Man’yōshū
The poetic anthology Man’yōshū, compiled in ca. 759, is well known as an outstanding masterpiece of the Nara period, following the two chronicles: Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki, or Nihongi, (720). As its title describes, Man’yōshū (collection of ten thousand leaves) is an anthology of as many as almost 4,500 poems by writers from various backgrounds and different periods, in which I see this anthology significant. The composers include such prominent poets as Kakinomoto Hiromaro, Ōtomo Yakamochi, and Yamanoue Okura, as well as the noble, soldiers, and peasants, suggesting that the volumes teach us different aspects of those eras, or perspectives not only of the educated or rich but those of commoners. Perhaps, that no specific writing styles, both choka and tanka, were yet to be regulated enabled the huge collection in a variety of composers.
Another point regarding the contents of Man’yōshū that somehow struck me is that men didn’t hesitate to express their emotional parts and weakness, as seen in the pieces by Kakimonoto Hitomaro and Ōtomo Yakamochi:
“…I thought myself a strong man. But the sleeves of my garment are wetted through with tears” (Kakinomoto Hitomaro)
“…then I think of my far-off home – sorely do I grieve that with my sobs” (Ōtomo Yakamochi)
Consequently I assume that there might have been some connections between the era as being pre-Confucian and gender roles in the society; that is, perhaps, the concept that “Boys don’t cry” was yet to come in later time of the Japanese history. Speaking of Kakinomoto Hitomaro, he is known for his good use of such poetic devices as makurakotoba, joshi, and on’in; especially his use of makurakotoba was extensive, using over 140 makurakotoba, half of which is alleged ...
... middle of paper ...
...buted to a great degree into the modern Japan.
In conclusion, two of the well-known Japanese literature works, Man’yōshū and Kokinshū, have had great impacts on later periods of Japan, not only in the literature world but also in many other aspects of the culture and society: poetic styles and devices, writing systems, pursuit of intelligence, reflection on one’s identity, appreciation for humanity, nature, and other possible connections in life, etc.
Works Cited
Hatano, Fumio. (2004). Japanese History: 11 Experts Reflect on the Past. Tokyo: Kodansha.
Gyaru Moji Henkan. http://www.glne.jp/tbl1.cgi Retrieved on May 30, 2010.
Wikipedia. Kakekotoba. http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%8E%9B%E8%A9%9E retrieved on May 30, 2010.
Wikipedia. Kakinomoto Hitomaro. http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9F%BF%E6%9C%AC%E4%BA%BA%E9%BA%BB%E5%91%82 Retrieved on May 30, 2010.
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.
On Farting by Hiraga Gennai gives the reader a perspective into the world of various arts in the Edo Period. Not only are we shown what is meant to be a proper practicing of the arts through his satirical character, Crankshaw Stonington Esquire, but he counters this claim that the arts were then lacking in life, passion, and ingenuity. They had become boring and outdated without any creativity being brought forward. To prove this he sings his praises for a fart artist, and engages in a lively debate about what truly marks art as meaningful and how a change to the traditions would improve the civilization. However passionate, his argument may not be effective enough to change the minds and ways of those who revel in the traditional.
Christopher Benfey’s work The Great Wave is a narrative driven by a collection of accounts, stories and curious coincidences tying together The Gilded Age of New England in particular with interactions and connections to the Japan of old and new. In the context of The Great Wave, Benfey's own personal journey to Japan at the age of sixteen should be understood. Embarking on this voyage to learn traditional writing, language and Judo, his story can also be seen as a not only a historical continuation, but also a personal precursor to the vignettes he discovers and presents to the reader.
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.
Royall, Tyler. ""I Am I": Genji and Murasaki." Monumenta Nipponica 54.4 (1999): 437, 475-476. JSTOR. Web. 26 Feb. 2011.
In Yoshie's work, “Gender in Early Classical Japan: Marriage, Leadership, and Political Status in Village and Palace (2005),” she takes the example of Toji, women known to have played a m...
