Japan's medieval period (the Kamakura, Nanbokuchō and Muromachi periods, and sometimes the Azuchi–Momoyama period) was a transitional period for the nation's literature. Kyoto ceased being the sole literary centre as important writers and readerships appeared throughout the country, and a wider variety of genres and literary forms developed accordingly, such as the gunki monogatari and otogi-zōshi prose narratives, and renga linked verse, as well as various theatrical forms such as noh. Medieval Japanese literature can be broadly divided into two periods: the early and late , the former lasting roughly 150 years from the late 12th to the mid-14th century, and the latter until the end of the 16th century.
The early saw a continuation of the literary trends of the classical period, with court fiction (monogatari) continuing to be written, and composition of waka poetry reaching new heights in the age of the Shin-kokin Wakashū, an anthology compiled by Fujiwara no Teika and others on the order of Emperor Go-Toba. One new genre of that emerged in this period was the gunki monogatari, or war tale, of which the representative example of The Tale of the Heike, a dramatic retelling of the events of the wars between the Minamoto and Taira clans. Apart from these heroic tales, several other historical and quasi-historical works were produced in this period, including Mizu Kagami and the Gukanshō. Essays called zuihitsu came to prominence with Hōjōki by Kamo no Chōmei and Tsurezuregusa by Kenkō. Japanese Buddhism also underwent a reform during this period, with several important new sects being established, with the founders of these sects—most famously Dōgen, Shinran, and Nichiren—writing numerous treatises expounding their interpretation of Buddhist doctrine. Writing in classical Chinese, with varying degrees of literary merit and varying degrees of direct influence from literature composed on the continent, continued to be a facet of Japanese literature as it had been since Japanese literature's beginnings [ja].
The late saw further shifts in literary trends. Gunki monogatari remained popular, with such famous works as the Taiheiki and the Soga Monogatari appearing, reflecting the chaotic civil war the country was experiencing at the time. The courtly fiction of early eras gave way to the otogi-zōshi, which were broader in theme and popular appeal but generally much shorter in length. Waka composition, which had already been in stagnation since the Shin-kokin Wakashū, continued to decline, but this gave way to new poetic forms such as renga and its variant haikai no renga (a forerunner to the later haiku). The performing arts flourished during the late medieval period, the noh theatre and its more informal cousin kyōgen being the best-known genres. Folk songs and religious and secular tales were collects in a number of anthologies, and travel literature, which had been growing in popularity throughout the medieval period, became more and more commonplace. During the late 16th century, Christian missionaries and their Japanese converts produced the first Japanese translations of European works. Isoho Monogatari, a translation of Aesop's Fables, remained in circulation even after the country largely closed itself off to the west during the Edo period.
Overview
Japan's medieval period lasted roughly 400 years, from Minamoto no Yoritomo's establishment of the Kamakura shogunate and being named shōgun in the third year of the Kenkyū era (1192) to Tokugawa Ieyasu's establishment of the Edo shogunate in Keichō 8 (1603) following the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 that began the Edo period. This period, based on the centres of political power, is normally divided into the Kamakura, Nanbokuchō (or Yoshino), Muromachi and Azuchi–Momoyama periods, and is also referred to simply as the Kamakura-Muromachi period. The start date of this period has also been taken as being around 1156 (the Hōgen rebellion) or 1221 (the Jōkyū rebellion), with the Azuchi–Momoyama period also sometimes being taken as part of the early modern period, with the medieval period ending at Oda Nobunaga's entry to the capital in Eiroku 11 (1568) or the end of the Ashikaga regime in Tenshō 1 (1573).
The period is characterized by war, beginning with the Genpei War and ending with the Battle of Sekigahara, with other conflicts such as the Jōkyū rebellion, the war between the northern and southern courts and the Ōnin War (1467–1477), culminating in the entire country erupting in war during the Sengoku period. The social order was disrupted as a result of these conflicts, with changes to society in general and, naturally, shifts in literary styles and tastes. The philosophy of impermanence (無常 mujō) became pervasive, with many seeking salvation, both physical and spiritual, in religion, specifically Buddhism.
Aesthetic ideals The basic ideal that informed aesthetic tastes in this period is known as yūgen (roughly meaning "mystery" or "depth"), along with other concepts such as ushin (有心, literally "possessing heart", the more "weighty" or "serious" poetry, as opposed to games) and yōen (妖艶, literally "ethereal beauty"). These ideals shunned realism, representing a spirit of l'art pour l'art and aiming to plunge the reader into an "ideal" world, and were in accord with the ideals of Buddhist monastic seclusion (出家遁世 shukke-tonsei). What exactly constituted yūgen differed throughout its history, and the various literary genres it influenced include waka ("Japanese poetry", meaning poetry in vernacular Japanese, typically in a 5-7-5-7-7 metre), renga ("linked verse") and the noh theatre.
