Classical Japanese Literature Research Articles

The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature

The Description for this book, The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature, will be forthcoming.

Painted Poems, Forgotten Words. Poem-Pictures and Classical Japanese Literature

Painted Poems, Forgotten Words. Poem-Pictures and Classical Japanese Literature

Narrative Situation in Tonomine Shosho monogatari

This paper will discuss the development of a hybrid form of poetry and prose which became the norm of prose works in classical Japanese literature and the effect such prose and the abundance of epistles and dialogue had on the narrative structure of a tenth century tale, Tonomine Shosho monogatari (The Tale of the Lesser Captain of Tonomine). At first such narrative techniques seem to yield a narration in the first person. However, upon closer examination one realizes that it is not a first person narrative in the usual sense of the term. The narrator is not a well delieneated personality, let alone a character in the tale; she is a kind of “communal story‐telling persona,”“a voice of an undifferentiated narrative self,” placed in the text more out of linguistic necessity than aesthetic, authorial choice. An ever present persona, not even effaced when her characters are on stage, the narrator has her characters speak through her, using her voice, much as the ventriloquist “talks” for his doll. One scholar terms this unique narrative point of view, “the speaker's point of view,” for the narration seems to occur only from the perspective of a narrator who necessarily sees, participates in, or hears about the events, and whose perspective exhibits a psychological, conceptual, and perceptual uniformity with character, reader, and even author.

Principles of Classical Japanese Literature

Principles of Classical Japanese Literature

Principles of Classical Japanese Literature.

Principles of Classical Japanese Literature.

The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature.

The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature.

The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature

The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature

Principles of Classical Japanese Literature. Edited by Earl Miner. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1985. xii, 281 pp. The Authors and the Translators; Japanese Names, Terms, and a Historical Table; Index. $30.

The Description for this book, Principles of Classical Japanese Literature, will be forthcoming.

Principles of Classical Japanese Literature

Principles of Classical Japanese Literature

The Princeton companion to classical Japanese literature. By Earl Miner, Hiroko Odagiri and Robert E. Morrell. pp. xxi, 570, 7 maps. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1985. £39.50.

The Princeton companion to classical Japanese literature. By Earl Miner, Hiroko Odagiri and Robert E. Morrell. pp. xxi, 570, 7 maps. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1985. £39.50.

Principles of classical Japanese literature. Edited and introduced by Earl Miner. pp. xiii, 281. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1985. £25.00.

Principles of classical Japanese literature. Edited and introduced by Earl Miner. pp. xiii, 281. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1985. £25.00.

Principles of Classical Japanese Literature

Principles of Classical Japanese Literature

The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature.

The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature.

Some Aspects of Nation-State Building In Modern Japan

The single most important political task tackled by the Japanese ruling elite during the second decade of Meiji was that of consolidating a new political and administrative system based on a national constitution. This system would qualify Japan as a modern nation-state. In the process of carrying out this task, however, the elite was sharply divided as to which particular western counry would make an ideal model on which to base Japan's efforts at nation-building and unifying the people.It is safe to say that the young intellectual bureaucrats and their associations played an extremely imporant role in disseminating and propagating new social and political ideas in Japan.At this point it is important to note that as the introduction of Western, mainly German, theories of law and political science got underway, a parallel and complementary attempt was made to delve into ancient Japanese statutes and ordinances, classical Japanese literature and history books compiled by the Imperial Court. The aim was to reorganize peculiarly Japanese thoughts on law and politics into a coherent system. Generally speaking, many Japanese sought after their national identification as the westernization went on.By the way, to disseminate Western knowledge to the majority of Japanese, anchoring the new social, political and legal systems deep in Japaneses society, other means of propagation were indispensable. Important among these was popular entertainment. And the traditional popular entertainment arts, especially rakugo and kodan, were not only mobilized from above; they were also used as an important means of mass politicization by the movement for democratic rights, which became prominent after the eighth year of Meiji.An extremely influential popular entertainer active in the dissemination of poliical thought and whose career reflected the socio-political climate of early Meiji most vividly was the storyteller Matsubayashi Hakuen, San-yutei Encho and Kairakutei Burakku (Black the Epic-urian).This research tries to clarify how closely popular entertainment was related to the political and legislative environments of the time.

