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Recommended: History
The origins of kiko, or travel literature, in Japan spans to well over 1000 years ago. One of the earliest examples of kiko is Ki no Tsurayuki’s Tosa nikki, a diary which Tsurayuki wrote most likely in 935 during the Heian period of Japan. Another important example of kiko, which is similar in ways yet also very dissimilar to Ki no Tsurayuki’s Tosa nikki, due in part to the many years that the two are separated by in terms of when they were composed, is Matsuo Basho’s Oku no hosomichi, or Narrow Road to the Interior/Narrow Road to the Deep North, which was written in the late 17th century during the Edo period of Japan.
Ki no Tsurayuki’s Tosa nikki describes Tsurayuki’s return to his home in the capital after having completed his post as governor of the province of Tosa, which is on the Island of Shikoku just south of Kyoto. The Tosa nikki marked the beginning of what would become a great tradition of diary literature in the later periods of Japan. In the piece, Tsurayuki records his journey through the alleged perspective of a female companion in his company. By doing this, as well as by writing in vernacular Japanese characters (kana) and interspersing poetry (waka) throughout, he was further able to convey many of the emotional aspects of his journey from Tosa.
Matsuo Basho’s Oku no hosomichi details the journey of Basho from Edo far to the north into territories of Japan that were considered rather dangerous to go to during his time, but Basho had always dreamed of seeing, perhaps greatly in part from Basho’s desires to emulate Saigyo, whom he considered to be the greatest waka poet. Basho visited many of the places that Saigyo mentioned in his verses along his long journey to the north, as well as places that ot...
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...el as well as diary literature that was written in Japan later on, including Oku no hosomichi. And with Basho, the beginning of a different approach to a style of writing that mixed both the classical culture of Japanese poetry, like in Tosa nikki, and the new popular cultures, of haikai especially, during his time.
Works Cited
Clark, Steven H., and Paul Smethurst. Asian Crossings. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2008.
McCullough, Helen Craig., and Tsurayuki Ki. Kokin Wakashu: the First Imperial Anthology of Japanese Poetry: with Tosa Nikki and Shinsen Waka. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1985.
Shirane, Haruo. Traces of Dreams: Landscape, Cultural Memory, and the Poetry of Basho. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1998.
"TOSA NIKKI (THE TOSA DIARY)." Web. 20 Apr. 2011.
Mori, Taisanboku, et al. Poets Behind Barbed Wire. Eds. Jiro Nakano and Kav Nakano. Honolulu: Bamboo Ridge Press, 1983.
Revolutionary-era America produced many amazing things such as the swivel chair and the flatboat. But none is greater than Thomas Paine’s The Crisis and Patrick Henry’s speech. These Revolutionary writers are well known for their handiwork and their contribution to the American revolution. Their use of allusions and charged words caused patriotism to swell within the colonies, which in turn, gave rise to the revolt against British tyranny.
Christopher Benfey’s work The Great Wave is a narrative driven by a collection of accounts, stories and curious coincidences tying together The Gilded Age of New England in particular with interactions and connections to the Japan of old and new. In the context of The Great Wave, Benfey's own personal journey to Japan at the age of sixteen should be understood. Embarking on this voyage to learn traditional writing, language and Judo, his story can also be seen as a not only a historical continuation, but also a personal precursor to the vignettes he discovers and presents to the reader.
Duong Thu Huong’s novel, ‘Paradise of the Blind’ creates a reflective, often bittersweet atmosphere through the narrator Hang’s expressive descriptions of the landscapes she remembers through her life. Huong’s protagonist emphasises the emotional effects these landscapes have on her, acknowledging, “many landscapes have left their mark on me.”
into their own dialect. One example of how Japan was influenced culturally from the Diary of
In the poem, Harjo portrays the importance of recalling the past to help shape one’s identity. She uses the repetition of the word “Remember” to remind that while the past may be history, it still is a defining factor in people’s lives (l. 1). This literary technique
Brazell, Karen. Traditional Japanese Theater: An Anthology of Plays. New York: Columbia UP, 1998. Print.
The Heian period(794-1185), the so-called golden age of Japanese culture, produced some of the finest works of Japanese literature.1 The most well known work from this period, the Genji Monogatari, is considered to be the “oldest novel still recognized today as a major masterpiece.”2 It can also be said that the Genji Monogatari is proof of the ingenuity of the Japanese in assimilating Chinese culture and politics. As a monogatari, a style of narrative with poems interspersed within it, the characters and settings frequently allude to Chinese poems and stories. In addition to displaying the poetic prowess that the Japanese had attained by this time period, the Genji Monogatari also demonstrates how politics and gender ideals were adopted from the Chinese.
The Tale of Murasaki, by Liza Dalby, is about Murasaki, a young woman who lived in the Heian period (794-1185) of Japan. She writes a story called The Tale of Genji, and earns so much recognition for it that she is invited to court to attend the empress. Not only was she known for her writing, but she drew attention by learning Chinese. In the story, a Chinese education is essential for a man hoping to be a high-ranked member of society. Because the Japanese considered Chinese culture as superior, waka, a popular form of Japanese poetry, carries less cultural value in the novel. Therefore, both high-class women and men have to learn about wakas and use them daily. A woman who can compose good wakas and is beautiful would have the best chances of going to court, which is the best way to guarantee a comfortable life. Liza Dalby’s The Tale of Murasaki accurately portrays the abilities of each sex, the importance of Chinese learning, and the role of Japanese poetry in the Heian period of Japan.
Gaskin, Carol. and Hawkins, Vince. The Ways of the Samurai. New York: Byron Preiss Visual
The Tosa nikki, or The Tosa Diary as it is referred to in English, was the first diary of literary value. The Tosa nikki was composed in kana by Ki no Tsurayuki, who was a government official and well respected poet. During the Heian period, the proper convention was for men to compose their works in Chinese, as this practice was considered more masculine and elegant. Kana was used mainly by women, so it was considered more feminine, and was less valued than Chinese. Ki no Tsurayuki wrote under the guise of a woman when composing the Tosa nikki in order to avoid criticism for writing in kana, although it was still obvious that he had written it due to the masculinity of the jokes that appeared throughout the diary.
Matthew Gerber. “The Importance of Poetry in Japanese Heian-era Romantic Relationships”. 2007 May. 2011 June 3.
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia, eds. An Introduction to Poetry. 13th ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 21. Print.
Rothenberg, Jerome and Pierre Joris, eds. Poems for the Millennium: The University of California Book of Modern and Postmodern Poetry, Vol. 2. Berkeley: University of California, 1998.
Shirane Haruo. et al. Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology 1600-1900. New York: Colombia University Press, 2002. Print.