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Tsurezuregusa
is a collection of essays written by the Japanese monk Kenkō (兼好) between 1330 and 1332. The work is widely considered a gem of medieval Japanese literature and one of the three representative works of the zuihitsu genre, along with ''The Pillow Book'' and the ''Hōjōki''. Structure and Content ''Essays in Idleness'' comprises a preface and 243 passages, varying in length from a single line to a few pages. Kenkō, being a Buddhist monk, writes about Buddhist truths, and themes such as death and impermanence prevail in the work, although it also contains passages devoted to the beauty of nature as well as some accounts of humorous incidents. The original work was not divided or numbered; the division can be traced to the 17th century. The work takes its title from its prefatory passage: What a strange, demented feeling it gives me when I realise I have spent whole days before this inkstone, with nothing better to do, jotting down at random whatever nonsensical thoughts tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zuihitsu
is a genre of Japanese literature consisting of loosely connected personal essays and fragmented ideas that typically respond to the author's surroundings. The name is derived from two Kanji meaning "at will" and "pen." The provenance of the term is ultimately Chinese, ''zuihitsu'' being the Sino-Japanese reading (''on'yomi'') of 随筆 (Mandarin: ''suíbǐ''), the native reading (''kun'yomi'') of which is ''fude ni shitagau'' (“follow the brush”). Thus works of the genre should be considered not as traditionally planned literary pieces but rather as casual or randomly recorded thoughts by the authors. History ''Zuihitsu'' emerged in the Heian Period with Sei Shōnagon's ''The Pillow Book''. Shōnagon, a member of the Heian Imperial Court, kept a private diary of her own observations and musings about courtly life. It is unclear whether or not she intended it to be released to the public (sections of the work suggest that she did not), but the work nevertheless survived and p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval Japanese Literature
Japan's medieval period (the Kamakura, Nanbokuchō and Muromachi periods, and sometimes the Azuchi–Momoyama period) was a transitional period for the nation's literature. Kyoto ceased being the sole literary centre as important writers and readerships appeared throughout the country, and a wider variety of genres and literary forms developed accordingly, such as the ''gunki monogatari'' and ''otogi-zōshi'' prose narratives, and ''renga'' linked verse, as well as various theatrical forms such as ''noh''. Medieval Japanese literature can be broadly divided into two periods: the early and late , the former lasting roughly 150 years from the late 12th to the mid-14th century, and the latter until the end of the 16th century. The early saw a continuation of the literary trends of the classical period, with court fiction (''monogatari'') continuing to be written, and composition of ''waka'' poetry reaching new heights in the age of the '' Shin-kokin Wakashū'', an anthology compi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Bailey Sansom
Sir George Bailey Sansom (28 November 1883 – 8 March 1965) was a British diplomat and historian of pre-modern Japan, particularly noted for his historical surveys and his attention to Culture of Japan, Japanese society and culture. Early life Sansom was born in London, where his father was a naval architecture, naval architect, but was educated in France and Germany, including the University of Giessen and the University of Marburg. He passed an examination for the Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service, Diplomatic Service in September 1903. Diplomatic service Sansom first arrived in Japan in 1904 and was attached to the British legation in Tokyo to learn the Japanese language. While he was working as private secretary to Sir Claude Maxwell MacDonald the legation gained higher status by becoming an embassy, and Sansom was present during the negotiations for the renewal of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in 1905. He remained in Japan for most of his diplomatic career, serving in consula ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shōtetsu
Shōtetsu (, 1381–1459 CE) was a Japanese poet during the Muromachi period, and is considered to have been the last poet in the courtly waka tradition;Miner 1968, p.139; "Shotetsu is thought by some Japanese today to be the finest poet of the century; the twenty thousand poems of his personal collection, the ''Shōkonshū'', show that he was also one of the most prolific poets in the whole court tradition." a number of his disciples were important in the development of the renga art form, which led to the haiku. History He was born in 1381 in a minor fortified town in the then province of Bitchū (now Okayama) to a samurai of middling rank named Komatsu Ysukiyo. About ten years after his birth, Shōtetsu's family moved to Kyoto for unknown reasons. At approximately the age of 15 (by the Occidental count), he was sent to the religious center of Nara where he became an acolyte in an unspecified Buddhist temple. He would spend the next five years there studying, among other things ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Pillow Book
is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Empress Consort Teishi during the 990s and early 1000s in Heian-period Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002. The work is a collection of essays, anecdotes, poems, and descriptive passages that have little connection to one another except for the fact that they are ideas and whims of Shōnagon's spurred by moments in her daily life. In it she included lists of all kinds, personal thoughts, interesting events in court, poetry, and some opinions on her contemporaries. While it is mostly a personal work, Shōnagon's writing and poetic skill makes it interesting as a work of literature, and it is valuable as a historical document. Shōnagon meant her writing in ''The Pillow Book'' for her eyes only, but part of it was accidentally revealed to the Court during her life: "she inadvertently left it er writingon a cushion she put out for a visiting guest, who eagerly carried it off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donald Keene
