THE ANCIENT PERIOD
BY:
DELFINO, Doris S.
It represents
the ‘sun’
“Nisshoki”
w/c means
‘sun-mark flag’
JAPAN
Capital: Tokyo
Area: 142,727 square miles
Language: Japanese
Religion: Shintoism & Buddhism
National Anthem: Kimi-ga-yo (The Reign of our Emperor)
Sports: Sumō, Judo, Kendo
JAPANESE CULTURE
Clothe: Kimono
JAPANESE CULTURE
The cultural traditions of Japan derive from three (3) main sources.
Archaic Japan Itself
Neighboring Civilization of China
The flood of Western Influence
Cha-mo-yu (Tea Drinking Ceremony)
Zen Meditation on Zambuton
JAPANESE LITERATURE
I. JAPANESE ALPHABET
There are 3 KINDS of Japanese Writing
HIRAGANA
KATAKANA
KANJI
HIRAGANA
consists of 48 syllables, it is a phonetic alphabet where each
alphabetic combination represents just a single sound.
KATAKANA
Katakana are most often used for transcription of words in foreign languages.
used to represent sounds, technical and scientific terms.
Katakana's main feature is short straight strokes and angular corners, that’s why
Katakana is considered the simplest of the Japanese scripts.
KANJI
Kanji are used together with three other systems to write modern Japanese,
Kanji which is a Japanese system of writing based on borrowed or slightly modified
Chinese characters is used to write parts of the language such as nouns, adjective
stems and verb stems. For Kanji characters refers to the Chinese characters.
JAPANESE LITERATURE
II. LITERARY FORMS
TANKA
HAIKU
CHOKA
HOKKU
RENGA
TANKA POETRY
Tanka is a 31 syllable format in the pattern 5-7-5-7-7.
These little gems are on themes such as nature, the round of the seasons,
the impermanence of life, and the vicissitudes of love.
These are some 8 examples:
The Nobleman Kaki-no-Moto: Kaki-no-Moto no Hitomaro
Akahito Yamabe: Yamabe no Akahito
Saru Maru, A Shinto Official: Saru Maru Taiu
The Imperial Adviser Yakamochi: Chū-nagon Yakamochi
Nakamaro Abe: Abe no Nakamaro
The Priest Kizen: Kizen Hōshi
Komachi Ono: Ono no Komachi
The Privy Councillor Takamura: Sangi Takamura
Minamoto no Toshiyori
The clustering clouds
Can it be they wipe away
The lunar shadows?
Every time they clear a bit
The moonlight shines the brighter.
HAIKU
consist of 17 on (also known as morae), in three phrases of 5,
7 and 5 on respectively.
are traditionally printed in a single vertical line.
It highlights moments, the understanding of nature and its
beauty.
It intends to evoke emotion.
Examples of Haiku by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)
An old silent pond,
A frog jumps into the pond
Splash! Silence again.
The seed of all song
Is the fanner’s busy hum
As he plants his rice
CHOKA
More lengthy than Tanka, it consists of the
unlimited number of alternating lines of five and
seven syllables.
This Morning
HOKKU
It is considered as the forerunner of the haiku
which uses Renga as opening verse making use of
three lines of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables.
The final leaf falls
The tree branches are so bare
Autumn has arrived
Remember Summer's warm kiss.
So gentle, it will be missed.
RENGA
Made of interwoven tanka which became popular
in Japan in the 13th Century.
Spring
The year's first poem done,
with smug self confidence
a haikai poet.
Longer has become the daytime;
a pheasant is fluttering
down onto the bridge.
Yearning for the Bygones
Lengthening days,
accumulating, and recalling
the days of distant past.
Slowly passing days,
with an echo heard here in a
corner of Kyoto.
The white elbow
of a priest, dozing,
in the dusk of spring.
Into a nobleman,
a fox has changed himself
early evening of spring.
The light on a candle stand
is transferred to another candle
spring twilight.
A short nap,
then awakening
this spring day has darkened.
Who is it for,
this pillow on the floor,
in the twilight of spring?
JAPANESE LITERATURE
III. Japanese Dramaturgy
UZUME’S DANCE
THE NOH
KABUKI
UZUME’S DANCE
Uzume’s dance trying to lure the Sun Goddess
from hiding is the first dramatic performance ever
recorded which constitutes the myth preserved in
the Kagura dances.
