Japanese Literature

1. How did you find our activity?
2. How did you know the characters?
3. Which country are the characters from?
4. How do you call this type of Japanese literature?
5. What can you say about this type of literature from Japan?

1. Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters)
2. Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan)

1. Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters)
– Japanese Religious text
- a sacred text of the Shintō religion
- important source book for ceremonies, customs,
divination, and magical practices of ancient Japan. It
includes myths, legends, and historical accounts of the
imperial court from the earliest days of its creation up
to the reign of Empress Suiko.
- was written using Chinese characters to
represent Japanese sounds, in as much as no means of
recording Japan’s developing spoken language had yet
been devised.

2. Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan)
- Also called Nihonshoki
- one of the earliest and most important sources
of Japanese mythology
- same with Kojiki, it provides most of the
myths and legends from the early periods of
Japanese history up to the death of Empress
Jitô
- Written in Chinese and strongly influenced
by both Chinese and Korean mythological
traditions

Both the Nihongi and the Kojiki contain stories that
trace the genealogy (record of a person's ancestry) of the Japanese
imperial (relating to an emperor or empire) family back to the
creation of the world and to the sun goddess Amaterasu, said to
be the divine ancestor of Japanese emperors.

refers to Japanese comic books, the series of which
are often made into Japanese cartoons, or anime.
JAPANESECOMIC

one of the three scripts used in the Japanese
language, are Chinese characters, which were first introduced to
Japan in the 5th century via Korea.
- Ideograms used for writing nouns, adjectives, adverbs and
verbs
JAPANESEWRITINGSYSTEMS

means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana
characters are derived from components or fragments of more
complex Kanji.
- is a phonetic alphabet - each letter represents the sound of a
syllable (like English ABC). Letter itself has no meaning.

means “simple kana”
- Each Hiragana letter represents particular syllable. Letter itself has
no meaning.
- Hiragana is used widely to form a sentence.
- the first of all the writing systems taught to Japanese children

Three Types of Japanese Drama:
1. Noh play
2. Joruri or puppet play
3. Kabuki play
JAPANESEDRAMA

It is the national theater of Japan.

It is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today.
- its name derived from nō, meaning “talent” or “skill”
- it combines music, dance, and acting and usually recreates famous scenes from
well-known works of Japanese literature (Ex. Myths and legends)
- is not a dramatic reenactment of an event but its retelling.

The puppets are beautifully made and lifelike in size. The strings are expertly
manipulated and the dialogue are realistically interpreted.

It is a traditional Japanese performance art that uses puppets, each operated by
three people, to perform a variety of different plays and stories.
- (Ningyo means doll or puppet) + (Joruri means narrative) = Joruri play means
chanted narrative
Or common puppetry and narrative storytelling accompanied by simple instruments

The play of the masses. It is less intellectual, more realistic, even
sensational.

It is written with three characters: ka, signifying “song”; bu,
“dance”; and ki, “skill.”
- traditional Japanese popular drama with singing and dancing
performed in a highly stylized manner and a rich blend of music,
dance, mime, and spectacular staging and costuming.

Manyo Shu (Collection of myriad leaves) –
oldest collection of poetry. It was
compiled in 800 A.D. The collection titled
One Hundred Persons was compiled much
later.

Shortest form of Japanese
poetry but most popular.
It has seventeen- syllable poem
in three lines of five, seven, and five
syllables.

Poetry and love
will fill your heart forever,
or rip it to shreds!

DIRECTIONS: Have the same groupings. Create a
2-stanza Haiku about the importance of Japanese
literature to the world. Present it to the class,
afterwards.

DIRECTIONS: Read the following
statements very carefully. Choose the
letter of the correct answer.

The following statements describe Japanese Literature except:
A. Japanese literature are bodies of works about Japan’s earliest
beginnings.
B. Japan’s literature is influenced by Chinese literature.
C. Japanese literature ranks as one of the major literature of the Orientals
and the world.
D. Japanese literature excludes drama, music, and other forms of art.

Which of the these terms refer to Kabuki play?
A. The national theater of Japan
B. The Japanese popular drama with singing and dancing performed in a
highly stylized manner
C. A traditional Japanese performance art that uses puppets.
D. A play that recreates famous scenes from well-known works of
Japanese literature

Which among the Japanese writing systems is first taught to Japanese
children?
A. Kanji
B. Katakana
C. Hiragana
D. Haiku

How did Japanese literature influence the world?
A. Through Manga and Anime
B. Through different types of play/drama
C. Through history, language and cuisine
D. All of the above

Which type of literature is the favorite form of amusement in Japan?
A. Religious and historical texts
B. Drama
C. Poetry
D. Manga and Anime

Japanese Literature

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