines Norte – 4600, Philippines

Ret. Judge Antonio C. Entienza Campus

The main characteristics of literature in Japan

Writing system: one of the most relevant features, especially referring to the development of literature in Japan,
has to do with the writing system that is beginning to be used, since they use the kanji as the official form of
writing, as they used the hanzi, a foreign writing system and that belonged to China, where later appears the
manyogana, which will be the first attempt of the Japanese to consolidate a writing system of their own.

Oral tradition: even with the influence that Japan received from China, Japanese literature will show in its
development manifestations that reflect their cultural practices such as rites, folklore and, in general, the religion
they followed. This, as well as reflecting in Japanese literature the importance and weight of the oral tradition in
their region.

Artistic variety: another relevant aspect of Japanese literature and in general of the culture that is beginning to
flourish in the region, has to do with the variety of artistic expressions that are emerging. Among them, in the part
of literature appears the written production in different subgenres and formats, such as theater, novels, essays,
poetry, among others, as well as popular dances and another series of practices related to their daily activities and
customs.

Kataribe: in Japanese literature, the kataribe is a person who is in charge of reciting the stories of the population,
thus playing a decisive role in the preservation of primitive oral narratives, since in addition to this he transmits
not only facts or events of great importance, but also all kinds of content related to the myths and legends of the
region. This work was carried out by women, who built fundamental links between what would become oral and
written literature.

External influence: although Japanese literature was greatly influenced by foreign cultures, such as China and the
West, this was not a determining factor for the production of literature in the area as such, given that despite the
influence, Japan developed important works and formats that today make it one of the most important reference
points in world literature. This is largely due to the cultural content of its works, where aspects such as the
customs of the populations, behaviors, traditions and habits are observed.

Nostalgic tinge: another of the most relevant aspects of Japanese literature has to do with the expressive
inclination of its content, given that, in the case of novels in particular, the themes dealt with by Japanese authors
are somber, melancholic, nostalgic and sad, which is why Japanese literature is usually associated with a sensitive
and moving panorama.

Female participation: in addition to the above, we cannot ignore the female participation in Japanese literature,
which is perhaps one of the most important and one of the areas in which women have had the best recognition,
both as writers and as promoters of their customs. Women have a substantial role in Japanese literature, because
despite the submissive and subjugated practice by the male figure, they manage to develop recognized literary
works and achieve an important level of culture.

Japan’s major works and most important authors

One of the most important works of Japanese literature is the anthology Kokinshu, or Collection of Ancient and
Modern Japanese Poems, which was organized by Emperor Daigo around the year 905. Other works of great
relevance also appear, among which are the Gosennshu and the Shuyshu, two other volumes of poetic collections.
As for prose writing, works such as private diaries, poetic stories, lyrical novels and books of impressions appear.
On the other hand, among the authors of the region, especially in terms of Japanese literature written by women,

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE
F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines Norte – 4600, Philippines

Ret. Judge Antonio C. Entienza Campus

there is Sei Shonagon with her work “Makura no Soshi” (pillow book), an autobiography-style work that allows us
to observe some characteristics of the Japanese culture of the 11th century, as well as the author Fujiwara.

Other key texts of Japanese literature will be “Ise Monogatari” or Songs of Ise, and Songs of Yamato”, a selection
of poems, Tsukuri-monogatari, fictional stories, “Genji Monogatari”, a court novel by the court writer and poetess
Murasaki Shikibu. Other notable authors include Matsuo Basho in haiku, Saikaku Ihara in novel writing, and
Chikamatsu Monzaemon, an outstanding playwright of the area who dedicated himself to the creation of plays
both in kaburi, a form that was represented by people, and bunraku, whose characters were represented by
puppets.

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