Term Paper Literature free essay sample

Since Japan reopened its ports to Western trading and diplomacy in the 19th century, Western and Eastern literature have strongly affected each other and continue to do so. We have a 7 literature in this period that is : Ancient literature (until 794) Before the introduction of kanji from China, Japanese had no writing system. At first, Chinese characters were used in Japanese syntactical formats, and the result was sentences that look like Chinese but were read phonetically as Japanese. Chinese characters were further adapted, creating what is known as manyogana, the earliest form of kana, or syllabic writing.The earliest works were created in the Nara period. These include Kojiki (712), a work recording Japanese mythology and legendary history; Nihon Shoki (720), a chronicle with a slightly more solid foundation in historical records thanKojiki; and Manyoshu (759), a poetry anthology. One of the stories they describe is the tale of Urashima Taro, which has been identified as the earliest example of a story involvingtime travel. We will write a custom essay sample on Term Paper Literature or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Classical literature (794–1185) Classical Japanese literature generally refers to literature produced during he Heian period, referred to as the golden era of art and literature. Genji Monogatari (early 11th century) by a woman named Murasaki Shikibu is considered the pre-eminent masterpiece of Heian fiction and an early example of a work of fiction in the form of a novel. Other important writings of this period include theKokin Wakashu (905), a waka-poetry anthology, and Makura no Soshi (990s), the latter written by Murasaki Shikibus contemporary and rival, Sei Shonagon, as an essay about the life, loves, and pastimes of nobles in the Emperors court.The iroha poem, now one of two standard orderings for the Japanese syllabary, was also developed during the early part of this period. The 10th century Japanese narrative, Taketori Monogatari, can be considered an early example of proto-science fiction. The protagonist of the story, Kaguya-hime, is a princess from the Moon who is sent to Earth for safety during a celestial war, and is found and raised by a bamboo cutter. She is later taken back to her extraterrestrial family in an illustrated depiction of a disc-shaped flying object similar to a flying saucer. 2] Another notable piece of fictional Japanese literature wasKonjaku Monogatarishu, a collection of over a thousand stories in 31 volumes. The volu mes cover various tales from India, China and Japan. In this time, the imperial court particularly patronized the poets, most of whom were courtiers or ladies-in-waiting. Reflecting the aristocratic atmosphere, the poetry was elegant and sophisticated and expressed emotions in a rhetorical style. Editing the resulting anthologies of poetry soon became a national pastime. Medieval literature (1185–1603)During this period, Japan experienced many civil wars which led to the development of a warrior class, and subsequent war tales, histories, and related stories. Work from this period is notable for its insights into life and death, simple lifestyles, and redemption through killing. A representative work is The Tale of the Heike (1371), an epic account of the struggle between the Minamoto andTaira clans for control of Japan at the end of the twelfth century. Other important tales of the period include Kamo no Chomeis Hojoki (1212) and Yoshida Kenkos Tsurezuregusa (1331). Other notable genres in this period were renga, or linked verse, and Noh theater. Both were rapidly developed in the middle of the 14th century, the early Muromachi period. Early-modern literature (1603–1868) Literature during this time was written during the largely peaceful Tokugawa Period (commonly referred to as the Edo Period). Due in large part to the rise of the working and middle classes in the new capital of Edo (modern Tokyo), forms of popular drama developed which would later evolve into kabuki.The joruri and kabuki dramatist Chikamatsu Monzaemon became popular at the end of the 17th century. Matsuo Basho wrote Oku no Hosomichi (1702), a travel diary. Hokusai, perhaps Japans most famous woodblock print artist, also illustrated fiction as well as his famous 36 Views of Mount Fuji. Many genres of literature made their debut during the Edo Period, helped by a rising literacy rate among the growing population of townspeople, as well as the development of lending libraries.Although there was a minor Western influence trickling into the country from the Dutch settlement at Nagasaki, it was the importation of Chinese vernacular fiction that proved the greatest outside influence on the development of Early Modern Japanese fiction. Ihara Saikaku might be said to have given birth to the modern consciousness of the novel in Japan, mixing vernacular dialogue into his humorous and cautionary tales of the pleasure quarters. Jippensha Ikku wroteTokaidochu Hizakurige, which is a mix of travelogue and comedy.Tsuga Teisho, Takebe Ayatari, and Okajima Kanzan were instrumental in developing the yomihon, which were historical romances almost entirely in prose, influenced by Chinese vernacular novels such as Three Kingdoms and Shui hu zhuan. Two yomihon masterpieces were written by Ueda Akinari: Ugetsu monogatari andHarusame monogatari wrote the extremely popular fantasy/historical romance Nanso Satomi Hakkenden in addition to other yomihon. Santo Kyoden wrote yomihon mostly set in the gay quarters until the Kansei edicts banned such works, and he turned to comedickibyoshi. Genres included horror, crime stories, morality stories, comedy, and pornography—often accompanied by colorful woodcut prints. Nevertheless, in the Tokugawa, as in earlier periods, scholarly work continued to be published in Chinese, which was the language of the learned much as Latin was in Europe Modern literature (1868–1945) The Meiji period marks the re-opening of Japan to the West, and a period of rapid industrialization. The introduction of European literature brought free verse into the poetic repertoire. It became widely used for longer works embodying new intellectual themes.Young Japanese prose writers and dramatists struggled with a whole galaxy of new ideas and artistic schools, but novelists were the first to assimilate some of these concepts successfully. A new colloquial literature developed centering on the I novel, with some unusual protagonists such as the cat narrator of Natsume Sosekis Wagahai wa neko de aru (I Am a Cat). [dubious – discuss] N atsume Soseki also wrote the famous novels Botchan and Kokoro (1914). Shiga Naoya, the so called god of the novel, and Mori Ogai were instrumental in adopting and adapting Western literary conventions and techniques.