A Note on Japanese Allusions in Gary Snyder’s Poetry

K A T S U N O R I Y A M A Z A T O University of the Ryukyus A Note onJapanese Allusions in Gary Snyder’s Poetry Recent criticism of the poetry of Gary Snyder has focused on the poet’s use of allusions.1 While Buddhist and Chinese allusions have gradually been identified and explicated, the equally important Japanese allusions in Snyder’s poetry have attracted little attention. Reflecting the poet’s Japa­ nese years (1956-1968), these allusions range widely over such subjects as classical Japanese literature, folklore, religion, and the Japanese way of life in general. The allusions to the Japanese subjects indeed are so varied that a coherent discussion of them would require a much longer study than the present one. Instead of attempting an exhaustive discussion of Snyder’s Japanese allusions, then, I would like to narrow my focus and discuss a few representative examples. In poem 4 in the “Logging” section in Myths & Texts, Snyder alludes to a Noh play, Takasago, written by Zeami (or Seami) Motokiyo (13631443 ). Snyder juxtaposes the allusion to the play with scenes from “log­ ging,” the mindless destruction of nature the poet has witnessed at the early stage of his poetic career: 1See Ekbert Faas, ed., Towards a New American Poetics: Essays and Interviews (Santa Barbara: Black Sparrow Press, 1978), p. 140; Anthony Hunt, “Bubbs Creek Haircut: Gary Snyder’s ‘Great Departure’ in Mountains and Rivers Without End," Western American Literature, 15 (1980), 163-75; Dan McLeod, “Some Images of China in the Works of Gary Snyder,” Tamkang Review, 10 (1980), 369-83. 144 Western American Literature Pines, under pines, Seami Motokiyo The Doer stamps his foot. A thousand board-feet Bucked, skidded, loaded — (Takasago, Ise) float in a mill pond; A thousand years dancing Flies in the saw kerf.2 The first three lines in the passage cited allude to the stage setting and the author of Takasago. In the Noh play, two pine trees appear on the stage, symbolizing both prosperity and longevity. “The Doer” (or the principal actor; shite in Japanese) is the spirit of one of the pine trees who in the shape of an old man engages in a conversation with a travelling priest.3 The characteristic Noh movement of the Doer (“The Doer stamps his foot” ) triggers an ironic shift to the next three lines, a metonymic repre­ sentation of the destruction of nature. The embedded flashback to Taka­ sago and Ise suggests that even the sacred pine trees at these places are not totally free from the destructive attitude toward nature.4“A thousand years dancing” alludes to the celebrated longevity of the pine tree at Takasago: Among them all, this pine Surpasses all other trees, Attired in the princely robe Of green of [a] thousand autumns, Timeless fresh forever. By Shiko a court rank Bestowed, the superb tree, Overseas and in the land alike Byall isloved and admired.5 Takasago ends with the pine god’s dance, kamimai, which gives blessing to the land; and the whole play is usually construed as a hymn to the sacred 2Myths & Texts (NewYork: Totem Press, 1960;rpt. NewYork: New Directions, 1978), p. 6. 3For the details of Takasago, see Chifumi Shimazaki, trans., The Noh (Tokyo: Hinoki Shoten, 1972), I, 112-39. 4Cf. “The most renowned of pine-trees are the two at Takasago, whose genii are said to appear often in the moonlight, like a white haired man and his wife, clearing with besoms the ground strewn with pine-needles.” Masaharu Anesaki, Japanese Mythology, Vol. V III of The Mythology of All Races (Boston: Marchall Jones, 1937), p. 340. Snyder was familiar with this book while writing his B.A. thesis at Reed College. 'Shimazaki, p. 128. Shiko is the Japanese pronunciation of Shih Huangti, the first Emperor of Ch’in (259-210 B . C . ) . Katsunori Yamazato 145 pines which are the symbols of prosperity and longevity. Instead of cele­ brating nature, however, Snyder shows us its destruction in our time: “A thousand years dancing / Flies in the saw kerf.” The dramatic vision in Takasago presents a harmonious interaction between the gods of the sacred pine trees and the travellers, and, needless to...

