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 Kokinshū Poetry Collections)
The Manʻyōshū, also known as the Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves, is the earliest collection of Japanese poetry which was compiled sometime in 759 AD and was divided into 20 volumes, containing 4,516 Japanese poems. There are 4,200 tanka (short poems), 265 chōka (long poems), and 60 sedōka (head-repeated poems), which was a repeated verse form of 5-7-5, 5-7-5. The Manʻyōshū is also the largest collection of poems ever and was compiled by not only aristocrats but also emperors, peasants, and soldiers. The last four volumes are said to be compiled by Ōtomo no Yakamochi who wrote 473 poems. Other important contributors were Takechi Kurohito, Yamanoue Okura, and Kakinomoto Hitomar, who supposedly wrote about 367 poems and was one of Japan’s greatest poets. The poems were recorded by oral tradition and is considered as great literature from the Nara period. Manʻyōshū was written in manyogana and did not have a preface. Early poems from Manʻyōshū have Confucian or Taoist themes and later poems reflect Buddhist teachings. The Manʻyōshū was written to show national identity to prove themselves since China was bigger. (Ten Thousand Leaves)
The first poem from the Manʻyōshū is about a man trying to woo a girl...
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...This format made it a lot easier for people to understand the poems. The Chinese could also understand the Kokinshū since the second preface was written in manajo. (Murdoch 471)
Works Cited
Kato, Shuichi. A History of Japanese Literature from the Manʻyōshū to Modern Times.
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Keene, Donald. Anthology of Japanese Literature. New York: Grove Press, 1955. Print.
Murdoch, James. A History of Japan Vol. III. London: Broadway House, 1926. Print.
“Ten Thousand Leaves.” York St. John University. 2009. PDF file.
“The Kokinwakashū.” 2001 Waka for Japan 2001. n.p n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2011.
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“The Manyōshu and Kokinshū Poetry Collections.” Contemporary Japan. n.p. n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2011. .
In the fourth stanza, line one to three the female has an upper hand in this relationship. In line four to seven the male feels uplifted by the deeds of the female and chooses to change himself for the
Even when the structure of both poems are the same (no stanza breaks), the differences in the speaker’s voice and diction play an enormous part in building the poem’s plot and setting. And though Komunyakaa employs the same techniques in both poems, the end result is so different from the other through meticulous attention to the connotative quality of specific words and phrases that “Blue Light Lounge Sutra” perfectly depicts the thrall of performance through the seductive references of the properties of jazz and lounge music. On other the hand, “Thanks” is a subtle but powerful depiction of the violence seen in the Vietnam War due to its address of personal experience juxtaposed with an extreme outside environment that most readers have never encountered. Each break in a sentence artistically elevates the colloquial voice of speaker and produces an underlying poetic element that emphasizes its content, namely the distinction between the use of the abstract and the concrete. Both pieces are dependent on the reader’s ability to perceive the central theme of the content, but through attentive and purposeful use of linguistic and stylistic techniques, the differences apparent in each poem create an individual voice to that truly brings out the author’s
Lady Muarausaki, she admired Juyi Bai, a famous Chinese poet. At the very time in China, an
The poem contains two hundred and twenty one words with eight stanzas and thirty four lines. The subject appears to be about a girl who is about to be a woman and what she should look for in a man. “For a Girl I Know about to be a Woman” is about a young
writing the poem, to woo his love. Or maybe is the line was not meant
Literature shows us the changes of our society from time to time. It also gives us an idea about people, culture, politics, gender traditions, as well as an overall view of previous civilizations. As a part of literature, poetry introduces us to different cultures with different perspectives. Ancient Egypt and ancient China may differ in terms of culture, politics, economic stability, tradition, or even in religious belief. However, in poetry, especially in love lyrics both Egyptian and Chinese poems portray common area of describing women, social attitudes toward love, sexuality and the existence of romance or selfishness in relationships. . If we look at the Egyptian poem “My god, my Lotus” and the Chinese poem “Fishhawk”, we will see both poems have similarities in describing relationships. Also, they have the similarity of imagining the lovers and their expression of love toward each other. However, both poems have some significant differences in terms of representing female sexuality, gender disparity and the display of love.
10. "Book of Poetry : Minor Odes of the Kingdom : Decade Of Bei Shan : Bei Shan 2 - Chinese Text Project." Chinese Text Project. N.p., n.d. Web.
The Tale of Murasaki, by Liza Dalby, is about Murasaki, a young woman who lived in the Heian period (794-1185) of Japan. She writes a story called The Tale of Genji, and earns so much recognition for it that she is invited to court to attend the empress. Not only was she known for her writing, but she drew attention by learning Chinese. In the story, a Chinese education is essential for a man hoping to be a high-ranked member of society. Because the Japanese considered Chinese culture as superior, waka, a popular form of Japanese poetry, carries less cultural value in the novel. Therefore, both high-class women and men have to learn about wakas and use them daily. A woman who can compose good wakas and is beautiful would have the best chances of going to court, which is the best way to guarantee a comfortable life. Liza Dalby’s The Tale of Murasaki accurately portrays the abilities of each sex, the importance of Chinese learning, and the role of Japanese poetry in the Heian period of Japan.
The Tale of Heike." Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600. Ed. Haruo Shirane. New York: Columbia UP, 2007. 736-39. Print.
of the difficulty in acceptance. In the first few stanzas the poet creates the impression that she
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.
This poem opens up the eyes of the reader and teaches us a lesson about life. It is essentially an example of the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. The woman seems so perfect on the outside and for that reason the man wants to be with her, but when he knows that the cover of her book is different from that of most, then he instantly makes up his mind that he won’t even open
The Japanese medieval age consists of the Kamakura and Muromachi periods (from approximately 1185 to 1600). During this time, the political power was switching from the imperial family to a militaristic government. In addition, civil wars (from 1156 to 1568) were increasing throughout Japan. This change of centrality in society’s focus from court to warriors shifted the perception and style of Japanese literature.
The Heian period(794-1185), the so-called golden age of Japanese culture, produced some of the finest works of Japanese literature.1 The most well known work from this period, the Genji Monogatari, is considered to be the “oldest novel still recognized today as a major masterpiece.”2 It can also be said that the Genji Monogatari is proof of the ingenuity of the Japanese in assimilating Chinese culture and politics. As a monogatari, a style of narrative with poems interspersed within it, the characters and settings frequently allude to Chinese poems and stories. In addition to displaying the poetic prowess that the Japanese had attained by this time period, the Genji Monogatari also demonstrates how politics and gender ideals were adopted from the Chinese.