Courtly Literature in

MEDIEVAL JAPAN

Yamato or Kofun PeriodChinese Influenceca. 300-710 ce Yamato : “great kings” Kofun: giant tomb mounds Military aristocracy Capital at Naniwa (Osaka) Imported Chinese culture

via Korea:WritingConfucianismBuddhism

Prince Shotoku573-621

Regent during reign of Empress Suiko (r. 592-628)

Wrote the Seventeen Article Constitution, the earliest piece of Japanese writing and basis for Japanese government throughout history

Led Japanese court in adopting Chinese calendar and sponsoring Buddhism

Prince ShotokuKamakura period, early 14th century

Gilt bronze

Asuka Period

645-710 Capital in the Asuka

District Establishment of

Imperial Power under Taika Reform Edict

Temple building and sculpture introduced with Buddhism -- heavily influenced by Korean and Chinese models

Relief Tile with Buddhist TriadAsuka period, 7th centuryMetropolitan Museum of Art

Taika Reform Edicts: 645Fusion of Buddhism and Shinto

Influence of Chinese culture -- institutions, language, philosophy -- concept of national unity symbolized by Emperor's dual role: Shinto religious leader

with elaborate rituals, ceremonial functions

Chinese-like secular Emperor

Emperor ruled by Decree of Heaven with absolute authority and by descent from Amaterasu, the sun goddess

Emperor Tenji (From Ogura Hyakunin Isshu) 626-672

Shinto: Ise Jingu:

Grand Shrines of Ise

                                             

Ise Grand Shrine is Japan's most important Shinto shrine and serves as the center of all shrines nationwide.

Situated near the banks of the Isuzu River, the shrine is surrounded by 800-year-old Ise Grand Shrine cedars.

The smooth pebble-lined approach to the shrine lends the site a majestic air.

The NaikuThe most

revered of all Shinto shrines, the Naiku, is located at Ise.

The Naiku enshrines Amaterasu Omikami, the ancestral goddess of Japan's imperial house and the great ancestral deity of the Japanese people.

Amaterasu

Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Amaterasu Emerges from the Light.

(colored woodcut, no date).

Nara Period: 710-794

710: first permanent capital established at Nara

Emperors embraced Buddhism leading to its rapid and dramatic expansion

784: Rise in political power of Buddhist monasteries led to capital being moved to Nagaoka

Nara Fashion

During the Nara and the previous Asuka periods, techniques for dyeing silk were developed. Clothing consisted of many pieces including upper and lower

garments, jackets, a front skirt, and a back skirt.

Buddha Sculptures

Nara - Temple Chugu-ji 7th c.

Nara - Temple Horyu-ji 7th c.

Umayasaka Temple at Nara

Earliest Japanese Literature

712 : The Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) -- an anthology of myths, legends, and other stories

713: The Fudoki (Records of Wind and Earth), compiled by provincial officials describe the history, geography, products, and folklore of the various provinces.

720: Nihon shoki (Chronicle of Japan) -- a chronological record of history.

The Kojiki The Kojiki (Record of Ancient

Matters) is traditionally viewed as Japan's first book. It was written in 712 by the courtier Ono Yasumaro (? - 723) at the behest of Empress Gemmei (661-721) and is in three volumes.

The Kojiki recounts the history of Japan from its mythological origins to the era of the Empress Suiko (554-628) in the Yamoto era and includes myths, legends, Imperial genealogy, history, and poetry.

Ono Yasumaru's work was based on the oral recitations of Hieda no Are

Kojiki – album cover Kitaro

                                           

Izanami and Izanagi, the creator kami

Wakawa-Japanese ka-poetry

Waka were first composed orally to celebrate victories in battle and love, or for religious reasons

Around the 8th century the fixed forms Choka (long poem) and Tanka (short poem) emerged. These Waka are based on a set number of Mora (syllables).

During the first great age of written waka in the seventh and eighth centuries, nagauta or choka 'long poems‘ were composed for performance on public occasions at the imperial court.

At the same time, tanka 'short poems', consisting of five 'lines' in the pattern of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables, became a useful shorthand for private communication between friends and lovers, and the ability to compose a tanka on a given topic became an essential skill for any gentleman or lady at court.

It was not uncommon for parties to be thrown just to recite waka. One ritual was the Utokai. At Utokai parties each guest would come with an original waka and recite it to the group. All of the waka would then be judged by the host and the winner would be welcomed to eat at the head table.

The Manyoshu(Collection of

Ten Thousand Leaves) Collected ca. 759 Anthology of over 4500 poems Includes wide variety of poems:

courtly, rustic, dialectical, military, travel

Identified and anonymous poets Syllabic poetry: 5-7-5

Choka: indeterminate number of lines culminating in a 7-syllable (mora) couplet

Tanka: 31 syllable poem: 5,7,5,7, 7

Heian Japan

Heian Japan

794-1185 Capital at Heian: present-day

Kyoto Highly formalized court culture Aristocratic monopoly of power Literary and artistic flowering Ended in civil wars and

emergence of samurai culture

The Kokinshu(Collection of Ancient

and Modern Times)

Anthology commissioned by Emperor Daigo (r. 897-930

1111 tanka poems in 20 books

Set the pattern for later anthologies Books divided by subject:

love, seasons, felicitations, parting, travel, names of things, etc.

