Early Japanese literature was heavily influenced by Chinese literature and Buddhism. Notable early works included the Kojiki and Nihongi chronicles from the 8th century CE. During the Heian period, the Tale of Genji was written and became a masterpiece. Later medieval literature included war tales and histories. The Edo period saw the development of many genres. The Meiji period brought Western influences as Japan modernized. Post-war literature explored defeat in World War II and its aftermath, while contemporary works cover diverse social and political issues.

1. Japanese Literature

2. Japanese Flag
• The Japanese Flag is a white banner whose center contains a red circle; this
circle represents the sun. The Japanese flag is called Hinomaru, which means
"circle of the sun." In English it is sometimes
called the “the rising sun."
• This flag has been used for over a thousand
years, and no one knows who designed it or
when. It was officially adopted as the flag of
Imperial Japan on January 27, 1870.

3. Japanese Clothing
• Japanese people used their traditional clothing in the past, now they wear it
just in special occasions.
Kimono (Women)Yukata (Men) Zori (Sandals)

4. Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by
cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in
Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the
separation of Buddhism in Japan. Eventually, Japanese literature
developed into a separate style, although the influence of Chinese
literature and Classical Chinese remained until the end of the Edo
period.

5. The Period Of Japanese Literature
1. Ancient Literature
2. Classical Literature
3. Medieval Literature
4. Modern Literature
5. Edo Period
6. Meiji Period
7. Post-War Japan
8. Contemporary Literature

6. Ancient Literature
Two of the oldest Japanese literature:
• Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matter) relates to the creation of the world,
describes the gods and goddess of the mythological period, and contains facts
about ancient Japan
• Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan) tells the history of Japan in poetry and shows
the profound influence of Chinese.

7. Classical Literature
The Heian Period, referred to as the golden era of Japanese art and literature.
• Man’yoshu (Collection of Myriad Leaves) The oldest collection of Japanese
poetry collected in the year 800
• Genji Monogatari(The Tale of Genji) written by court lady named Murasaki
Shikibu is considered the pre-eminent masterpiece of Heian fiction and the
first example of a work of fiction in the form of a novel.

8. Genji Monogatari

9. Medieval Literature
• Japan experienced many civil wars which led to the development of a warrior
class, and subsequent war tales, histories, and related stories.
• Work from this period is notable for its insights into life and death, simple
lifestyles, and Seppuku
• Tale of the Heike, an epic account of the struggle between two clans for
control of Japan at the end of the twelfth century.

10. Tale of Heike

11. Edo Period
• The Tokugawa Period is commonly referred to as the Edo Period. The capital
of Japan moved from Kyoto to Edo (modern Tokyo)
• Scholarly work continued to be published in Chinese, which was the language
of the learned much as Latin was in Europe
• Chikamatsu Monzaemon, a kabuki dramatist, known as the Japan's
Shakespeare
• Many genres of literature made their début during the Edo Period, helped by
a rising literacy rate among the growing population of townspeople, as well as
the development of lending libraries

12. Chikamatsu Monzaemon
Japan’s Shakespeare

13. Meiji Period
• The Meiji period marks the re-opening of Japan to the West, and a period of
rapid industrialization.
• The introduction of European literature brought free verse into the poetic
repertoire. It became widely used for longer works embodying new intellectual
themes.
• Young Japanese prose writers and dramatists struggled with a whole galaxy of
new ideas and artistic schools, but novelists were the first to assimilate some of
these concepts successfully

14. Meiji Period
• War-time Japan saw the début of several authors best known for the beauty
of their language and their tales of love and sensuality.
• Kawabata Yasunari, for his narrative mastery, which with great sensibility
expresses the essence of the Japanese mind" became Japan's first winner of the
Nobel Prize for Literature.

15. Kawabata Yasunari
Japan’s first winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature

16. Post-War and Contemporary Literature
• World War II, and Japan's defeat, deeply influenced Japanese literature. Many
authors wrote stories of disaffection, loss of purpose, and the coping with
defeat.
• Prominent writers of the 1970s and 1980s were identified with intellectual
and moral issues in their attempts to raise social and political consciousness.
• Modern Japanese writers covered a wide variety of subjects, one particularly
Japanese approach stressed their subjects' inner lives, widening the earlier
novel's preoccupation with the narrator's consciousness Post-War and
Contemporary Literature