Japanese literature traces its beginnings to oral traditions that were first recorded in

written form in the early eighth century after a writing system was introduced from
China. The Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) and Nihon shoki (Chronicle of Japan)
were complete in 712 and 720, respectively, as government projects.
The former is an anthology of myths, legends, and other stories, while the latter is
a chronological record of history. TheFudoki (Records of Wind and Earth), compiled
by provincial officials beginning in 713, describe he history, geography, products
and folklore of the various provinces.
In the aristocratic culture that thrived early in the eleventh century, a time when the
use of the hiragana alphabet derived from Chinese characters had become
widespread, court ladies played the central role in developing literature. One of
them, Murasaki Shikibu, wrote the 54-chapter novel Genji monogatari (Tale of
Genji). Others wrote diaries and stories with their psychological portrayals
remaining fresh and vivid to present-day readers.
The function of literature as a means of social intercourse broadened.
Composing renga (successive linked verses by several people forming a long poem)
became a favorite pastime, and this gave birth to haikai (a sort of jocular renga) in
the sixteenth century. The renowned seventeenth century poet Matsuo Basho who
perfected a new condensed poetic form of 17 syllables (5-7-5) known as haiku, an
embodiment of elegant simplicity and tranquility.
Japanese literature spans a period of almost two millennia of writing. Early work was
heavily influenced by Chinese literature, but Japan quickly developed a style and
quality of its own. When Japan reopened its ports to Western trading and diplomacy
in the 19th century, Western Literature had a strong effect on Japanese writers, and
this influence is still seen today.
As with all literature, Japanese literature is best read in the original. Due to deep
linguistic and cultural differences, many Japanese words and phrases are not easily
translated. Although Japanese literature and Japanese authors are perhaps not as
well known in the west as those in the European and American canons, Japan
possesses an ancient and rich literary tradition that draws upon a millennium and a
half of written records.
Japanese Literature - History
There is debate regarding the classification of periods in Japanese literature. The
following is a general guide based on important political and cultural events. Given
the immense span of years covered in this article, it is not comprehensive, but
rather highlights prominent works and authors of the various periods. All names are
in the Japanese order of surname first, given name second.
Japanese Ancient Literature (pre-8th Century)

With the introduction of kanji (, lit. "Chinese characters") from the Asian
mainland, writing became possible, as there was no native writing system.
Consequently, the only literary language was classical Chinese to begin with; later,
the characters were adapted to write Japanese, creating what is known as the
man'ygana, the earliest form of kana, or syllabic writing. Works created in the Nara
Period include Kojiki (712: a partly mythological, partly accurate history of Japan),
Nihonshoki (720: a chronicle with a slightly more solid foundation in historical
records than the Kojiki), and Man'ysh (759: a poetry anthology). The language
used in the works of this period differs significantly from later periods in both its
grammar and phonology. Even in this early era, significant dialectal differences
within Japanese are apparent.
Japanese Classical Literature (8th Century - 12th Century)
Classical Japanese literature generally refers to literature produced during the Heian
Period, what some would consider a golden era of art and literature. The Tale of
Genji (early 11th century) by Murasaki Shikibu is considered the pre-eminent
masterpiece of Heian fiction and an early example of a work of fiction in the form of
a novel. Other important works of this period include the Kokin Wakashu (905, waka
anthology) and The Pillow Book (990s), the latter written by Murasaki Shikibu's
contemporary and rival, Sei Shonagon, about the life, loves, and pastimes of nobles
in the Emperor's court. The iroha poem was also written during the early this period,
becoming the standard order for the Japanese syllabary until 19th century Meiji era
reforms.
In this time the imperial court and highest ranked kuge patronized the poets. There
was no professional poets but most of them were courtiers or ladies-in-waiting.
Editing anthologies of poetry was one of national enterprises. Reflecting the
aristocratic atmosphere, the poetry in that time was elegant and sophiscated and
expressed their emotions in rhetorical style.
Japanese Medieval Literature (13th Century - 16th Century)
A period of civil war and strife in Japan, this era is represented by The Tale of the
Heike (1371). This story is an epic account of the struggle between the Minamoto
and Taira clans for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century. Other important
tales of the period include Kamo no Chmei's Hjki (1212) and Yoshida Kenko's
Tsurezuregusa (1331). Writing Japanese using a mixture of kanji and kana the way it
is done today started with these works in the medieval period. Literature of this
period evinces the influences that Buddhism and Zen ethics had on the emerging
samurai class. Work from this period is noted for insights into life and death, simple
lifestyles, and redemption of killing.
Other remarkable genres in this period were renga, collective poetry and Noh

