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The Final Years
''The Final Years'' (Japanese: 晩年, Hepburn: ''Bannen'') is a Japanese short story collection written by Osamu Dazai and was published in 1936. It was Dazai's first published book, composed of fifteen previously published short stories, and was completed ten years after Dazai first decided to become a writer. Background In 1930, while enrolled at the University of Tokyo, Dazai was visited by Koyama Hatsuyo, a Geisha whom he had known since he was in high school in Aomori. Hatsuyo had broken her contract and fled from Aomori to Tokyo. In an attempt to avoid a potential scandal, Dazai’s eldest brother, Bunji, soon arrived and made Dazai send Hatsuyo away. Before agreeing, however, Dazai made Bunji promise that he would be allowed to eventually marry Hatsuyo. Bunji agreed and returned to Aomori, taking Hatsuyo with him. Shortly thereafter, feeling isolated from Hatsuyo and disapproval from his family, Dazai attempted double suicide with Shimeko Tanabe, a waitress. Dazai su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Language
is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been many attempts to group the Japonic languages with other families such as the Ainu, Austroasiatic, Koreanic, and the now-discredited Altaic, but none of these proposals has gained widespread acceptance. Little is known of the language's prehistory, or when it first appeared in Japan. Chinese documents from the 3rd century AD recorded a few Japanese words, but substantial Old Japanese texts did not appear until the 8th century. From the Heian period (794–1185), there was a massive influx of Sino-Japanese vocabulary into the language, affecting the phonology of Early Middle Japanese. Late Middle Japanese (1185–1600) saw extensive grammatical changes and the first appearance of European loanwords. The basis of the standard dialect moved f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of Africa, Australia and most of the United States. Biology The cypriniformes (family Cyprinidae) are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes, and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups share some common features. These features include being found predominantly in fresh water and possessing Weberian ossicles, an anatomical structure derived from the first five anterior-most vertebrae, and their corresponding ribs and neural crests. The third anterior-most pair of ribs is in contact with the extension of the labyrinth and the posterior with the swim bladder. The function is poorly understood, but this structure is presumed to take part in the transmission of vibrations from the swim bl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yasunari Kawabata
was a Japanese novelist and short story writer whose spare, lyrical, subtly shaded prose works won him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968, the first Japanese author to receive the award. His works have enjoyed broad international appeal and are still widely read. Early life Born into a well-established family in Osaka, Japan, Kawabata was orphaned by the time he was four, after which he lived with his grandparents. He had an older sister who was taken in by an aunt, and whom he met only once thereafter, in July 1909, when he was ten. She died when Kawabata was 11. Kawabata's grandmother died in September 1906, when he was seven, and his grandfather in May 1914, when he was fifteen. Having lost all close paternal relatives, Kawabata moved in with his mother's family, the Kurodas. However, in January 1916, he moved into a boarding house near the junior high school (comparable to a modern high school) to which he had formerly commuted by train. After graduating in March 1917 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akutagawa Prize
The is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. Because of its prestige and the considerable attention the winner receives from the media, it is, along with the Naoki Prize, one of Japan's most sought after literary prizes. History The Akutagawa Prize was established in 1935 by Kan Kikuchi, then-editor of ''Bungeishunjū'' magazine, in memory of author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. It is currently sponsored by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature, and is awarded in January and July to the best serious literary story published in a newspaper or magazine by a new or rising author. The winner receives a pocket watch and a cash award of 1 million yen. The judges usually include contemporary writers, literary critics, and former winners of the prize. Occasionally, when consensus cannot be reached between judges over disputes about the winning story or the quality of work for that half year, no prize is awarded. From 1945 through 1948 no prizes were awarded due to po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ueda Akinari
Ueda Akinari or Ueda Shūsei (, July 25, 1734 in Osaka – August 8, 1809 in Kyoto) was a Japanese author, scholar and ''waka'' poet, and a prominent literary figure in 18th-century Japan. He was an early writer in the ''yomihon'' genre and his two masterpieces, ''Ugetsu Monogatari'' ("Tales of Rain and the Moon") and ''Harusame Monogatari'' ("Tales of Spring Rain"), are central to the canon of Japanese literature. Biography Born to an Osaka prostitute and an unknown father, Ueda was adopted in his fourth year by a wealthy merchant who reared him in comfort and provided him with a good education. As a child he became gravely ill with smallpox, and although he survived, he was left with deformed fingers on both hands. During his illness, his parents prayed to the god of the Kashima Inari Shrine, and Ueda felt that this deity had intervened and saved his life. Throughout his life he remained a strong believer in the supernatural, and this belief seems to inform important el ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or exposing the perceived flaws of individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society. A feature of satire is strong irony or sarcasm —"in satire, irony is militant", according to literary critic Northrop Frye— but parody, burlesque, exaggeration, juxtaposition, comparison, analogy, and double entendre are all frequently used in satirical speech and writing. This "militant" irony or sarcasm often professes to approve of (or at least accept as natural) the very things the satirist wishes to question. Satire is found in many a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Historical Fiction
