History

Japanese literature is one of the major literatures of the world, comparable to English literature in age and variety. From the seventh century C.E., when the earliest surviving works were written, until the present day, there has never been a period when literature was not being produced in Japan. Possibly the earliest full-length novel, The Tale of Genji was written in Japan in the early eleventh century. In addition to novels, poetry, and drama, other genres such as travelogues, personal diaries and collections of random thoughts and impressions, are prominent in Japanese literature. In addition to works in the Japanese language, Japanese writers produced a large body of writing in classical Chinese.

Japanese Literature is generally divided into three main periods: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern.

Ancient Literature (until 894)

Before the introduction of kanji from China, there was no writing system in Japan. At first, Chinese characters were used in Japanese syntactical formats, and the literary language was classical Chinese; resulting in sentences that looked like Chinese but were phonetically read as Japanese. Chinese characters were used, not for their meanings, but because they had a phonetic sound which resembled a Japanese word. Modification of the normal usage of Chinese characters to accommodate Japanese names and expressions is already evident in the oldest known inscription, on a sword dating from about 440 C.E.. The use of Chinese characters initiated a centuries-long association of literary composition with the art of calligraphy.

Chinese characters were later adapted to write Japanese speech, creating what is known as the man'yōgana, the earliest form of kana, or syllabic writing. The earliest works were created in the Nara Period. These include Kojiki (712: a work recording Japanese mythology and legendary history, Nihonshoki (720; a chronicle with a slightly more solid foundation in historical records than Kojiki, and Man'yōshū (Ten Thousand Leaves, 759); an anthology of poetry. More than 120 songs in the Kojiki and Nihonshoki were written in phonetic transcription, and parts of the Kojiki contain a mixture of Chinese characters used to represent their Chinese meanings, and Chinese characters used to represent a phonetic sound.

Classical Literature (894 - 1194; the Heian period)

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 eleventh 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 Wakashū (905, waka poetry anthology) and The Pillow Book (990s), an essay about the life, loves, and pastimes of nobles in the Emperor's court written by Murasaki Shikibu's contemporary and rival, Sei Shonagon. The iroha poem, now one of two standard orderings for the Japanese syllabary, was also written during the early part of this period.

During this time, the imperial court patronized poets, many of whom were courtiers or ladies-in-waiting. Editing anthologies of poetry was a national pastime. Reflecting the aristocratic atmosphere, the poetry was elegant and sophisticated and expressed emotions in a rhetorical style.

Medieval Literature (1195 - 1600)

Medieval Japanese Literature is marked by the strong influence of Zen Buddhism, and many writers were priests, travelers, or ascetic poets. Also during this period, Japan experienced many civil wars which led to the development of a warrior class, and a widespread interest in war tales, histories, and related stories. Work from this period is notable for its insights into life and death, simple lifestyles, and redemption through killing. A representative work is The Tale of the Heike (1371), an epic account of the struggle between the Minamoto and Taira clans for control of Japan at the end of the twelfth century. Other important tales of the period include Kamo no Chōmei's Hōjōki (1212) and Yoshida Kenko's Tsurezuregusa (1331).

Other notable genres in this period were renga, or linked verse, and Noh theater. Both were rapidly developed in the middle of the fourteenth century, during the early Muromachi period.

Early-Modern Literature (1600-1868)

The literature of this time was written during the generally 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 at the end of the seventeenth century. Matsuo Bashō wrote Oku no Hosomichi (奥の細道, 1702), a travel diary. Hokusai, perhaps Japan's most famous woodblock print artist, also illustrated fiction as well as his famous 36 Views of Mount Fuji.