theatre. Both were rapidly developed in the middle of the 14th century, that is, early
Muromachi period.
Japanese Early-Modern Literature (17th Century - mid-19th Century)
Literature during this time was written during the largely peaceful Tokugawa Period
(commonly referred to as the Edo Period). Due in large part to the rise of the
working and middle classes in the new capital of Edo (modern Tokyo), forms of
popular drama developed which would later evolve into kabuki. The joruri and
kabuki dramatist Chikamatsu Monzaemon became popular starting at the end of the
17th century. Matsuo Bash, best known for Oku no Hosomichi (, 1702: a
travel diary variously rendered 'Narrow Road to the Far North', 'Narrow Road to Oku',
and so on into English), is considered to be one of the first and greatest masters of
haiku poetry. Hokusai, perhaps Japan's most famous wood block print artist,
illustrated fiction aside from his famous 36 Views of Mount Fuji.
Many genres of literature made their debut during the Edo Period, helped by a rising
literacy rate that reached well over 90% (according to some sources), as well as the
development of a library(-like) system. Ihara Saikaku might be said to have given
birth to the modern consciousness of the novel in Japan. Jippensha Ikku ()
wrote Tokaido chuhizakurige (), a mix of travelogue and comedy. Ueda
Akinari initiated the modern tradition of weird fiction in Japan with his Ugetsu
Monogatari, while Kyokutei Bakin wrote the extremely popular fantasy/historical
romance Nanso Satomi Hakkenden (). Sant Kyden wrote tales of the
gay quarters until the Kansei edicts banned such works. Genres included horror,
crime stories, morality stories, comedy, and pornographyoften accompanied by
colorful woodcut prints. Formats included yomihon, various zshi, and chapbooks.
Japanese Meiji and Taisho Literature (late 19th Century - WW II)
The Meiji era marks the re-opening of Japan to the West, and a period of rapid
industrialization. The introduction of European literature brought free verse into the
poetic repertoire; it became widely used for longer works embodying new
intellectual themes. Young Japanese prose writers and dramatists have struggled
with a whole galaxy of new ideas and artistic schools, but novelists were the first to
successfully assimilate some of these concepts. A new colloquial literature
developed centering on the "I novel," with some unusual protagonists as in Natsume
Soseki's Wagahai wa neko de aru (I Am a Cat). Other famous novels written by him
include Botchan and Kokoro (1914). Shiga Naoya, the so called "god of the novel,"
and Mori Ogai were instrumental in adopting and adapting Western literary
conventions and techniques. Akutagawa Ryunosuke is known especially for his
historical short stories. Ozaki Koyo, Izumi Kyoka, and Higuchi Ichiyo represent a
strain of writers whose style hearkens back to early-Modern Japanese literature.
War-time Japan saw the debut of several authors best known for the beauty of their

