Japan’s Classical Age (Volume B)

Background

Chinese-Style Writing

• vernacular Japanese• Chinese-style writing,

kanbun• Buddhist clergy and

imperial administration

• inflection and use of characters/ alphabet

• “brush talk”

Nara Court (710–784)

• Yamato clan, 710 C.E.

• Chinese city planning influence

• writing and political influence

• Records of Ancient Matters, 712 C.E.

• Chronicles of Japan, 720 C.E.

Religion

• Shinto, “Way of the Gods”

• Buddhism• Confucianism

Heian Court Culture (794–1185)

• imperial court and Buddhist clergy

• new capital at Kyoto, 794 C.E.

• “Capital of Peace”• scenarios in literature• court diaries• language and content

Aristocratic Women

• highly educated• segregation from

men/ gender assymetry

• Heian imperial court life

Waka Poetry

• 5-7-5-7-7 syllable pattern

• seasonal phenomena• romantic love• commemorative

purposes• contests• Emperor Daigo• The Kokinshu, 905

Kana Syllabary

Fujiwara Clan

Medieval Japan and Warrior Rule

• twelfth century civil war

• Heike and Genji warrior clans

• shogun rule through feudal system

• role of Buddhist minstrels

• patronage of the arts

Warrior Rule (continued)

• increased access to education

• warrior values• retreat from

government and city• Chomei, “An Account

of a Ten-Square-Foot Hut”

• Kenko, Essays in Idleness

Japan 700–1400

Which two writing systems were used in classical Japan?

a. vernacular Japanese and “Literary Chinese”b. vernacular Chinese and “Literary Japanese”c. vernacular Japanese and “Literary English”d. vernacular Japanese and “Literary Japanese”

Test Your Knowledge

Ruling from the fourth through the eighth century, the Yamato clan commissioned the production of “historical” texts for what purpose?

a. to celebrate Japan’s literary cultureb. to record familial relationshipsc. to legitimate Yamato ruled. to entertain the reading public

Test Your Knowledge

Heian waka was a form of what?

a. Japanese vernacularb. prosec. poetryd. drama

Test Your Knowledge

The Tale of Genji was written by ___________ .

a. a manb. a womanc. we don’t knowd. court poets

Test Your Knowledge

Literature of Japan’s medieval period tended to be dominated by what kind of themes?

a. domesticb. politicalc. allegoricald. military

Test Your Knowledge

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