Post on 16-Dec-2015
transcript
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
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.
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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