“Until the seventeenth century, Japanese Literature was privileged property. …The diffusion of literacy …(and) the printed word… created for the first time in Japan the conditions necessary for that peculiarly modern phenomenon, celebrity” (Robert Lyons Danly, editor of The Narrow Road of the Interior written by Matsuo Basho; found in the Norton Anthology of World Literature, Second Edition, Volume D). Celebrity is a loose term at times; it connotes fortune, flattery, and fleeting fame. The term, in this modern era especially, possesses an aura of inevitable transience and glamorized superficiality. Ironically, Matsuo Basho, (while writing in a period of his own newfound celebrity as a poet) places an obvious emphasis on the transience of life within his travel journal The Narrow Road of the Interior. This journal is wholly the recounting of expedition and ethos spanning a fifteen hundred mile feat, expressed in the form of a poetic memoir. It has been said that Basho’s emphasis on the Transient is directly related to his and much of his culture’s worldview of Zen Buddhism, which is renowned for its acknowledgement of the Transient as a tool for a more accurate picture of life and a higher achievement of enlightenment. Of course, in the realization that Basho does not appear to be unwaveringly religious, perhaps this reflection is not only correlative to Zen Buddhism, but also to his perspective on his newfound celebrity. Either way, Matsuo Basho is a profound lyricist who eloquently seeks to objectify and relay the concept of transience even in his own name.
presence (Tablet I: 30-38). In addition, he emerges more divine than human (Tablet I: 50)
The Tale of Heike." Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600. Ed. Haruo Shirane. New York: Columbia UP, 2007. 736-39. Print.
Throughout the story the author discusses how Toyo-o’s father and bigger brother scorn him for his irresponsibility and laziness, since he fails to take up any responsibility to help with the family business. This shows that, in the Japanese culture, a man is...
Over the course of Japanese history, arguably, no artist is more famous for their works than Katsushika Hokusai. During his 88 years of life, he produced over 30,000 pieces of artwork, and heavily influenced Western styles of art. His most famous piece was created around 1831, a Japanese styled piece titled, The Great Wave off Kanagawa. This piece has stood as a defining piece of artwork in the Japanese culture for over 180 years, analyzed by students and authors for the interpretations filling the paper. The relationship between Hokusai’s painting has directly affected the Western point of view of Japanese style. The English author, Herbert Read’s novel interprets the painting distinctly differently from a Japanese point, American poet,
The Man’yōshū (Collection of a Myriad) is an anthology of poetry with some 4,500 poems. The Man’yōshū is one the first anthologies of Japanese poetry but by some scholars it is considered one of the finest. In his book Japanese Culture author Paul Varley describes the poems of the Man’yōshū as follows, “Some of the Man’yōshū poems are spuriously attributed to emperors and other lofty individuals of the fourth and fifth centuries, an age shrouded in myth, and a great many more are anonymous” (43). Many poem anthologies have come and gone over the rich history of Japan but there are some key features of the Man’yōshū that keeps it apart from the many other anthologies. One of the key features is that it can be said that the poems found therein were not just written by the nobility but the hand of many classes of society contributed to the works of poetry within the anthology. From the peasants to the frontiers guards men to even the paupers of Japans societies contributed to this great anthology. Though some modern scholars believe tha...
The Man’yoshu was one of the earliest texts using tanka poetry form. Tanka poetry which is written as 5-7-5-7-7 is ...
Our lives are fast paced and filled with choices. We rarely reflect on our decisions and their consequences. Some feel satisfied with dismissing this reflection and choosing to hide whatever psychological wound and letting it build from afar. However, Haruki Murakami, in Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, argues that deep understanding oneself and self-confidence requires one to confront truths about themselves and the world around them, or else self-doubt will consume them. Murakami accomplishes this by playing around with the genres of coming-of-age and literary realism, presenting contrasting ideas of Tsukuru’s self-worth, using Tsukuru’s journey to exemplify his argument and give insight to people’s capabilities through
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.