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Courtly Literature in MEDIEVAL JAPAN

Courtly Literature in MEDIEVAL JAPAN. Yamato or Kofun Period Chinese Influence ca. 300-710 ce. Yamato : “great kings” Kofun: giant tomb mounds Military aristocracy Capital at Naniwa (Osaka) Imported Chinese culture via Korea: Writing Confucianism Buddhism. Prince Shotoku 573-621.

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Courtly Literature in MEDIEVAL JAPAN

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  1. Courtly Literature inMEDIEVALJAPAN

  2. 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: • Writing • Confucianism • Buddhism

  3. 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 centuryGilt bronze

  4. Asuka Period645-710 • 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 Triad Asuka period, 7th centuryMetropolitan Museum of Art

  5. 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

  6. Shinto: Ise Jingu: Grand Shrines of Ise

  7. 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.

  8. The Naiku • The 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.

  9. Amaterasu Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Amaterasu Emerges from the Light.(colored woodcut, no date).

  10. 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

  11. 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.

  12. Buddha Sculptures Nara - Temple Horyu-ji 7th c. Nara - Temple Chugu-ji 7th c.

  13. Umayasaka Temple at Nara

  14. 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.

  15. 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

  16. Izanami and Izanagi, the creator kami

  17. 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.

  18. 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

  19. Heian Japan

  20. 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

  21. 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 rengabecame 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

  22. Kokinshu Poets Fun'ya-no-Yasuhide Ono no Komachi Lady Ise Otomo-no-Kuronushi Ariwara no Narihira Ki no Tsurayuki

  23. 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

  24. Heian Fashion

  25. Heian Style • 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

  26. 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

  27. 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 Painting: Yamato-e

  28. Onna-e style from Genji-monogatari

  29. Otoko-e style

  30. 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

  31. Murasaki Shikibu From a series of the 36 Immortal Poets Katsukawa Shunsho 18th c.

  32. The Tale of Genji

  33. 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

  34. 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.

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

  36. Family Relationships in The Tale of Genji

  37. Members of the Emperor’s Family Former Emperor Minister of the Right Prince HyobuFujitsubo--Lady of the--Kokiden--EmperorPrincess Omiya---Minister Paulownia Court of the Left Murasaki Crown Prince Genji Crown Prince Aoi To no Chujo Reizei Emperor Suzaku Emperor

  38. 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

  39. Genji’s Liaisons Genji ~ 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

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