Anthology of Japanese Literature: From the Earliest Era to the Mid-Nineteenth Century

558 Pages·1994·1.69 MB·English

by  Donald Keene

ANTHOLOGY OF JAPANESE LITERATURE
WORKS BY DONALD KEENE
PUBLISHED BY GROVE
Anthology of Chinese Literature, Vol. I: From Early Times to the 14th Century
(with Cyril Birch, ed.) Anthology of Japanese Literature from the Earliest Era to
the Mid-Nineteenth Century
Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology
World Within Walls: Japanese Literature of the Pre-Modern Era (1600–1867)

Anthology of JAPANESE LITERATURE
from the earliest era to the mid-nineteenth century, compiled and
edited by
Donald Keene
Copyright © 1955 by Grove Press, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
any electronic or mechanical means, or the facilitation thereof, including
information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from
the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
Any members of educational institutions wishing to photocopy part or all of the
work for classroom use, or publishers who would like to obtain permission to
include the work in an anthology, should send their inquiries to Grove/Atlantic,
Inc., 841 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.
Published simultaneously in Canada
Printed in the United States of America
This volume is published in accordance with an arrangement between UNESCO
(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and the
Japanese Government.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 55-5110
ISBN-10: 0-8021-5058-6
ISBN-13: 978-0-8021-5058-5
Grove Press
an imprint of Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
841 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
Distributed by Publishers Group West
www.groveatlantic.com
08 09 10 11 12 52 51 50 49 48
TO ARTHUR WALEY
NOTE ON JAPANESE NAMES AND PRONUNCIATION
Japanese names are given in this book in the Japanese order: that is, the
surname precedes the personal name. Thus, in the name Matsuo Bash , Matsuo
ō
is the family name, Bash the personal name. However, Japanese usually refer
ō
to famous writers by their personal names rather than by their family names and
this practice has been observed in the anthology.
The pronunciation of Japanese in transcription is very simple. The
consonants are pronounced as in English (with g always hard), the vowels as in
Italian. There are no silent letters. Thus, the name Ise is pronounced “ee-say.”
The Japanese words used in the text are those which have been taken into
English and may be found in such works as the Concise Oxford Dictionary.
PREFACE
It can only be with diffidence that this first anthology of Japanese literature in
English is offered to the reading public. I cannot recall ever having read a review
of an anthology of European literature which did not point out glaring omissions
and inexplicable inclusions—this in spite of the comparatively long tradition of
such anthologies. How much less likely it is, then, that the present volume will
escape such criticism!
A word must therefore be said as to what principles guided the compilation of
this book. It is, first of all, an anthology of Japanese works which translate into
interesting and enjoyable English. No matter how important a work may be in
the original, if it defies artistic translation I could not include it. Secondly, the
selection is as representative of all periods of Japanese literature as is consonant
with the above caveat. Thirdly, the anthology is as representative as possible of
the different genres of Japanese literature—poetry, novels, plays, diaries, etc.—
although, again, it must be borne in mind that in Japan, as in every other country,
these various genres have not progressed uniformly. There is, for example, much
great dramatic literature from the Muromachi Period but very little quotable
poetry.
The length of a selection is not necessarily an indication of the relative
importance of the work from which it is taken. It is easier to make extracts from
certain types of writing than from others.
One rather unusual feature of the anthology is the inclusion of a limited
number of works written by Japanese in the classical Chinese language. Just as
Englishmen at one time wrote poetry and prose in Latin, so Japanese wrote in
Chinese, with the difference, of course, that while they were writing there was
still a country called China where the classical language was constantly being
developed.
As I have noted, the translations in this book are meant to be literary and not
literal. For example, names of persons, titles, and places not essential to a story
have sometimes been omitted in the interest of easy reading for Westerners not
able to absorb large quantities of Japanese proper names. Puns, allusions,
repetitions, and incommunicable stylistic fripperies have also been discarded