Anthology of Japanese Literature From the Earliest Era to the Mid-Nineteenth Century

by Keene, Donald

• ISBN13: 9780802150585
• ISBN10: 0802150586
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1994-01-11
• Publisher: Grove Press

Summary

The sweep of Japanese literature in all its great variety was made available to Western readers for the first time in this anthology. Every genre and style, from the celebrated No plays to the poetry and novels of the seventeenth century, find a place in this book. An introduction by Donald Keene places the selections in their proper historical context, allowing the readers to enjoy the book both as literature and as a guide to the cultural history of Japan. Selections include “Man’yoshu” or “Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves” from the ancient period; “Kokinshu” or “Collection of Ancient and Modern Poetry,” “The Tosa Diary” of Ki No Tsurayuki, “Yugao” from “Tales of Genji” of Murasaki Shikibu, and “The Pillow Book” of Sei Shonagon from the Heian Period; “The Tale of the Heike” from the Kamakura Period; Plan of the No Stage, “Birds of Sorrow” of Seami Motokiyo, and “Three Poets at Minase” from the Muromachi Period; and Sections from Basho, including “The Narrow Road of Oku,” “The Love Suicides at Sonezaki” by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, and Waka and haiku of the Tokugawa Period.

Table of Contents

Introduction	19	(14)
ANCIENT PERIOD [TO 794 A.D.]	33	(30)
Man'yoshu	33	(21)
The Luck of the Sea and the Luck of the Mountains	54	(5)
Kaifuso	59	(4)
HEIAN PERIOD [794-1185]	63	(116)
KUKAI
Kukai and His Master	63	(4)
The Tales of Ise	67	(9)
Kokinshu	76	(6)
KI NO TSURAYUKI
The Tosa Diary	82	(10)
Poetry from the Six Collections	92	(5)
THE MOTHER OF MICHITSUNA: Kagero Nikki	97	(9)
MURASAKI SHIKIBU
Yugao (from "The Tale of Genji")	106	(31)
SEI SHONAGON
The Pillow Book	137	(8)
MURASAKI SHIKIBU
Diary	145	(11)
THE DAUGHTER OF TAKASUE: The Sarashina Diary	156	(6)
Poetry in Chinese	162	(5)
Ryojin Hisho	167	(3)
The Lady Who Loved Insects	170	(9)
KAMAKURA PERIOD [1185-1333]	179	(52)
The Tale of the Heike	179	(13)
Shinkokinshu	192	(5)
KAMO NO CHOMEI
An Account of My Hut	197	(16)
Tales from the Uji Collection	213	(11)
The Captain of Naruto	224	(7)
MUROMACHI PERIOD [1333-1600]	231	(104)
YOSHIDA KENKO
Essays in Idleness	231	(11)
The Exile of Godaigo	242	(16)
SEAMI MOTOKIYO
The Art of the No	258	(5)
PLAN of the No Stage	263	(1)
KAN'AMI KIYOTSUGU
Sotoba Komachi	264	(7)
SEAMI MOTOKIYO
Birds of Sorrow	271	(15)
SEAMI MOTOKIYO
Atsumori	286	(8)
SEAMI MOTOKIYO
The Damask Drum	294	(7)
The Bird-Catcher in Hades	301	(4)
Busu	305	(7)
Poems in Chinese by Buddhist Monks	312	(2)
Three Poets at Minase	314	(8)
The Three Priests	322	(13)
TOKUGAWA PERIOD [1600-1868]	335
IHARA SAIKAKU
What the Seasons Brought to the Almanac-Maker	335	(19)
IHARA SAIKAKU
The Umbrella Oracle	354	(3)
IHARA SAIKAKU
The Eternal Storehouse of Japan	357	(6)
MATSUO BASHO
The Narrow Road of Oku	363	(11)
MATSUO BASHO
Prose Poem on the Unreal Dwelling	374	(3)
MUKAI KYORAI
Conversations with Kyorai	377	(7)
Haiku by Basho and His School	384	(2)
Chikamatsu on the Art of the Puppet Stage	386	(5)
CHIKAMATSU MONZAEMON
The Love Suicides at Sonezaki	391	(19)
EJIMA KISEKI
A Wayward Wife	410	(6)
JIPPENSHA IKKU
Hizakurige	416	(7)
TAKIZAWA BAKIN
Shino and Hamaji	423	(6)
Haiku of the Middle and Late Tokugawa Period	429	(3)
Waka of the Tokugawa Period	432	(4)
Poetry and Prose in Chinese	436
Short Bibliography