language and their tales of love and sensuality, notably Tanizaki Junichiro and
Japan's first winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Kawabata Yasunari, a master of
psychological fiction.
Japanese Post-war literature
World War II, and Japan's defeat, influenced Japanese literature. Many authors wrote
stories of disaffection, loss of purpose, and the coping with defeat. Dazai Osamu's
novel The Setting Sun tells of a returning soldier from Manchukuo. Mishima Yukio,
well-known for both his nihilistic writing and his controversial suicide by seppuku,
began writing in the post-war period.
Prominent writers of the 1970s and 1980s, were identified with intellectual and
moral issues in their attempts to raise social and political consciousness. One of
them, Oe Kenzaburo wrote his most well-known work, A Personal Matter in 1964 and
became Japan's second winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Inoue Mitsuaki had long been concerned with the atomic bomb and continued in the
1980s to write on problems of the nuclear age, while Endo Shusaku depicted the
religious dilemma of the Kakure Kirishitan, Roman Catholics in feudal Japan, as a
springboard to address spiritual problems. Inoue Yasushi also turned to the past in
masterful historical novels of Inner Asia and ancient Japan, in order to portray
present human fate.
Avant-garde writers, such as Abe Kobo, who wrote fantastic novels such as Woman
in the Dunes (1960), wanted to express the Japanese experience in modern terms
without using either international styles or traditional conventions, developed new
inner visions. Furui Yoshikichi tellingly related the lives of alienated urban dwellers
coping with the minutiae of daily life, while the psychodramas within such daily life
crises have been explored by a rising number of important women novelists. The
1988 Naoki Prize went to Todo Shizuko for Ripening Summer, a story capturing the
complex psychology of modern women. Other award-winning stories at the end of
the decade dealt with current issues of the elderly in hospitals, the recent past
(Pure- Hearted Shopping District in Koenji, Tokyo), and the life of a Meiji period
ukiyo-e artist. In international literature, Ishiguro Kazuo, a native of Japan, had taken
up residence in Britain and won Britain's prestigious Booker Prize.
Murakami Haruki is one of the most popular and controversial of today's Japanese
authors. His genre-defying, humorous and fantastic works have sparked fierce
debates in Japan over whether they are true "literature" or simple pop-fiction: Oe
Kenzaburo has been one of his harshest critics. However, Western critics are nearly
unanimous in assessing Murakami's works as having serious literary value. Some of
his most well-known works include Norwegian Wood (1987) and The Wind-Up Bird
Chronicle (1994-1995). Another best-selling contemporary author is Banana

Yoshimoto.
Although modern Japanese writers covered a wide variety of subjects, one
particularly Japanese approach stressed their subjects' inner lives, widening the
earlier novel's preoccupation with the narrator's consciousness. In Japanese fiction,
plot development and action have often been of secondary interest to emotional
issues. In keeping with the general trend toward reaffirming national characteristics,
many old themes reemerged, and some authors turned consciously to the past.
Strikingly, Buddhist attitudes about the importance of knowing oneself and the
poignant impermanence of things formed an undercurrent to sharp social criticism
of this material age. There was a growing emphasis on women's roles, the Japanese
persona in the modern world, and the malaise of common people lost in the
complexities of urban culture.
Popular fiction, non-fiction, and children's literature all flourished in urban Japan in
the 1980s. Many popular works fell between "pure literature" and pulp novels,
including all sorts of historical serials, information-packed docudramas, science
fiction, mysteries, business stories, war journals, and animal stories. Non-fiction
covered everything from crime to politics. Although factual journalism
predominated, many of these works were interpretive, reflecting a high degree of
individualism. Children's works remerged in the 1950s, and the newer entrants into
this field, many of them younger women, brought new vitality to it in the 1980s.
Manga (comic books) have penetrated almost every sector of the popular market.
They include virtually any field of human interest, such as a multivolume highschool history of Japan and, for the adult market, a manga introduction to
economics, and pornography. Manga represented between 20 and 30 percent of
annual publications at the end of the 1980s, in sales of some 400 billion per year.
The Future of Japanese Literature
Entering the 21st century, there is controversy whether the rise in popular forms of
entertainment such as manga and anime has caused a decline in the quality of
literature in Japan. The counter-argument is that manga positively affect modern
literature by encouraging younger people to read more.
Significant Japanese authors and works
Famous authors and literary works of significant stature are listed in chronological
order below. For an exhaustive list of authors see List of Japanese authors:
Classical Literature
Sei Shonagon (c.~966 - c.10??): The Pillow Book
Murasaki Shikibu (c.973 - c.1025): The Tale of Genji