医人・文豪 鴎外・森林太郎

The life and thoughts of Mori Ohgai (1862-1922, Ohgai was a pen name) who was one of the most famous Japanese modern novelists in the Meiji Era are described biographically. Ohgai was born at the village of Tsuwanomachi in Shimane prefecture. Since a very young age, he began studying Confucianism with a private tutor and later continued his training at the Yorokan, the fief school, where he studied confucianism, classical Japanese literature, Dutch, and medical languages. And then he was graduated as the youngest medical student (20 years old) from the University of Tokyo in 1881. After enlisting in the army, he went to Germany as an army medic, He studied there hygienics under two internationally renowned scholars of the day, Max von Pettenkoffer and Robert Koch. Returning to Japan, he contributed in great measure to the development of modern Japanese literature and army medicine, In short, four items are discussed, i. e.; Ohgai's views on socialism; about “A New Aesthetic” and “The Philosophy of the Unconscious” written by the philosopher Eduard von Hartman which contributed much to the development of his literary personality; a new genre of biographical writing created by Ohgai; and the last years of his life.

Mechanisation projects at the National Institute of Japanese Literature, Tokyo, 1972–1977

Research in classical Japanese literature has always had to face the problem of obtaining access to the original texts. These are invariably in the form of manuscripts or old printed books and are scattered all over the country and even abroad. The number of existing old literary works (pre 1868) is estimated at about sixty thousand, and the number of different editions at about six hundred thousand. Some texts are preserved in museums, others in academic libraries and private collections e.g. in shrines and temples. Most of them are jealously guarded and a good letter of introduction is required to obtain access to them. The lack of an authoritative archive of these materials has led to considerable loss of them abroad and the gradual destruction of this cultural heritage. In this situation a national archive of old literary works is essential and a research library in the field has been required. Since it would be too expensive to collect the originals of these materials the idea of a microfilmed collection of old literary works has emerged.

Dictionary of Selected Forms in Classical Japanese Literature

Dictionary of Selected Forms in Classical Japanese Literature

A study of concordances of the Japanese classical literature

Concordances, or verbal indexes, of Japanese literature are not many in number and haven't been developed satisfactorily because of having lacked the custom of recording adequate quotations to include entry words. The author tried to clarify existing problems of preparing Japanese concordances, as well as to emphasize the importance of concordances for the study of individual literary works and of word usage. He also explained the principles to compile a Japanese concordance in the ideal form for its future development.The author first clarified the notion of the word “concordance” according to various definitions, and then explained its structure based upon the characteristics found in the concordance compiled by J. Strong and that by J. Bartlett.He pointed out that the lack of adequate Japanese concordances has caused it difficult to compile dictionaries to be used for etymological studies based upon basic source materials.After differentiating the verbal index, or concordance, from the real index, the author listed 27 concordances of Japanese classics compiled after the Meiji Restoration (1868) with annotations and comments. Of these, structure and function of each were examined through analytic method and the general characteristics of Japanese concordance were listed accordingly.The author finally tried to list the basic elements to be considered and grouped them into two categories, namely those related to human factor and those of format. As for the first; he discussed the attitude of compilers, the necessity of social recognition of the importance of concordances together that of the specific field developed in Japanese literary world. As for the second, he explained the necessity of selecting texts, of deciding the length of quotations, of arranging entries, of formalizing entries, etc. In concluding the article, the author mentioned his sincere wish for the furtherence of the study of this field together with ways and means of realizing it.