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Japanese Culture: Its Development and Characteristics
Japanese Culture: Its Development and Characteristics
Western influence in Japanese culture
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The Pillow Book The era in which The Pillow Book was written was very unique. Almost all the documents that we have from Japan during this era were written by women. This was rare during 11th century, since women were usually illiterate and uneducated. Through the use of imagery, metaphors, and short sentences, Sei Shonagon’s The Pillow Book demonstrates the rules of Japan's society and gives the audience an insight on the thoughts and actions of the aristocracy, which, in turn, allows us to study and understand the actions of this past society. Sei Shonagon has emphatic writing that she conveys through the use of figurative language and syntax. In one of her poems she articulates, “As the light creeps over the hills, their outlines are
Authors use many different types of imagery in order to better portray their point of view to a reader. This imagery can depict many different things and often enhances the reader’s ability to picture what is occurring in a literary work, and therefore is more able to connect to the writing. An example of imagery used to enhance the quality of a story can be found in Leyvik Yehoash’s poem “Lynching.” In this poem, the imagery that repeatably appears is related to the body of the person who was lynched, and the various ways to describe different parts of his person. The repetition of these description serves as a textual echo, and the variation in description over the course of the poem helps to portray the events that occurred and their importance from the author to the reader. The repeated anatomic imagery and vivid description of various body parts is a textual echo used by Leyvik Yehoash and helps make his poem more powerful and effective for the reader and expand on its message about the hardship for African Americans living
Throughout history artists have used art as a means to reflect the on goings of the society surrounding them. Many times, novels serve as primary sources in the future for students to reflect on past history. Students can successfully use novels as a source of understanding past events. Different sentiments and points of views within novels serve as the information one may use to reflect on these events. Natsume Soseki’s novel Kokoro successfully encapsulates much of what has been discussed in class, parallels with the events in Japan at the time the novel takes place, and serves as a social commentary to describe these events in Japan at the time of the 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.
Though more than two hundred years have separated Sei Shonagon and Marie de France, the scene is much the same. A courtly lady sits in a candle-lit room, with her writing hand poised above a book of parchment. Her face brightens in an instant of inspiration and she scribbles furiously onto the paper. This woman is closely associated with the royal court and is something of an anachronism, a woman author in a male-dominated world. The scene pictured here could have taken place in either Shonagon's late tenth century Japan or the twelfth century France of Marie de France. The differences that exist between these two authors are a result of their differing cultures and personalities. Marie de France writes as a product of her time, expressing herself through her characters, while keeping in mind the mandates of the church. Sei Shonagon is ruled by no such mandates and as a result wrote with merciless honesty. Accordingly, the structure, diction and imagery used by each author reflects her own distinct personality and values.
Known for her work as a historian and rather outspoken political activist, Yamakawa Kikue was also the author of her book titled Women of the Mito Domain (p. xix). At the time she was writing this work, Yamakawa was under the surveillance of the Japanese government as the result of her and her husband’s work for the socialist and feminist movements in Japan (p. xx-xxi). But despite the restrictions she was undoubtedly required to abide by in order to produce this book, her work contains an air of commentary on the past and present political, social, and economic issues that had been plaguing the nation (p. xxi). This work is a piece that comments on the significance of women’s roles in history through the example of Yamakawa’s own family and
This novel is like many other Japanese stories in that it is not a very happy book. There is no happy ending and the novel is filled with many gruesome de...
Julie Otsuka’s story, “When the Emperor was Divine,” illustrates what calamities an unnamed Japanese American family lived through during, and after being sent to an internment camp by the American government. The story takes place after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, when America was engulfed in a rise of “yellow peril” emitting a widespread fear of Japanese people across the country. Every chapter is see through the eyes of a different family member and gives the readers details about how differently each character was affected by the events that unfolded around them. Rather than explaining what the characters felt, Otsuka used symbolism to enumerate the hidden themes within the story, such as with the use of the woman’s rosebush. In the fourth chapter, Otsuka uses the rosebush as a symbol of the family’s former lives, and how that freedom was stolen from them, never to be found again.
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.
Heidi Julavits’ Turning Japanese is an intriguing, almost mysterious narrative that takes advantage of the author’s impressive diction. Julavits’ expressive style explored the complex, conceptual theories she held while staying in Japan. In studying this essay, I have absorbed a different perspective and writing style, gained better understanding of analyzing text, and piqued an interest in the art of composing written works.
The Pillowman takes place in a nameless totalitarian state. The play opens in a police interrogation room as two officers, Tupolski and Ariel, question a man named Katurian about some belligerent child murders that have occurred recently within their town. Katurian is a writer of convoluted stories involving children, and several of the murders mimic conceptions presented in his stories. The detectives additionally interrogate Katurian about his brother, Michael, who is described as “slow to catch on.” Throughout the interrogation, Katurian recites some of the stories that the police believe are connected to the murders. The play follows Katurian as he endeavors to maintain the innocence of himself and his brother utilizing
Saikaku, Ihara. Life of a Sensuous Woman. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. (Vol. D) Ed. Damrosch. New York: Pearson, 2004. 604-621. [Excerpt.]
Watanna’s self-fashioning examines the reasons of submissiveness based on the relationship between Japanese women and Western men. Most people would agree with the depiction that women of the Japanese culture are weak due to their submission to the male figures. One can relate to this based on the upbringing of Japanese women. Often time, they are given very little authority during their lifespan. As a child, they are being controlled under their parents’ dictatorship. By the time they grow become adults, their freedom and liberty is still limited, to say the least. Furthermore, bigotry is also imposed upon the half-caste race by society. If there is any matter that the Japanese are against, it would be the existence and presence of the half-caste, which is a race, mixed of Japanese and Caucasian blood. Okikusan is a half Japanese, half European geisha girl in “A Half Caste.” There is an “unreasonable dislike” that Okikusan has developed for foreigners. This is can be easily explained through the t...
The Heian period was a peaceful era that is highly regarded in Japan’s history. At this time Japan was beginning to break away from Chinese influence, thus the culture of Japan was morphing into something unique and independent from that of China. An example of resulting change was Japan’s further development of their writing system known as kana, which allowed authors to express their feelings in a more Japanese way. The Japanese court also progressed independently from China and created unique concepts and values such as miyabi “courtliness,” makoto “sincerity,” and aware “sadness of impermanence” (Hooker). The expectations put on men and women in the court during the Heian period must have been concurrent with such values.
...e use of figurative language and many literary techniques, Dickinson makes clear her theme, adding on to the intensity of the poem.
Early in Japanese history it was clear that woman played a clear and valuable role in the Japanese government, but as the years progressed there influence and power began to diminish. Two books about court culture during this time show evidence of this strain in power. The Pillow Book, by Sei Shonagon, is a journal composed of her thoughts and observations of what was going on around her, during the Heian Period. This document can be used to help understand the role that women played in Japanese society, as well as, how they were viewed by others. Another document that can be used to examine this topic is The Confessions of Lady Nijo, an autobiography of a concubine who served the emperor GoFukakusa.
For this assignment I read The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon translated and edited by Ivan Morris. Sei Shonagon’s story takes place over one thousand years ago around the end of the 10th century and very beginning of the 11th century. Her entries are located mostly in the Imperial Palace during her time as a lady in waiting to Empress Teishi and then Empress Sadako in Heian, Japan. The first version of the book was completed in 1002 and has been rewritten or translated several times since then. Her pillow book consists of 185 sections that include cultural references, various lists and poems and diary entries about things that have happened to or around her.