Medieval Literature
The Tale of the Heike (1371)
Early-Modern Literature
Ihara Saikaku (1642 1693)
Matsuo Basho (1644 - 1694)
Ueda Akinari (1734 - 1809)
Santo Kyoden (1761 - 1816)
Juppensha Ikku (1765 - 1831)
Kyokutei Bakin (1767 - 1858)
Late-Modern Literature
Mori Ogai (1862 - 1922)
Ozaki Koyo (1867 - 1903)
Natsume Soseki (1867 - 1916)
Izumi Kyoka (1873 - 1939)
Shiga Naoya (1883 - 1971)
Tanizaki Junichiro (1886 - 1965)
Akutagawa Ryunosuke (1892 - 1927)
Eiji Yoshikawa (1892-1962)
Kawabata Yasunari (1899 - 1972)
Dazai Osamu (1909 - 1948)
Endo Shusaku (1923 - 1996)
Abe Kobo (1924 - 1993)
Mishima Yukio (1925 - 1970)
Oe Kenzaburo (1935)
Murakami Haruki (1949)
Murakami Ryu (1952)
Nara Period
710-794
Japanese literature traces its beginnings to oral traditions that were first recorded in
written form in the early eighth century after a writing system was introduced from
China. The Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) and Nihon shoki (Chronicle of Japan)
were completed in 712 and 720, respectively, as government projects. The former
is an anthology of myths, legends, and other stories, while the latter is a chronological record of
history. The Fudoki(Records of Wind and Earth), compiled by provincial officials
beginning in 713, describe the history, geography, products, and folklore of the various provinces.
The most brilliant literary product of this period was the Man'yoshu (Collection of Ten
Thousand Leaves), an anthology of 4,500 poems composed by people ranging from unknown
commoners to emperors and compiled around 759. Already emerging was a verse form
comprising 31 syllables (5-7-5-7-7) known as tanka. In 905 the Kokin wakashu or

Kokinshu (Collection of Poems from Ancient and Modern Times) was published as the
first poetry anthology commissioned by an emperor; its preface paid high tribute to the vast possibilities
of literature.
Man'yoshu Best 100
Manyoshu -- Japanese Text Initiative
Kokin wakashu (260K; binhexed text)
Kokin wakashu -- Japanese Text Initiative
Heian Period
794-1185
In the resplendent aristocratic culture that thrived early in the eleventh century, a
time when the use of the hiragana alphabet derived from Chinese characters had
become widespread, court ladies played the central role in developing literature.
One of them, Murasaki Shikibu wrote the 54-chapter novel Genji monogatari (Tale of
Genji) [in ealy 11 century, ca 1008 ?], while another, Sei Shonagon, wrote Makura no soshi (The
Pillow Book), a diverse collection of jottings and essays [around 996 ]. Others also
wrote diaries and stories, and their psychological portrayals remain fresh and vivid
to present-day readers. The appearance of the Konjaku monogatari (Tales of a Time
That Is Now Past) around 1120 added a new dimension to literature. This collection of
more than 1,000 Buddhist and secular tales from India, China, and Japan is
particularly notable for its rich descriptions of the lives of the nobility and common
people in Japan at that time.
Genji Monogatari -- Japanese Text Initiative
The Tale of Genji Homepage - full text both in Japanese and English
The Tale of Genji
Kamakura-Muromachi Period
1185-1573
In the latter half of the twelfth century warriors of the Taira clan (Heike) seized
political power at the imperial court, virtually forming a new aristocracy.Heike monogatari (The Tale of the Heike),which depicts the rise and fall of the Taira with the
spotlight on their wars with the Minamoto clan (Genji), was completed in the first
half of the thirteenth century [before 1219 ]. It is a grand epic deeply rooted in
Buddhist ethics and filled with sorrow for those who perished, colorful descriptions
of its varied characters, and stirring battle scenes. In former times the tale was
narrated to the accompaniment of a Japanese lute. The Shin kokin wakashu (New
Collection of Poems from Ancient and Modern Times), an anthology of poetry

