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Uta Monogatari
is a literary subgenre of the ''monogatari''. It is characterized by an emphasis on ''waka (poetry), waka'' poetry, with prose sections interspersed. While most other ''monogatari'' of the Heian period and later contain ''waka'', the ''uta monogatari'' feature poetry as the core of successive narrative episodes, with the prose sections sometimes limited to a brief note about the composition of the poetry.Keene, Donald. ''A History of Japanese Literature: Volume 1''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. p. 451. . History One of the most influential and early examples of ''uta monogatari'' is the ''Tales of Ise''. An anonymous work sometimes attributed to Ariwara no Narihira, it is a series of 125 largely unconnected prose narratives about "a man", many of said narratives beginning with the short sentence ''Mukashi otoko arikeri'' ("Long ago, there was a man"). These narratives are largely centered on poetry composed by the "man", usually identified as a fictionalized version o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monogatari
is a literary form in traditional Japanese literature – an extended prose narrative tale comparable to the epic novel. ''Monogatari'' is closely tied to aspects of the oral tradition, and almost always relates a fictional or fictionalized story, even when retelling a historical event. Many of the great works of Japanese fiction, such as the '' Genji Monogatari'' and the ''Heike Monogatari'', are in the ''monogatari'' form. History The form was prominent around the 9th to 15th centuries, reaching a peak between the 10th and 11th centuries. ''Monogatari'' was the court literature during the Heian era and also persisted in the form of archaic fiction until the sixteenth century. According to the '' Fūyō Wakashū'' (1271), at least 198 ''monogatari'' existed by the 13th century and that only 24 exist today. Genres The genre is sub-divided into multiple categories depending on their contents: ''Denki-monogatari'' Stories dealing with fantastical events. ''Uta-monogatari'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waka (poetry)
is a type of poetry in classical Japanese literature. Although ''waka'' in modern Japanese is written as , in the past it was also written as (see Wa, an old name for Japan), and a variant name is . Etymology The word ''waka'' has two different but related meanings: the original meaning was "poetry in Japanese" and encompassed several genres such as ''chōka'' and ''sedōka'' (discussed below); the later, more common definition refers to poetry in a 5-7-5-7-7 metre. Up to and during the compilation of the ''Man'yōshū'' in the eighth century, the word ''waka'' was a general term for poetry composed in Japanese, and included several genres such as , , and . However, by the time of the '' Kokinshūs compilation at the beginning of the tenth century, all of these forms except for the ''tanka'' and ''chōka'' had effectively gone extinct, and ''chōka'' had significantly diminished in prominence. As a result, the word ''waka'' became effectively synonymous with ''tanka'', and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heian Period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. It is a period in Japanese history when the Chinese influences were in decline and the national culture matured. The Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art, especially poetry and literature. Two types of Japanese script emerged, including katakana, a phonetic script which was abbreviated into hiragana, a cursive alphabet with a unique writing method distinctive to Japan. This gave rise to Japan's famous vernacular literature, with many of its texts written by court women who were not as educated in Chinese compared to their male counterparts. Although the Imperial House of Japan had power on the surface, the real power was in the hands of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful aristocratic f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tales Of Ise
is a Japanese '' uta monogatari'', or collection of ''waka'' poems and associated narratives, dating from the Heian period. The current version collects 125 sections, with each combining poems and prose, giving a total of 209 poems in most versions. Concerning the exact date of composition and authorship there is only unresolved speculation. The identity of the nameless, idealised central character is unclear, though it is suggested to be Ariwara no Narihira (825–880). Thirty of the poems from ''The Tales of Ise'' appear in the ''Kokin Wakashū'' (905), with similar headnotes, all attributed to Narihira. The combination of these poems, and the similarity of some events in the tales to Narihira's life, have led to the additional suggestion that Narihira actually composed the work; however, the inclusion of material and events dating after 880 suggests otherwise. Title The late-eleventh centuryKeene 1999 : 518–519. work known as '' The Tale of Sagoromo'' refers to ''Ise'' by t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ariwara No Narihira
