Essay on "Traditional Japanese Literature Interests"

Essay 5 pages (1460 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

All these are context in which the stories take place and which further augment the impact the stories have on the reader.

At the same time, the characters are natural. Despite the fact that they are not the typical natural beauty of the Japanese standard, with proper make-up and embellishments, their natural beings are exploited to the maximum by the author. More precisely, all the stories presented by the author do not necessarily finish with a positive outlook but rather the outcome allows natural course of action to be followed, which sometimes includes death in the Japanese society (Saikaku, 1956). This is an important aspect because the author in this case did not tackle with reality and the natural way of being for the five women, but more importantly he let them be frivolous, impetuous, reckless, as women of this sort usually behave, although it signified a high price for them to pay eventually. Regardless, the author kept a very good sense and touch with the natural way of human beings.

"The Book of the Samurai: Hagakure" is yet another important example of the way in which the Japanese literature manages to entangle the natural background into human activities. It is a compilation of indications and guiding principles that a samurai must follow in order to become an individual with a value that can be seen as worthy for the life as a samurai. The indications provided are relevant for all the aspects of life, from dealing with the way in which one must behave around young people and elderly alike to the way in which long-term goals must be achieved through hard work, perseverance, and humbleness. This writing is important because it does not only provide important advice for the future samurais, it is also a consideration of improvement of the self.

One of the first aspects to be taken into account in this literary piece is related to the motivation provided to future samurais that implies a true natural heart, body, and mind. More precisely, among the first advices given to future samurais is related to the need for "intelligence, humanity, and courage" (Tsunetomo, 2002). These are all qualities that one is born with and that a future samurai must exercise to perfection. Moreover, the author points out that the starting point for improvement in order to achieve the highest degree of excellence starts from the true nature of the individual "Basically one should perceive their nature to be of quiet strength" (Tsunetomo, 2002).

Similar to other Japanese literature pieces, the Book of the Samurai also makes reference to the elements of nature to point out aspects of inner feelings or events. As well, the nature is a correspondent of the human soul. More precisely, "if one thoughtlessly crosses a river of unknown depths and shallows, he will die in its currents without even reaching the other side or finishing his business" (Tsunetomo, 2002). In this case as well, the meanings of the words as well as the meaning of the phrase are symbolic and interpretable. For instance, the image can be taken as a pure metaphor and can depict the actual crossing of the river and eventual end of the person crossing it. At the same time, with due account for the associations made with the image of the river, new meanings can be added to this sentence to symbolize the participation in an event that is overwhelming and that may bring about the unsuccessful finalization of that event or task.

The study and analysis of the relation between nature and natural environment in the traditional Japanese literature is important from various points-of-view. On the one hand it provides a better understanding of the possible meanings of the words used in Japanese literature, which is important especially taking into account the fact that the translation of such pieces of literature is difficult. On the other hand, it gives new perspectives on the content of these literary creations and new means of interpretation of the content.

Works cited:

Culler, Jonathan. Literary Theory: a Very Short Introduction. New York, NY: Oxford

University. 1997. Print.

"Gossamer Journal." Classical Japanese Prose: an Anthology. Ed. Helen

McCullough. Stanford, CA: Stanford University. 1990. 256-63. Print.

Saikakyu, Ihara. Five women who loved love. Tokyo: Turtle Publishing. 1956. Print… READ MORE

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