Kana Essays

  • The Tale of Genji

    1604 Words  | 4 Pages

    World History The Tale of Genji The Tale of Genji, not only had a huge impact on Japanese literature, it is considered to be the first novel ever written in the world. Japanese literature was limited to poetry, fairytales, and memoirs until the birth of this remarkable work. The tale revolves around prince Genji’s life and his love adventures in an important period in Japanese history. Its complicated plot focuses on the significance of the Heian period and portrays in detail the life of the upper

  • Heian Period in Japan: Feminine Vernacular Literature

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    Despite the integration of Chinese influences into Japanese culture, distinct Japanese nativity still managed to bloom in some works of art. Dissecting the dualism of gender, it was widely accepted that women wrote in traditional Japanese style, termed kana, and men wrote in the “borrowed” Chinese language. What this means is that women were utilizing the “everyday” language of Japanese common people; whereas, men were exercising the more exclusive and “official” language of the Chinese. This is the largest

  • Man’yōshū and Kokinshū

    1205 Words  | 3 Pages

    Man’yōshū is also known as the collection of ten thousand leaves but in a more literary and poetic sense could be portrayed as ten thousand generations. It is also seen as the earliest official oldest and greatest anthologies of Japanese poetry. Regardless of its name (could be seen as ten thousand poems) it actually only is composed of about 4,500 waka or 20 poem books. One distinction that could be made despite its popularity is it has no preface. Man’yōshū stands out because of its possession

  • The History of Kanji

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    centuries from China. The pictograms are typically much more complex than kana, hiragana and katakana, and, furthermore, have different readings and meanings depending on how they are combined with other kanji. They represent words or ideas rather than syllables, although kana could be used to spell out the pronunciation. It is not uncommon to see a kanji with it’s reading spelt out in very small kana, written just above it. Kana used in this way, to indicate how to pronounce a kanji, are known

  • The Role of Poetry in Narrative Prose During the Heian Period

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nearly a thousand years ago, the country we now know as Japan was in the early stages of development. During that time China was considered the “center of the world,” therefore many other countries, including Japan, envied China’s power and wanted to borrow elements of their culture to become more like China. One of the many things that Japan “borrowed” from China was the high art of poetry. In this paper I will discuss elements in two major Japanese works of poetry: Man’yōshū and Kokinshū. By examining

  • Manyoshu vs. Kokinshu: Roles and Significance

    1026 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Manyoshu (meaning the "collection to be handed down throughout ten thousand eras" or the "collection of ten thousand leaves") is known as the oldest existing collection of Japanese poetry and was compiled during the Nara period. This anthology is highly revered in Japan because of this and contains some 4,500 poems spread among 20 volumes. The collection contains 265 choka (long poems), 4,207 tanka (short poems), one tanrenga (short connecting poem), one bussokusekika (poems on the Buddha's footprints

  • Cultural Expectations of Young, Aristocratic Women Living in the Heian Era

    1301 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Heian era Japan, the way people expected young women to look and act differs strongly from today’s standards. Aristocratic women faced the harshest scrutiny, and those who didn’t live up to the cultural values faced judgement from people. Every action, outfit and sentence uttered faced the criticism of maids, parents, and suitors. Many of these were based on the Buddhist religion, while others stemmed from the popular culture. One is able to better understand what these expectations specifically

  • Diference in Writing Man’yōshū and Kokinshū

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    This paper will discuss and compare the anthologies of Manʻyōshū and Kokinshū, which were the earliest poetry collections of the classical period in Japan. Manʻyōshū was the earliest anthology of poems and included both long and short forms. It was compiled in the 7th century. Kokinshū was a collection of short poems known as tanka, consisting of 31 syllables. It was compiled in the 8th-10th century. The Kokinshū became the poetry standard for the next 1,000 years in Japan. (The Manyōshū and

  • Similarities Between Manyoshu And Kokinshu

    511 Words  | 2 Pages

    Looking at the anthologies, one can observe that despite the fact that they were compiled within two centuries of each other, differences and similarities exist between the two, creating the distinction between the Manyoshu and Kokinshu. From the earlier to the later anthology, the progression of poetic form takes place in Japanese literature from the influence of China and the conversion of native thinking. Thus, these changes in literature from the Nara Period to the Heian Period somewhat reflect

  • 10 Benefits Of Reading Kana Winter-Hebert Summary

    539 Words  | 2 Pages

    The article, 10 Benefits of Reading by Lana Winter-Hebert, talks about why you should read every day. Winter argues that studies have shown that being mentally stimulated can prevent the process of getting Alzheimer’s and dementia (1). The argument is supported by the last paragraph on page one and it states that when reading a book you have to remember different characters. This helps the brain remember things and even strengthens memories that you have. She demonstrates that if you read enough