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other types of narrative, including theatre, opera, cinema, and television, as well as video games and graphic novels. An essential element of historical fiction is that it is set in the past and pays attention to the manners, social conditions and other details of the depicted period. Authors also frequently choose to explore notable historical figures in these settings, allowing readers to better understand how these individuals might have responded to their environments. The historical romance usually seeks to romanticize eras of the past. Some subgenres such as alternate history and historical fantasy insert intentionally ahistorical or speculative elements into a novel. Works of historical fiction are sometimes criticized for lack of authe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masao Miyoshi
was a scholar of literature and culture and Hajime Mori Endowed Chair in Japanese Language and Literature at the University of California, San Diego. Career Born in Tokyo, he graduated from the University of Tokyo, majoring in English, and earned a Fulbright Fellowship to gain advanced degrees at New York University. Specializing in Victorian literature, he first taught at the University of California Berkeley, where he started working on Japanese literature as well. Eventually moving to the University of California, San Diego, he increasingly focused his writings on the relations between Japan and the United States and the problems of globalization. Miyoshi's books include ''The Divided Self: A Perspective on the Literature of the Victorians'' (1969), ''Accomplices of Silence: The Modern Japanese Novel'' (1975), ''As We Saw Them: The First Japanese Embassy to the United States (1860)'' (1979), ''Off Center: Power and Culture Relations Between Japan and the United States'' (1991) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I-novel
The I-novel (, , ) is a literary genre in Japanese literature used to describe a type of confessional literature where the events in the story correspond to events in the author's life. This genre was founded based on the Japanese reception of naturalism during the Meiji period, and later influenced literature in other Asian countries as well. This genre of literature reflects greater individuality and a less constrained method of writing. From its beginnings, the I-novel has been a genre that also is meant to expose aspects of society or of the author's life. History Origin The first I-novels are believed to be ''The Broken Commandment'', written in 1906 by Tōson Shimazaki, and ''Futon'' (''The Quilt'') written by Katai Tayama in 1907. In ''Futon'', the protagonist confesses his affection for a female pupil. In ''The Broken Commandment'', Shimazaki described a male who was born a member of a discriminated segment of the population (''burakumin''), and how he decided to vio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Flowers Of Buffoonery
is a 1935 Japanese novella by Osamu Dazai. Initially titled in an early draft Dazai shared with friends, the work was first published in the short-lived coterie journal ' and has been described as a "major contribution" to the magazine. In 1936, the novella was included in Dazai's first book-length fiction collection ''The Final Years''. The story shares a protagonist with Dazai's novel ''No Longer Human'' (1948), which it preceded by thirteen years. Synopsis In late December, the day after a suicide pact, twenty-something artist Ōba Yōzō awakens at a seaside sanatorium for tuberculosis patients and finds his lover Sono did not survive. A young nurse named Mano, whose face is marked with a noticeable scar, is assigned to care for him. His friends Hida and Kosuge travel down to visit, spending the night in a neighboring room. Though they crack jokes and cause a stir at the hospital, they privately wonder if Yōzō is as well as he seems. The next day, Yōzō's older broth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Zoo
London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for science, scientific study. In 1831 or 1832, the animals of the Tower of London#Royal Menagerie, Tower of London menagerie were transferred to the zoo's collection. It was opened to the public in 1847. Today, it houses a collection of 673 species of animals, with 19,289 individuals, making it one of the largest collections in the United Kingdom. The zoo is sometimes called Regent's Park Zoo. It is managed under the aegis of the Zoological Society of London (established in 1826), and is situated at the northern edge of Regent's Park, on the boundary line between the City of Westminster and the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden (the Regent's Canal runs through it). The Society also has a more spacious site at Whipsnade Zoo, ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire to which t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Macaque
The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the ground for months each year – no other non-human primate lives further north, nor in a colder climate. Individuals have brownish grey fur, pinkish-red faces, and short tails. Two subspecies are known. In Japan, the species is known as ''Nihonzaru'' (ニホンザル, a combination of ''Nihon'' 日本 "Japan" + ''saru'' 猿 "monkey") to distinguish it from other primates, but the Japanese macaque is very familiar in Japan — as it is the only species of monkey in Japan — so when Japanese people simply say ''saru'', they usually have the Japanese macaque in mind. Physical characteristics The Japanese macaque is sexually dimorphic. Males weigh on average , while females average .Fooden J, Aimi M. (2005) "Systematic review of Japanese ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
