Japanese Historical Periods

1. Nara: 710-784
2. Heian: 794-1191
3. Kamakura: 1191-1333
4. Muromachi: 1333-1573 (Ashikaga)
5. Edo: 1600-1867 (Tokugawa)
6. Meiji: 18668-1912
7. Taish: 1912-1926
8. Shwa: 1926-1989
9. Heisei: 1989-present
Context
Before Edo: warrior age, decline of Heian court culture, rise of empire, military influence, women fighting
samurai, social unrest,
Edo:
Policies: closed to foreign trade, daimyo req. to keep house in Edo and home, and live in Edo some of the year
(impoverished daimyo), censorship (control)
Social: rigid hierarchy, urban life flourished, yet imbalance between social/economic power (samurai $
merchant $ ), different ethics/responsibilities in diff classes, more money economy
W
ar
ri
or
Farmer

Artisan
Merchant
Outcast

Cities: Edo (capital, culture), Osaka (trade/supply city), Kyoto (ancient, imperial/pleasure)
Saikaku: first pro writer, wrote popular stories (love, lust, money), local color shows societal layers,
Greengrocers Daughter (1686)
Short story in Five Women Who Loved Love
Based on well-known arsonist Oshichi
Can learn about culture through story (fire danger, classes, family relationships)
Giri v. ninjo
Samurai culture: bushido (way of the samurai) idealized v. actual (discrepancy esp. in Edo per.), hereditary
class, physical distinctions (hairstyle, 2 swords), die properly, behead enemies
Kanadehon Chshingura (1748) (bunraku version)
Based on Ako Vendetta from 1701: daimyo leading ceremony, asked for help, didnt pay helper, was taunted,
pulled sword in castle, forced seppuku- samurai more loyal to daimyo than shogunate, were punished, but
honorably- forced seppuku
Original form kabuki play 2 weeks after event, shut down- changed setting Muromachi period to avoid
Form: plots, subplots, many important characters displaying different layers; puns, double entendres, humor
Uses stock characters because bunraku, yet have depth
Themes: loyalty, knowing place in hierarchy, self-sacrifice, endurance,
More than 140 films
Continued popularity: psychological/emotional impact, interesting characters, drama/twists, revenge, rebellion,
lure of idealized samurai culture, dedication what normal people dont do

Theater
Bunraku: flourished in 1700s
Chanter does all voices/narration accompanied by samisen player (origins of traveling storytell)
Domestic/historical dramas (not current because of censorship) usually based on real events
Comedy and tragedy and love; emotion, giri v. ninjo
3 man puppet 1734
Stock characters with limited heads
Stage realistic
Kabuki: golden age late 1700s
Literally: ka (song) bu (dance) ki (skill)
Origin as female erotic dance, now adult male spectacle acting
Was only in bad neighborhood, but became art form in 1700s
By Meiji, became respectable for foreigners
Onnagata- man playing a woman
Celebrity culture (woodblock prints 1770 began, yelling actors name in theater)
Reward virtuous, punish wicked
Audience interaction
Very over-the-top, action, effects, costumes/makeup, loud sounds/music
Noh:
Classical drama
Aristocratic, high culture unlike pop culture kabuki/bunraku
Travel/family scene: expected trope by audience
Literary Terms
CONTEXT: historical, topical info surrounding literature
FORM: the arrangement of the story elements
SIGNIFICANCE: why element of literature is important
CANON: literary works considered most important from era/place
GENRE: style of writing
THEME: main idea in work, indirect or direct
MOTIF: element, idea that is continually present in work
PLOT, SUBPLOT: major/minor account and explanation of action in narrative
ALLEGORY: narrative makes sense on literal level but has specific symbolic meaning
ALLUSION: brief reference that associates work with another for theme or audience
LOCAL COLOR: focus on features particular to a certain region
PARODY: imitation of some work for humorous purposes
Japanese Terms
GIRI: duty NINJO: passion the two often conflict, inextricably tied
UKIYO-E: woodblock prints
BAKUFU/SHOGUNATE: military government
SHOGUN: military governor
DAIMYO: big name feudal lord under shogun (Wakasanosuke, Enya)
SAMURAI: one who serves warrior under daimyo (Yuranosuke, Kanpei)
RONIN: masterless samurai
BUSHIDO: samurai code of ethics, honor, loyalty (like chivalry for knights/chevaliers)
SEPPUKU: honorable suicide for samurai (stab, slide, up, entrails, throat/beheaded)
KANA: Japanese writing system, syllabic