Classical Japanese Reader And Essential Dictionary

by Shirane, Haruo

• ISBN13: 9780231139908
• ISBN10: 023113990X
• Edition: Bilingual
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-04-30
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr

Summary

In 2005, the celebrated scholar of Japanese literature Haruo Shirane published Classical Japanese: A Grammar. Now, with Classical Japanese Reader and Essential Dictionary, he completes his two-volume textbook for learning classical, or literary, Japanese& -the primary written language in Japan from the seventh to the mid-twentieth century. The text contains carefully selected readings that address a wide array of grammatical concerns and that steadily progress from easy to difficult. The selections encompass a wide range of historical periods and styles, including essays, fiction, and poetry from such noted works as The Tale of Genji, The Tales of Ise, The Pillow Book, The Tales of the Heike, and Essays in Idleness, and such authors as Ihara Saikaku, Matsuo Basho, Ueda Akinari, Motoori Norinaga, and Fukuzawa Yukichi. Each reading is accompanied by a short English introduction, a vocabulary list, and extensive grammatical notes, and ends with a comprehensive grammatical annotation.The classical Japanese-English dictionary composes the last third of the book and features approximately 2,500 key words, highlighting those used most frequently. The first of its kind, this volume is a vital tool for students, scholars, and translators of classical Japanese.

Table of Contents

Base texts
An account of a ten-foot-square hut	p. 3
The tale of the bamboo cutter	p. 33
Heian period
The tales of Ise	p. 53
The pillow book	p. 61
The tale of Genji	p. 69
Sarashina diary	p. 83
Collection of tales of times now past	p. 93
Kamakura period
Hundred poets, hundred poems	p. 101
Collection of tales from Uji	p. 115
The tales of the Heike	p. 125
Essays in idleness	p. 137
Edo/Tokugawa period
Japan's eternal storehouse	p. 149
Narrow road to the deep north	p. 155
Tales of moonlight and rain	p. 163
The tale of Genji, a small jeweled comb	p. 171
Meiji period
The encouragement of learning	p. 181
Nara period
Collection of ten thousand leaves	p. 189
Essential dictionary	p. 197
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