およそ1500年の永く豊かな歴史を誇る日本文学を俯瞰します。8世紀には既に和歌や朗詠が、やがて物語文学が盛行で、11世紀には世界に名高い『源氏物語』が著され、日記、随筆、戯曲、絵本、文芸評論など、幅広い形式とジャンルが発展していきました。それを支えているのは教養のある読者、文壇、専門誌、該博な知識を持ち作家の発掘・育成に貢献する評論家、そして礎となる古典です。伝統に極めて忠実ながら海外からの文化的影響も摂取する柔軟さも持ち、三島由紀夫や村上春樹は今日、広く世界で読者を獲得しています。英文で読む、格好の日本文学入門書です。
 

• A concise overview of one of the most dynamic and diverse world literatures
• Written by a leading scholar of Japanese culture and literature
• A concise overview of one of the most dynamic and diverse world literatures
• Offers an interpretation linking the entire literary tradition, from the eighth century to the present
• Introduces writers largely unknown outside of Japan that can be read alongside the greatest writers of world literature.
• Explores the long history of Japanese literature, from The Tale of Genji to Natsume Sôseki's Kokoro and modern manga comic books

   
With a history stretching back nearly 1,500 years, written works originating from Japan encompass a vast range of forms and genres. Since the eighth century, poetry and the non-philosophical lyric voice have occupied a central position in Japanese cultural life. The art of narrative would soon follow, blossoming in the eleventh century with one of the world's great literary masterpieces, Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji. Japanese literature later developed other genres no less important than poetry and narrative, among them the diary, the free-flowing essay, drama, the picture book, and the literary treatise.
   
While intensely attentive to its own tradition, Japanese literature has also embraced the outside world, particularly the influence of China. It is also embraced by the outside world in turn, exporting bestselling authors such as Haruki Murakami and Yukio Mishima. Beyond this, Japan boasts a powerful literary culture, made up of cultivated reading publics, both aristocratic and bourgeois, literary salons, specialized presses, authoritative judges of talent who cultivated and celebrated particular writers and styles, and a canon consisting of classics. A succinct introduction to one of the most dynamic and diverse world literatures, this Very Short Introduction traces the rich history of Japanese literature from its beginnings over a millennium ago to the present day.