commissioned by retired Emperor Go-Toba, was also completed around this

time [ca 1205 ?] ; it is dedicated to the pursuit of a subtle, profound beauty far
removed from the mundane reality of civil strife.
First book (Spring I) from Shin kokin wakashu (Copyright 1994 by Paul S. Atkins)
Ogura Hyakunin Isshu - 100 Poems by 100 Poets
This period also produced literature by recluses, typified by Kamo no
Chomei 's Hojoki (An Account of My Hut) [1212] , which reflects on the uncertainty of
existence, and Yoshida Kenko 's Tsurezuregusa (Essays in Idleness) [ca 1330 ] , a work
marked by penetrating reflections on life. Both works raise the question of spiritual
salvation. Meanwhile, the profound thoughts and incisive logic of
the Shobogenzo (Treasury of the True Dharma Eye) [before 1237 ] , one of the first
Buddhist texts written in Japanese rather than Chinese, marked a major
development in Zen thought. The Taiheiki (Chronicle of the Great Peace), depicting
the 50 years from 1318 to 1367 when two rival imperial courts struggled for power, is
a valuable historical record, while the noh plays perfected by Kan'ami and his son
Zeami are of great literary value. Zeami 's Fushi kaden (The Transmission of the Flower
of Acting Style) [1400] is a brilliant essay on dramatic art.
Japanese traditional art in this homepege for informatino of Noh
Edo Period
1603-1868
Around this time the function of literature as a means of social intercourse
broadened. Composing renga (successive linked verses by several people forming a
long poem) became a favorite pastime, and this gave birth to haikai (a sort of jocular
renga) in the sixteenth century. It was the renowned seventeenth century poet
Matsuo Basho who perfected a new condensed poetic form of 17 syllables (5-7-5)
known as haiku, an embodiment of elegant simplicity and tranquility.
Dhugal J. Lindsay's Haiku Universe
In the Genroku era (1688-1704) city-dwelling artisans and merchants became the
main supporters of literature, and professional artists began to appear. Two giants
emerged in the field of prose: Ihara Saikaku, who realistically portrayed the life of
Osaka merchants, and Chikamatsu Monzaemon, who wrotejoruri, a form of
storytelling involving chanted lines, and kabuki plays. These writers brought about a
great flowering of literature. Later Yosa Buson composed superb haiku depicting
nature, while fiction writer Ueda Akinari produced a collection of gothic stories
called Ugetsu monogatari (Tales of Moonlight and Rain) [1776] .
See Japanese traditional art in this homepege for informatino of Kabuki

Kanadehon Chuushingura is a joruri text first performed in 1748 (Japanese)

Meiji Period to present
In the Meiji era (1868-1912) unification of the written and spoken language was
advocated, and Futabatei Shimei 's Ukigumo (Drifting Clouds) [1887]won acclaim as a new
form of novel. In poetry circles the influence of translated foreign poems led to a
"new style" poetry movement, and the scope of literary forms continued to widen.
Novelists Mori Ogai and Natsume Soseki studied in Germany and Britain,
respectively, and their works reflect the influence of the literature of those
countries. Soseki nurtured many talented literary figures. One of them, Akutagawa
Ryunosuke, wrote many superb novelettes based on his detailed knowledge of the
Japanese classics. His suicide in 1927 was seen as a symbol of the agony Japan was
experiencing in the process of rapid modernization, a major theme of modern
Japanese literature.
Naturalism as advocated by Emile Zola dominated Japan's literary world for the first
decade of the twentieth century. This school of literature, as represented by
Shimazaki Toson, is noted for the "I novel," a style of novel typical of Japan. A
number of pre-World War II literary currents, such as proletarian literature and neosensualism, petered out during the war but later regained strength, generating a
diverse range of works.
In 1968 Kawabata Yasunari became the first Japanese to win the Nobel Prize for
literature, and Oe Kenzaburo won it in 1994. They and other contemporary writers,
such as Tanizaki Jun'ichiro, Mishima Yukio, Abe Kobo, and Inoue Yasushi, have been
translated into other languages. In the last few years works by the remarkably
active postwar-generation writers Murakami Ryu (who won the Akutagawa Prize),
Murakami Haruki, Yoshimoto Banana, and others have also been translated into
many languages and have gained tremendous popularity.