Donald Lawrence Keene (June 18, 1922 – February 24, 2019) was an American-born Japanese scholar, historian, teacher, writer and translator of Japanese literature. Keene was University Professor emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature at Columbia University, where he taught for over fifty years. Soon after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, he retired from Columbia, moved to Japan permanently, and acquired citizenship under the name . This was also his poetic and occasional nickname, spelled in the ''ateji'' form . Early life and education Keene was born in 1922 in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York City and attended James Madison High School. He received a Bachelor's degree from Columbia University in 1942 and studied under Mark Van Doren, Moses Hadas, Lionel Trilling, and Jacques Barzun. He then studied the Japanese language at the United States Navy Japanese Language School in Boulder, Colorado and in Berkeley, California, and serve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoshida Kenko
Yoshida (written: 吉田 lit. "lucky ricefield") is the 11th most common Japanese surname. A less common variant is 芳田 (lit. "fragrant ricefield"). Notable people with the surname include: * Ai Yoshida, Japanese sailor *, Japanese idol, singer and model *, Japanese video game artist *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese rugby union player *, Japanese football *, Japanese Physical Therapist *, Japanese singer *Asami Yoshida (other), multiple people *, Japanese rower *, Japanese artist *Baret Yoshida (born 1975), American mixed martial artist * Bill Yoshida (1921–2005), American comic book letterer *, Japanese puppeteer *, Japanese curler *, Japanese artist *, Japanese film director *, Japanese actor and singer *, Japanese javelin thrower *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese artist *, 17th-century Japanese ''ukiyo-e'' artist *, Japanese cartographer *, Japanese cyclist *, Japanese judoka and mixed martial artist *, Japan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Middle Japanese Texts
Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early Branch, a stream in Missouri * Early County, Georgia Other uses * Early (Scritti Politti album), ''Early'' (Scritti Politti album), 2005 * Early (A Certain Ratio album), ''Early'' (A Certain Ratio album), 2002 * Early (name) * Early effect, an effect in transistor physics * Early Records, a record label * the early part of the morning See also * Earley (other) {{disambiguation, geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kamo No Chōmei
was a Japanese author, poet (in the waka form), and essayist. He witnessed a series of natural and social disasters, and, having lost his political backing, was passed over for promotion within the Shinto shrine associated with his family. He decided to turn his back on society, took Buddhist vows, and became a hermit, living outside the capital. This was somewhat unusual for the time, when those who turned their backs on the world usually joined monasteries. Along with the poet-priest Saigyō he is representative of the literary recluses of his time, and his celebrated essay ''Hōjōki'' ("An Account of a Ten-Foot-Square Hut") is representative of the genre known as "recluse literature" (sōan bungaku). Early life Born with the name Kamo no Nagaakira, he was the second son of Kamo no Nagatsugu, ''sho-negi'' or superintendent, of the Lower Kamo ( Shimogamo) shrine. He was also known by the title Kikudaifu. The exact year of his birth is unknown, but thought to be either 1153 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sei Shōnagon
was a Japanese author, poet, and a court lady who served the Empress Teishi (Sadako) around the year 1000 during the middle Heian period. She is the author of . Name Sei Shōnagon's actual given name is not known. It was the custom among aristocrats in those days to call a court lady by a nickname taken from a court office belonging to her father or husband.Keene 1999 : 412. derives from her father's family name "Kiyohara" (the native Japanese reading of the first character is , while the Sino-Japanese reading is ), while refers to a government post. Her relationship to this post is unknown, though—neither her father nor either of her two husbands held such a post. Bun'ei Tsunoda has suggested that it may have belonged to a third husband, perhaps Fujiwara no Nobuyoshi.Keene 1999 : 412, citing (427, note 3) Tsunoda 1975 : 30-32. Her actual name has been a topic of debate among scholars, and the name is a possibility. Early life Little is known about her life except ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain death is sometimes used as a legal definition of death. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose shortly after death. Death is an inevitable process that eventually occurs in almost all organisms. Death is generally applied to whole organisms; the similar process seen in individual components of an organism, such as cells or tissues, is necrosis. Something that is not considered an organism, such as a virus, can be physically destroyed but is not said to die. As of the early 21st century, over 150,000 humans die each day, with ageing being by far the most common cause of death. Many cultures and religions have the idea of an afterlife, and also may hold the idea of judgement of good and bad deeds in one's life ( h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Impermanence
Impermanence, also known as the philosophical problem of change, is a philosophical concept addressed in a variety of religions and philosophies. In Eastern philosophy it is notable for its role in the Buddhist three marks of existence. It is also an element of Hinduism. In Western philosophy it is most famously known through its first appearance in Greek philosophy in the writings of Heraclitus and in his doctrine of ''panta rhei'' (everything flows). In Western philosophy the concept is also referred to as '' ''becoming''. Indian religions The Pali word for impermanence, ''anicca'', is a compound word consisting of ''"a"'' meaning non-, and ''"nicca"'' meaning "constant, continuous, permanent". While 'nicca' is the concept of continuity and permanence, 'anicca' refers to its exact opposite; the absence of permanence and continuity. The term is synonymous with the Sanskrit term ''anitya'' (a + nitya). The concept of impermanence is prominent in Buddhism, and it is also foun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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