was a Japanese courtier and ''waka'' poet of the early Heian period. He was named one of both the Six Poetic Geniuses and the Thirty-Six Poetic Geniuses, and one of his poems was included in the ''Ogura Hyakunin Isshu'' collection. He is also known as Zai Go-Chūjō, Zai Go, Zai Chūjō or Mukashi-Otoko. There are 87 poems attributed to Narihira in court anthologies, though some attributions are dubious. Narihira's poems are exceptionally ambiguous; the compilers of the 10th-century ''Kokin Wakashū'' thus treated them to relatively long headnotes. Narihira's many renowned love affairs have exerted a profound influence on later Japanese culture. Legends have held that he had affairs with the high priestess of the Ise Grand Shrine and the poet Ono no Komachi, and that he fathered Emperor Yōzei. His love affairs inspired ''The Tales of Ise'', and he has ever since been a model of the handsome, amorous nobleman. Biography Birth and ancestry Ariwara no Narihira was b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meiji Period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization by Western powers to the new paradigm of a modern, industrialized nation state and emergent great power, influenced by Western scientific, technological, philosophical, political, legal, and aesthetic ideas. As a result of such wholesale adoption of radically different ideas, the changes to Japan were profound, and affected its social structure, internal politics, economy, military, and foreign relations. The period corresponded to the reign of Emperor Meiji. It was preceded by the Keiō era and was succeeded by the Taishō era, upon the accession of Emperor Taishō. The rapid modernization during the Meiji era was not without its opponents, as the rapid changes to society caused many disaffected traditionalists from the former samurai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heichū Monogatari
''Tales of Heichū'' (''Heichū monogatari'') belongs to the genre of ''uta monogatari'' poem tales that emerged in Japanese literature from the mid 10th to the early 11th centuries. As early as the ''Collection of Ten-Thousand Leaves'' ('' Manyōshū''), a poetry collection completed around 759, there appeared poems introduced by brief prose narrations. The imperial court began to come alive with poetry from around this time. People exchanged poetry with one another on topics as diverse as love and politics and religion. Towards the end of the 9th century it was common for individual poets to keep compilations of their own verse, sometimes explaining in prose the circumstances behind a poem's composition. The highest honor was to have ones poem selected for inclusion in the ''Collection of Ancient and Modern Poetry'' ( Kokinshū), the first imperial poetry collection, which was completed around 905. By the middle of the 10th century the idea of a poem paired with a prose narrat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yamato Monogatari
is a collection of 173 short stories which give details about life in the imperial court in the 9th and 10th centuries. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Yamato monogatari''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 1047. It is an ''uta monogatari'' (a work combining narrative fiction with ''waka'' poetry) from the 10th-century Japan. The exact date of the completion of the text is unknown, but the majority of the text was completed in the year 951 by an unknown author. Content The ''Ise Monogatari'' had a strong influence on the composition of ''Yamato Monogatari'', one that can be seen in the fact that some of the same tales appear in both works. The appearance of many historical figures and the absence of a single main character are characteristics of this text. Origin The poems in ''Yamato Monogatari'' were written in a time when Japanese literature and art was flourishing, after having stopped communications with China. Deciding that the declining Tang dynasty was no longer worth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takamura Monogatari
The , also called the or the , is a Japanese uta monogatari that was written any time between the mid-Heian period to the early-Kamakura period. It is in one volume and consists of two distinct sections. The first section describes a young Ono no Takamura's tragic love affair with his half-sister. The second section is taken to be by a different author, and is dated somewhat later than the first. Both authors are unknown, and the poems attributed in the tale to Takamura are treated as dubious at best. References Further reading * * * Geddes, Ward. "Takamura Monogatari" IN ''Monumenta Nipponica''. 1991. Tokyo : Sophia University. * * * * {{cite book , last = Saeki , first = Umetomo , title = Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 8: Kokin Wakashū , publisher = Iwanami Shoten Publishing, Iwanami Shoten , year = 1958 , language = ja , isbn = 4-00-060008-7 Late Old Japanese texts Monogatari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