  • Picture Bride

    1638 Words  | 4 Pages

    work on the sugar cane plantation was very difficult for her due to her frailness. Riyo became best friends with a Japanese picture bride named Kana, who was also saving up to return to Japan. To help Riyo make more money to save, Kana introduced Riyo to ‘the laundry business’, which involved washing the white folk’s laundry, and delivering it to them. Kana ended up dieing in a fire on the sugar cane plantation when she tried to save her small son. Riyo continued the laundry business, and the story

  • What Does The Color Symbolize In The Wizard Of Oz

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    of Oz, colors have a role and are symbolic in the novel. Glinda the good witch is symbolized as the United States.The land of Oz is divided into colors and regions. There is a symbolic representation of money used the the novel. Dorthory's home in Kanas is symbolic by the color grey symboling oldness. The colors of the wicked witches are also symbolic. Color is used in the novel to symbolize different things. First, in the start of the novel Glinda, who is a good witch, is represented

  • Patriarchy and Matriarchy in Hinduism and Islam

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout history, men have been given superiority and dominance over women in the majority of religious settings. There have been few religions and cultures that do the opposite and see their women as having superiority and dominance over men. On one hand, the cultures and religions that see men as being dominant are patriarch. On the other hand, the cultures and religions that see women as being dominant are matriarch. Every religion and culture has an impact on whether societies tend to follow

  • Matriarchy and Patriarchy in Today's World

    1573 Words  | 4 Pages

    Maryanne Cline. "Matriarchy." N.p.: n.p., n.d. 1384-385. Print. Introduction to the Mosuo Ethnic Minority of China. University of Ottawa, 17 Aug. 2012. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. Jenkins, Colette. "What Is Hinduism?" Idaho State Journal (2013): n. pag. Mitra, Kana. "Women in Hinduism." Journal of Ecumenical Studies 20.4 (n.d.): 585-93. "What Is Islam?" Daily News. HT Media Ltd., 27 Aug. 2010.

  • Man’yōshū vs. Kokinshū and Their Significance

    1112 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Man’yōshū and the Kokinshū are perhaps among the most revered and earliest collections of Japanese poetry. The Man’yōshū, meaning “Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves (or Generations),” is believed to be compiled by the poet Ōtomo no Yakamochi sometime after AD 759 during the Nara Period. It contains over 4,000 poems, mostly tanka, that date before the end of the eighth century, and the writings are somewhat divided chronologically into four periods. Almost two centuries later, the Kokin waka shū

  • Role of Poetry in Heian Period Prose

    1146 Words  | 3 Pages

    For centuries the waka, or Japanese poem, was by far the predominant form of literary art in medieval Japan. Collections of poetry such as the Manyoshu and Kokinshu contain poems written in the 5th century. (Man’yoshu, Encyclopedia of Japan) The development of waka in its various forms such as the haiku, tanka, and choka reached a point of high sophistication in the Heian period in an exquisitely refined culture. (Heian Period, Encyclopedia of Japan) The older collections of works contained

  • Tosa Nikki as an Instruction Manual

    1159 Words  | 3 Pages

    nikki was composed in kana by Ki no Tsurayuki, who was a government official and well respected poet. During the Heian period, the proper convention was for men to compose their works in Chinese, as this practice was considered more masculine and elegant. Kana was used mainly by women, so it was considered more feminine, and was less valued than Chinese. Ki no Tsurayuki wrote under the guise of a woman when composing the Tosa nikki in order to avoid criticism for writing in kana, although it was still

  • Countermeasures During The Korean War

    621 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Korean War is seen to by many to be a turning point it technology both civilian and military. The development and rapidly deployment of high flying jet aircraft forced both sides in this conflict to deploy countermeasures. This countermeasures ranged from aircraft, motorized gun turrets, and anti-aircraft artillery, these countermeasures would later become the foundation to more modern day air defense systems. In the earlier stages of this conflict, both sides deployed weapons such as the 37MM

  • Phychometrics In A Mars Mission Team

    1435 Words  | 3 Pages

    qualifications in terms of knowledge, skills, and experience, a method of predicting which combination of individuals will constitute the most successful team would be an important factor in maximizing returns on the investment put into the mission (Kanas et al, 2009). However, there is much debate surrounding the usefulness and accuracy of several currently available “psychometric assessments”. While they may provide perspective on an applicant’s personality or interpersonal interaction style, they

  • Role of Poetry in Narrative Prose of the Heian Period

    1307 Words  | 3 Pages

    Japanese literature in the Heian period was most popular for its domination of women’s culture (Hooker, Richard). During this time, a new writing technique was implemented called hiragana. This was especially accepted as a woman’s way of writing since a woman knowing Chinese characters was considered unladylike. For many years Chinese characters was the only accepted way of writing, thus the birth of a new writing technique was like a revelation. This incorporation made a huge impact on Japanese