Poetic sequences – linked narrations Renga: 'linked verse' : pairs or groups

of poets would compose jointly, with one poet supplying the initial 5-7-5 of a verse and another the concluding 7-7, often building up to hundred verse sequences.

The initial 5-7-5 of a renga became a poetic form on its own, the haiku

A confused array of red leaves in the current of Tatsuta River. Were I to cross, I would break the fabric of a rich brocade

Lady Ise

Ono noKomachi

Ki no Tsurayuki Ariwara no Narihira

Fun'ya-no-Yasuhide

Otomo-no-Kuronushi

Kokinshu Poets

Thirty-six

Immortal Poets

                                                                                                     

                                                              

The Thirty-six Immortal Poets (detail), Edo period (1615-1868)Ikeda Koson (1802–1867)Two-panel folding screen; ink and color on silk; 68 x 68 3/4 in. (172.8 x 174.6 cm)Property of Mary Griggs Burke

Heian Fashion

A culture more independent of Chinese influence

miyabi : courtlinessmakoto : simplicityaware : melancholymono no aware :evanescence

Emphasis on the exquisite and evanescent

Literary: poems, letters, pillow books

Extreme sensitivity to nature Nocturnal Importance of

convention and fashion

Heian Style

Heian Society

Patriarchal but women inherited: matrilineal and matrilocal

Polygamous Sexuality viewed as normal and

necessary part of life Men exercised political power, but

marriages created political alliances and women could exercise significant political influence

Heian Painting: Yamato-e Onna-e

rich colors and subtle outlines.

the medium for courtliness, appropriate to the literature of miyabi, such as The Tale of Genji.

"cutaway" painting, in which interior scenes are painted by "cutting away" the roof.

primarily concerned with the Japanese life that goes on inside the court or house

Otoko-e

strong calligraphic outlines on figures with washed colors so that these strong lines would not be overwhelmed by the color

the medium for action subjects involving war or conflict;

primarily concerned with the public life outside the court or house.

Onna-e style from Genji-

monogatari

Otoko-e style

Heian Literature Men continued to write

Chinese-style poetry Women began to write

in Japanese prose First novel: Genji

Monogatari by Lady Murasaki Shikibu

Diaries: The Pillowbook by

Sei Shonagan As I Crossed a

Bridge of Dreams by Lady Sarashina

Murasaki Shikibu

Katsukawa Shunsho 18th c.

From a series of the 36 Immortal Poets

The Tale of Genji

The Tale of GenjiLady

Murasaki

Picture of life at the 10th c. Heian court

Relates the lives and loves of Prince Genji and his children and grandchildren

Unesco Global Heritage Pavilion: The Tale of Genji

The Tale of Genji

The Tale of Genji has 54 chapters and over 1,000 pages of text in its English translation.

The novel has three gradual stages: 1. The experience of a youth (Chapters 1-33): Love and romance 2. The glory and the sorrow (Chapters 34-41): A taste of power

and the death of Genji’s beloved wife 3. The descendants (Chapters 42-54): After the death of Genji

The Tale of Genji depicts a unique society of ultra-refined and elegant aristocrats whose indispensable accomplishments were skill in poetry, music, calligraphy, and courtship.

The novel is permeated with a sensitivity to human emotions and the beauties of nature.

                                                           

                

Artist Unknown, Chapter 12 Suma, Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji). About mid-18th century, Color on paper

Family Relationships

in The Tale of

Genji

Prince Hyobu Fujitsubo--Lady of the --Kokiden--Emperor Princess Omiya---Minister Paulownia Court of the Left

Former Emperor Minister of the Right

Murasaki Crown Prince Genji Crown Prince Aoi To no Chujo Reizei Emperor Suzaku Emperor

Members of the Emperor’s Family

Genji’s Families

Genji --- Aoi To No Chujo Suzaku Emperor--Lady Shokyoden

Yugiri --- Kumoinokari

--- Murasaki

~~ Akashi Lady

Akashi Empress ---Emperor

Prince Niou -- Rokunokimi

--- Third Princess ~~ Kashiwagi

Kaoru

Genji’s LiaisonsGenji ~ Lady at Rokujo---late Crown Prince Akikonomu, High Priestess of Ise consort of Reizei Emperor ~ Yugao (Evening Faces) ~ To no Chujo daughter, Tamakazura ~ Fujitsubo -- Emperor Crown Prince (Reizei Emperor)

~ Lady of the Locust Shell -- Governor of Iyo ~ Naishi ~ Safflower Lady ~ Oborozukiyo, Kokiden’s sister -- consort of Suzaku Emperor ~ Lady of the Orange Blossoms, Reikeiden’s sister ~ Gosechi dancer ~ Akashi Lady Akashi Empress