Speaking historically, the word “medieval” is usually associated with the middle ages of Europe, where things were thought to be primitive. However, there was a medieval period in Japan as well. Europe and Japan are separated by two countries, so it is not surprising to see that their respective medieval worlds occurred at different times. For Japan a lot of it occurred during its Heian and Kamakura periods, where the power split from the Imperial Court and was shared with the Shogunate. Between the Heian Era and the Kamakura Era, there were changes of whom the powered was controlled and the religion of Buddhism, although significant in both eras, was starting to surface as a stronger power, itself. But during this period in Japan, the elegant literature was changing, going almost hand in hand with the changes that were happening.
In the Heian Era, literature was popular in the court, for both the men and the ladies. They took part in reading and writing literary prose, and waka was especially popular. Waka was used for not only pastime but to be exchanged between men and women as love letters are. An important and popular collection of waka proves to be an example of what the Heian period was about. The Kokinwakashu was an Imperial collection, focusing on things that were considered to be elegant, such as seasons, love, and grief. The, what can be referred to as, theme of the collection was miyabi, a metaphorical and less brash way of saying things. This miyabi was an elegance that was almost treated like a rule of waka.
Things slowly changed when time shifted to the Kamakura period. Three centuries after the compilation of the Kokinwakashu, a Shinkokinshu, or the New Kokin(waka)shu, was compiled. It tried to keep elements f...
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...owed behind the time, but played a huge and important role during the medieval period.
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The two poems that I have selected for the Analytic Paper are “Blue Light Lounge Sutra For The Performance Poets At Harold Park Hotel” and “Thanks” by Yusef Komunyakaa. The former was read and analyzed as part of a class discussion early on in the quarter while the latter is a piece never analyzed, but closely related to another that was examined for its content and stylistic techniques (“Facing It”, Penguin Anthology, page 441). Though both were written by the same author, there are specific discrepancies in rhythm and wording that create artistic differences that suit the subject of each piece.
“Feudalism was a political and economical system in Europe from the 9th to about the 15th century.” Japan also had time periods that can be called feudal age including: Heian, Kamakura and Tokugawa. Medieval Japan shared a lot of similarities with medieval Europe, however, there are also many differences. One of the differences is their warriors who played vital roles fighting for their country in both Europe and Japan. In medieval Europe they had knights, and in medieval Japan they had samurais. European knights and Japanese Samurais were different in training, armor, weaponry, true values and codes.
...e Mejeii Restoration and beyond. Therefore, Kokoro successfully serves as a primary source students may use to enable them to understand institutions like conflicting views Whites by the Japanese, the role of women, and the population’s analysis of the Emperor. As one can see, a novel can serve as a primary source which students can use to dissect and examine real historical events, even if the novel is fiction. Kokoro successfully does this and assists students in understanding the Meiji Restoration and the time surrounding this era in Japan.
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Feudal Japan and Feudal Europe had similarities and differences. Both Feudal Japan and Feudal Europe had professional warriors, for Japan it was the samurai, and for Europe the knights. They both had religious beliefs such as Buddhism and Christianity. Japan was an island and was isolated, whereas Europe wasn’t isolated nor an island. Feudal Japan lasted from 1185-1603, while Feudal Europe lasted from the 9th to the 15th centuries.
Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan. Founded in 660 B.C., it traces back to the very first people to settle in Japan. Shinto focuses on ancestral worship and is deeply immersed in Japanese culture. Even though it is as ancient as Japan itself, Shinto is still very widely practiced by Japanese people today. However, over the years, it gained some influence from Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Over 50 percent of the Japanese population still practice Shinto.
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The Kokinshū was the first imperially commissioned anthology of Waka poetry. The order came from Emperor Daigo and the completion came about the year 905. In the book Early Modern Japanese Literature, authors Haruo and James describe Waka as follows, “Waka, the thirty-one syllable classical poem, generally excluded all forms of language not found in the refined, aristocratic dictation of the Heian classics particularly the Kokinshū, The subject matter was likewise confined to a cluster of highly elegant topics pertaining to love and the four seasons” (171). As the Man’yōshū was written with Chinese ideographs that represented the Japanese phonics sounds, many of the people of that era found it to be too complicated writing system that made it difficult for reading great works of art. The Kokinshū was written in kana making it more accessible and setting the standard for Japanese poetry for years to come.
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