Japanese literature: Quick Facts

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The Tale of Genji

Okumura Masanobu: Hanshozuku Bijin Soroi

Shimazaki Tōson

Yellow letter tiles on a teal background spell 'what is a haiku?' with abstract calligraphic scribbles in the background

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Topics

Kaifūsō Danrin school gesaku sedōka makura kotoba dodoitsu manga senryu waka haiku English literature French literature African literature American literature Arabic literature Italian literature German literature Spanish literature Latin American literature Chinese literature

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Key People

Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami

Japanese author

Endo Shusaku, wearing glasses and a patterned sweater over a blue collared shirt, smiles while seated indoors in Tokyo, 1980.

Endō Shūsaku

Japanese author

Mishima Yukio

Mishima Yukio

Japanese author

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Ishihara Shintarō

Japanese writer and politician

Ōoka Shōhei

Ōoka Shōhei

Japanese author

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Kitano Takeshi

Japanese actor and director

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Ernest F. Fenollosa

American orientalist and art critic

Ōe Kenzaburō

Ōe Kenzaburō

Japanese writer

Bashō

Bashō

Japanese poet

Hearn, Lafcadio

Lafcadio Hearn

British-born writer and translator

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Chikamatsu Monzaemon

Japanese dramatist

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Abe Kōbō

Japanese author

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Uchida Shungicu

Japanese artist and author

Arishima Takeo.

Arishima Takeo

Japanese writer

Fukuzawa Yukichi.

Fukuzawa Yukichi

Japanese author, educator, and publisher

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Yū Miri

Japanese author

Banana Yoshimoto

Banana Yoshimoto

Japanese writer

Kakinomoto Hitomaro

Kakinomoto Hitomaro

Japanese poet

Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu

Japanese courtier and author

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Uno Chiyo

Japanese writer

Hand with pencil writing on page. (handwriting; write)

Word Nerd Quiz

4:043 Dickinson, Emily: A Life of Letters, This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me; I'll tell you how the Sun Rose/A Ribbon at a time; Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul

Famous Poets and Poetic Form

Japanese poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (Kakinomoto Hitomaro), woodblock print by Yashima Gakutei, c. 1820; in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Japanese Literature: A Pop Quiz

Row of colorful books on a bookshelf. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

The Literary World

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) only confirmed photograph of Emily Dickinson. 1978 scan of a Daguerreotype. ca. 1847; in the Amherst College Archives. American poet. See Notes:

Poetry: First Lines