NOTABLE JAPANESE WRITERS DESCRIPTION
Seami Motokiyo Zeami, also spelled Seami, also called Kanze Motokiyo, (born 1363,
Japan—died Sept. 1, 1443, Kyōto?), the greatest playwright and
theorist of the Japanese Noh theatre. He and his
father, Kan’ami (1333–84), were the creators of the Noh drama in its
present form.
In his treatises—of which the most important is the collection Fūshi
kaden (1400–18; “The Transmission of the Flower of Acting Style,”
also known as the Kaden sho), “flower” representing the freshness
and appropriateness of fine acting—written as manuals for his pupils,
Zeami said the actor must master three basic roles: the warrior, the
woman, and the old person, including the singing and dancing
appropriate to each.
Yasunari Kawabata (born June 11, 1899, Ōsaka, Japan—died April 16, 1972, Zushi),
Japanese novelist who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968.
His melancholic lyricism echoes an ancient Japanese literary tradition
in the modern idiom.
His best-known novel, Yukiguni (1948; Snow Country), the story of a
forlorn country geisha, was begun in 1935. After several different
endings were discarded, it was completed 12 years later, although the
final version did not appear until 1948. Sembazuru (Thousand
Cranes), a series of episodes centred on the tea ceremony, was begun
in 1949 and never completed. These and Yama no oto (1949–54; The
Sound of the Mountain) are considered to be his best novels.
Junichiro Tanizaki (born July 24, 1886, Tokyo, Japan—died July 30, 1965, Yugawara),
major modern Japanese novelist, whose writing is characterized by
eroticism and ironic wit.
“Shisei” (1910; “The Tattooer”)
Tade kuu mushi (1929; Some Prefer Nettles)
Genji monogatari (The Tale of Genji) of Murasaki Shikibu
Sasame-yuki (1943–48; The Makioka Sisters)
Yukio Mishima pseudonym of Hiraoka Kimitake, (born January 14, 1925, Tokyo,
Japan—died November 25, 1970, Tokyo), prolific writer who is
regarded by many critics as the most important Japanese novelist of
the 20th century.
Kamen no kokuhaku (1949; Confessions of a Mask) Among these
works are Ai no kawaki (1950; Thirst for
Love), Kinjiki (1954; Forbidden Colours), and Shiosai (1954; The
Sound of Waves). Kinkaku-ji (1956; The Temple of the Golden
Pavilion)
Dazai Ozamu pseudonym of Tsushima Shūji, (born June 19, 1909,
Kanagi, Aomori prefecture, Japan—died June 13, 1948, Tokyo),
novelist who emerged at the end of World War II as the literary voice
of his time. His dark, wry tone perfectly captured the confusion of
postwar Japan, when traditional values were discredited and the
younger generation nihilistically rejected all of the past.
Bannen (1936; “The Twilight Years”) Otogi zōshi (1945; “Fairy
Tales”), new versions of traditional tales, represented a triumph of his
style and wit. Tsugaru (1944; Return to Tsugaru) was a deeply
sympathetic memorial to his place of birth.
Ryunosuke Akutagawa art name Chōkōdō Shujin (澄江堂主人),[2] was
a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded
as the "father of the Japanese short story", and Japan's premier literary
award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him.[3] He committed
suicide at the age of 35 through an overdose of barbital.[4]
Tales of Grotesque and Curious.
"The Christ of Nanking"
Fool's Life.
Kappa. Trans
Hell Screen
Oe Kenzaburo (born January 31, 1935, Ehime prefecture, Shikoku, Japan), Japanese
novelist whose works express the disillusionment and rebellion of his
post-World War II generation. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1994.
Atarashii hito yo meza meyo (1983; Rise Up O Young Men of the
New Age!)
Ōe’s Jinsei no shinseki (1989; An Echo of Heaven)
Chenjiringu (2000; The Changeling)
Suishi (2009; Death by Water)
THE HAIKU POETS DESCRIPTION
Matsuo Bashō in full Matsuo Bashō, pseudonym of Matsuo Munefusa,
(born 1644, Ueno, Iga province, Japan—died Nov. 28, 1694,
Ōsaka), the supreme Japanese haiku poet, who greatly enriched
the 17-syllable haiku form and made it an accepted medium of
artistic expression.
The Narrow Road to Oku (1996), Donald Keene’s translation
of Oku no hosomichi, provides the original text and a modern-
language version by Kawabata Yasunari. The Monkey’s Straw
Raincoat and Other Poetry of the Basho School (1981), a
translation by Earl Miner and Hiroko Odagiri, presents a
celebrated linked-verse sequence in which Bashō took part,
along with a commentary.
Yosa Buson also called Yosa Buson, original surname Taniguchi, (born
1716, Kema, Settsu province, Japan—died Jan. 17, 1784,
Kyōto), Japanese painter of distinction but even more
renowned as one of the great haiku poets.
He traveled extensively in northeastern Japan and studied
haiku under several masters, among them Hayano Hajin, whom
he eulogized in Hokuju Rōsen wo itonamu (1745; “Homage to
Hokuju Rōsen”).
Kobayashi Issa pseudonym of Kobayashi Issa, also called Kobayashi
Yatarō, original name Kobayashi Nobuyuki, (born June 15,
1763, Kashiwabara, Shinano province, Japan—died Jan. 5,
1828, Kashiwabara), Japanese haiku poet whose works in
simple, unadorned language captured the spiritual loneliness of
the common man.
Tabishūi (1795; “Travel Gleanings”)
Chichi no shūen nikki (1801; “Diary of My Father’s Last
Days”) and Oraga haru (1819; The Year of My Life).