THE NOH DRAMA
The Noh drama is viewed as exotic with the
traditional costumes and recitation using the
archaic dialogue.
Japanese husbands are usually performing in
the Noh plays with a firm belief that doing so
would lessen the labor pains of their wives in
giving birth.
KABUKI
Originated from Kyoto in the 17th century as an offshoot
of Noh.
The Kabuki caters to the needs of the populace whereas,
the Noh is for the elite.
It underwent various stages of evolution and included
forms developed into dramatized stories recited by a single
actor to the accompaniment of music supplied by a three-
stringed guitar and the tapping of clogs synchronized with
the flapping of fan.
KNOWING THE
AUTHOR
JAPANESE AUTHORS
CHIKAMATSU MONZAEMON
• Original name Sugimori Nobumori
• Born 1653, Echizen , Japan
• Died Jan. 6, 1725, Amagasaki, Settsu
• Japanese playwright, widely regarded as among
the greatest dramatists of that country.
• He was labeled as the “Shakespeare” of his land.
• He effectively wrote some 50 dramas in which he
freely integrated with tragedy and comedy.
KYOKUTEI BAKEN
• Original name is Takizawa Bakin
• (4 July 1767 – 1 December 1848)
• a late Japanese Edo period gesaku author best known for
works such as Nansō Satomi Hakkenden (The Chronicles of
the Eight Dog Heroes of the Satomi Clan of Nansô)
and Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki (Strange Tales of the Crescent
Moon).
JIPPENSHA IKKU
• (1765 – September 12, 1831)
• was the pen name of Shigeta Sadakazu (real name)
• a Japanese writer active during the late Edo period of Japan.
He was among the most prolific yellow-backed novel writers
of the late Edo period.
• His masterpiece, Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige, was published in
twelve parts between 1802 and 1822. Aston calls it "the most
humorous and entertaining book in the Japanese language."[2]
LADY MURASAKI
• Murasaki Shikibu
• (c. 978 – c. 1014 or 1025)
• was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at
the Imperial court during the Heian period. She is best
known as the author of The Tale of Genji, written
in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012.
KAWABATA YASUNARI
• Born: June 14, 1899, Osaka, Japan
• Died: April 16, 1972, Zushi, Japan
• Movies: Snow Country, A Page of Madness
• was a Japanese novelist and short story writer whose sparse,
lyrical, subtly-shaded prose works won him the Nobel Prize
for Literature in 1968, the first Japanese author to receive the
award.
MATSUO BASHO
• (1644 - 1694)
• is one of the most celebrated Japanese poets.
• Basho is considered to be the master of the haiku.
• His work is praised for its brevity and clarity; its ability to capture
the most saddle transitions is astounding. Many monuments in
Japan bear his poems. His works include The Seashell Game, A
Shriveled Chestnut, Record of a Weather-Exposed Skeleton etc.
VOCABULARY
ENRICHMENT
Find the meaning of the italicized words.
Grope her way round
(to look for something blindly or uncertainly)
The nestling called forlornly up
(empty and in poor condition)
The nestling is near
(a young bird that has not left the nest)
Boundless joy
(not limited in any way)
JAPAN’S TOURIST
ATTRACTIONS
Temple of the Golden Pavilion
Mount Fuji
Tokyo Imperial Palace
Tokyo Tower
Todaiji Temple
Great Buddha of Kamakura
Himeji Castle
ENHANCING
READING SKILLS
How do you employ reading skills as an
aid in comprehension and appreciation
of a literary piece?
To persuade - to influence, motivate, or prompt
someone’s thoughts or actions.
To inform - to tell, to advise, or to communicate
important messages to the readers.
To call attention to - to encourage readers to give
consideration or regard to the significance of the literary
piece or written selectio.
References
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Japanese_literature
http://www.linguanaut.com/japanese_alphabet.htm
www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/110980/Chikamatsu-
Monzaemon
www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/304051/Jippensha-Ikku
www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/.../1968/kawabata-
bio.html
Collier's Encyclopedia vol.13, 19 and 11
Webster’s Dictionary
Thessaurus
World Literature by: Dinia Delfina S. Reyes