Later developments include en (艶, literally "lustre" or "polish"), hie (ひえ) and sabi (roughly "stillness" or "attenuation"), connecting to the literature of Japan's early modern period. Translator and literary historian Donald Keene discusses both yūgen and hie (which he translated "chill") as concepts shared by the quintessentially medieval art forms of renga and noh. He describes sabi as having been "used to suggest the unobtrusive, unassertive beauty that was the ideal of Japanese poets, especially during the turbulent decades of the Japanese ", and states that it first came to prominence around the time of the Shin-kokin Wakashū.
There was, however, a concurrent trend toward a form of realism in medieval developments on the concept of okashi (をかし; "bright", "happy", "charming", "humorous" or "brilliant"). Authors began to attempt to reflect reality in order satirize social conditions, or for simple enjoyment.
Authors and readership Medieval Japanese literature is most often associated with members of the warrior class, religious figures and hermits (隠者 inja), but the nobility maintained a degree of their former prestige and occupied an important position in literary circles. This was especially true in the early (i.e., the Kamakura period), when court literature still carried the high pedigree of earlier eras, while monks, recluses and warriors took an increasingly prominent role in later centuries. Furthermore, at the very end of the medieval period (i.e., the Azuchi–Momoyama period), urban (chōnin) literature began to appear. As a result, the medieval period was the time when the literature of the nobility became a truly "national" Japanese literature.
Developments in the performing arts allowed for large groups of people to appreciate literature on a broader level than before. As the social classes that had previously supported the arts fell away, new groups stepped in as both creators and audiences for literary works. These conditions encouraged the growth of a literature that was more visual and auditory than the literature of Japanese classical period. This is true of performing arts like noh and traditional dance, but also includes such genres as the emakimono, picture scrolls that combined words and images, and e-toki, which conveyed tales and Buddhist parables via images.
The centre of culture continued to be the capital in Kyoto, but other areas such as Ise and Kamakura became increasingly prominent as literary centres.
Literature of the early medieval period Historical background of the early medieval period The early medieval period covers the time between the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate and the shogunate's collapse roughly 140 years later in Genkō 3 (1333). With the shogunate, who were of warrior stock, controlling the affairs of state in eastern Japan, the aristocracy of the Heian court continued to perform limited court functions and attempted to preserve their aristocratic literary traditions. The first two or three decades, which are also known as the Shin-kokin period, saw a surge in interest in waka composition and attempts to revive the traditions of the past. However, with the failure of the Jōkyū rebellion and Emperor Go-Toba's exile to Oki Island, the court lost almost all power, and the nobility became increasingly nostalgic, with the aristocratic literature of the later Kamakura period reflecting this.
As the warrior class was in its ascendancy, their cultural and philosophical traditions began to influence not only political but also literary developments, and while literature had been previously the exclusive domain of the court this period saw a growth in the literature of other levels of society. Narrative works such as The Tale of the Heike are an example of this new literature.
Buddhism was also in its heyday during this period, with new sects such as Jōdo-shū, Nichiren-shū and Zen-shū being established, and both old and new sects fervently spreading their influence among the populace throughout the country. In addition to Buddhist literature such as hōgo, the monks of this period were especially active in all manner of literary pursuits. Those who became hermits upon entering Buddhism produced a new kind of work, the zuihitsu or "essay", as well as fine examples of setsuwa ("tale") literature. Such literature is known as hermit literature (隠者文学 inja-bungaku) or "thatched-hut literature" (草庵文学 sōan-bungaku).
Overall, the literature of this period showed a strong tendency to combine the new with the old, mixing the culture of aristocrats, warriors and Buddhist monks.
Early medieval waka The waka genre of poetry saw an unprecedented level of exuberance at the beginning of the Kamakura period, with Emperor Go-Toba reopening the Waka-dokoro in Kennin 1 (1201). Notable, and prolific, poets at the highest levels of the aristocracy included Fujiwara no Yoshitsune and his uncle, the Tendai abbot Jien. At both the palace and the homes of various aristocrats, poetry gatherings (uta-kai) and competitions (uta-awase) such as the famous and were held, with numerous great poets coming to the fore. On Go-Toba's command, Fujiwara no Teika, Fujiwara no Ietaka and others compiled a new chokusenshū (imperial waka anthology), the Shin-kokin Wakashū, which was seen as a continuation of the grand waka tradition begun three hundred years earlier with the Kokin Wakashū. , in his article on medieval literature for the Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten, calls this the final flowering of the aristocratic literature, noting its high literary value with its basis in the literary ideals of yūgen and yūshin, its emphasis on suggestiveness, and its exquisite delicacy.
The foundations for this style of poetry were laid by Teika and his father Shunzei, not just in their poetry but in their highly regarded works of poetic theory (karon and kagaku-sho). These include Shunzei's (also valuable as an exploration of the history of waka) and Teika's and Kindai Shūka (近代秀歌). Such works had a tremendous influence on later waka poets, and their philosophy of fūtei (風体, "style") has had value for Japanese aesthetics and art generally. Other works of poetic theory include those that are noted for their recording of various anecdotes about waka poets, including Kamo no Chōmei's .