Japanese Poetry
Things to Consider:
- Forms: tanka, haiku
- Imagery
- Themes
- Religion: Taoism, Buddhism, Shinto
- Japanese Literature Resources
** Homework Questions **
1347:
- Explain: "Rulers also realized that legitimate political
authority required historical precedent" (1347).
- Describe the beliefs and practices of Shinto.
1348:
- Describe the ethics of Confucius.
1349-50:
- Describe the characteristics of waka (tanka)
poetry.
The Man'yŏ
shŭ (8th
C.)
:
1354:
- What are the most frequent subjects of the Man'yŏshŭ?
Emperor Jomei:
1358:
- Summarize the message of this poem.
Princess Nukata:
1359:
- Summarize the message of this poem.
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro:
"On the Karu Road"
1360-61:
- Summarize the message of this poem.
Ŏtomo no Tabito:
1362-63:
- Explain the speaker's attitude toward drinking. How does it
compare to the attitude found in the writings of Li Bo?
Yamanoue no Okura:
"Dialogue on Poverty"
- Compare the attitudes expressed by the poor man and the
destitute man.
Other Discussion Questions:
1345-46:
- Describe the cultural relationship between early Japan and
early China. How does it compare to that between ancient Rome
and Greece?
- Describe the importance of Literary Chinese during Japan's
classical age.
1347:
- Describe the function of Buddhism to the Yamato rulers.
1351:
- What is significant about women's contributions to Japan's
premodern literary tradition?
- Describe the conflict between the Heike and the Genji.