Many genres of literature made their début during the Edo Period, inspired by a rising literacy rate among the growing population of townspeople, as well as the development of lending libraries. Although there was a minor Western influence trickling into the country from the Dutch settlement at Nagasaki, it was the importation of Chinese vernacular fiction that proved the greatest outside influence on the development of early modern Japanese fiction. Ihara Saikaku might be said to have given birth to the modern consciousness of the novel in Japan, mixing vernacular dialogue into his humorous and cautionary tales of the pleasure quarters. Jippensha Ikku (十返舎一九) wrote Tōkaidōchū hizakurige (東海道中膝栗毛), a mix of travelogue and comedy. Tsuga Teisho, Takebe Ayatari, and Okajima Kanzan were instrumental in developing the yomihon, which were historical romances almost entirely in prose, influenced by Chinese vernacular novels such as Three Kingdoms and Shui hu zhuan. Kyokutei Bakin wrote the extremely popular fantasy and historical romance, Nansō Satomi Hakkenden (南総里見八犬伝), in addition to other yomihon. Santō Kyōden wrote yomihon mostly set in the gay quarters until the Kansei edicts banned such works, and he turned to comedic kibyōshi. New genres included horror, crime stories, morality stories, and comedy, often accompanied by colorful woodcut prints.

Meiji, Taisho, and Early Showa literature (1868-1945)

The Meiji era marked 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 struggled with a whole galaxy of new ideas and artistic schools, but novelists were the first to successfully assimilate some of these concepts.

In the early Meiji era (1868-1880s), Fukuzawa Yukichi and Nakae Chomin authored Enlightenment literature, while pre-modern popular books depicted the quickly changing country. In the mid-Meiji (late 1880s - early 1890s) Realism was introduced by Tsubouchi Shoyo and Futabatei Shimei, while the Classicism of Ozaki Koyo, Yamada Bimyo and Koda Rohan gained popularity. Higuchi Ichiyo, a rare woman writer in this era, wrote short stories on powerless women of this age in a simple style, between literary and colloquial. Izumi Kyoka, a favored disciple of Ozaki, pursued a flowing and elegant style and wrote early novels such as The Operating Room (1895) in literary style and later ones including The Holy Man of Mount Koya (1900) in colloquial language.

Mori Ogai introduced Romanticism to Japan with his anthology of translated poems (1889), and it was carried to its height by Shimazaki Toson and his contemporaries and by the magazines Myōjō and Bungaku-kai in the early 1900s. Mori also wrote some modern novels including The Dancing Girl (1890), Wild Geese (1911), and later wrote historical novels. A new colloquial literature developed centering on the “I” novel, (Watakushi-shôsetu), a form of fiction that describes the world from the author’s point of view and depicts his own mental states. This style incorporated some unusual protagonists such as the cat narrator of Natsume Soseki's humorous and satirical Wagahai wa neko de aru (“I Am a Cat,” 1905). Natsume Soseki, who is often compared with Mori Ogai, also wrote the famous novels Botchan (1906) and Sanshirô (1908), depicting the freshness and purity of youth. He eventually pursued transcendence of human emotions and egoism in his later works including Kokoro (1914), and his last unfinished novel Light and Darkness (1916). Shiga Naoya, the so called "god of the novel," wrote in an autobiographical style, depicting his states of his mind, that is also classified as “I” novel.

Shimazaki shifted from Romanticism to Naturalism, which was established with the publication of The Broken Commandment (1906) and Katai Tayama's Futon (1907). Naturalism led to the “I” novel. Neo-romanticism came out of anti-naturalism and was led by Nagai Kafu, Junichiro Tanizaki, Kotaro Takamura, Kitahara Hakushu and others during the early 1910s. Mushanokoji Saneatsu, Shiga Naoya and others founded a magazine, Shirakaba, in 1910 to promote Humanism. Ryunosuke Akutagawa, who was highly praised by Soseki, represented Neo-realism in the mid-1910s and wrote intellectual, analytical short stories including Rashômon (1915).

During the 1920s and early 1930s the proletarian literary movement, comprising such writers as Kobayashi Takiji, Kuroshima Denji, Miyamoto Yuriko, and Sata Ineko, produced a politically radical literature depicting the harsh lives of workers, peasants, women, and other downtrodden members of society, and their struggles for change.

War-time Japan saw the début 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. Hino Ashihei wrote lyrical bestsellers glorifying the war, while Ishikawa Tatsuzo attempted to publish a disturbingly realistic account of the advance on Nanjing. Writers who opposed the war include Kuroshima Denji, Kaneko Mitsuharu, Oguma Hideo, and Ishikawa Jun.