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This study uses these lesser-studied sources, including inscriptions on pottery, architecture, and especially wooden tablets known as mokkan, to uncover how poetry, and literature more broadly, was used, shared and thrown away in early Japan. Through looking at these disposable and informal sources, we explore the development of early Japanese literature, and even propose parallels to similar developments in other societies across space and time.
This study uses these lesser-studied sources, including inscriptions on pottery, architecture, and especially wooden tablets known as mokkan, to uncover how poetry, and literature more broadly, was used, shared and thrown away in early Japan. Through looking at these disposable and informal sources, we explore the development of early Japanese literature, and even propose parallels to similar developments in other societies across space and time.
Across decades and oceans, these fractured narratives seem disparate, but show how mobility is central to the history of Japan’s Tōhoku region, a place often stereotyped as a site of rural stasis and traditional immobility, thereby collapsing boundaries between local, national, and global studies of Japan.
This book examines how multiple mobilities converge in Japan’s supposed hinterland. Drawing on research from three continents, this monograph demonstrates that Tohoku’s regional identity is inextricably intertwined with Pacific migrations.
Across decades and oceans, these fractured narratives seem disparate, but show how mobility is central to the history of Japan’s Tōhoku region, a place often stereotyped as a site of rural stasis and traditional immobility, thereby collapsing boundaries between local, national, and global studies of Japan.
This book examines how multiple mobilities converge in Japan’s supposed hinterland. Drawing on research from three continents, this monograph demonstrates that Tohoku’s regional identity is inextricably intertwined with Pacific migrations.
In Japanese Morphography: Deconstructing hentai kanbun, Gordian Schreiber shows that texts traditionally labelled as “hentai kanbun” or “variant Chinese” are, in fact, morphographically written Japanese texts instead and not just the result of an underdeveloped skill in Chinese. The study fosters our understanding of writing system typology beyond phonographic writing.
In Japanese Morphography: Deconstructing hentai kanbun, Gordian Schreiber shows that texts traditionally labelled as “hentai kanbun” or “variant Chinese” are, in fact, morphographically written Japanese texts instead and not just the result of an underdeveloped skill in Chinese. The study fosters our understanding of writing system typology beyond phonographic writing.
With contributions by Mary Louise NAGATA, YAMAMOTO Jun, Hiroko COSTANTINI, Stephen ROBERTSON, MIZOGUCHI Tsunetoshi, NAKAJIMA Mitsuhiro, TSUBOUCHI Yoshihiro and MORIMOTO Kazuhiko.
With contributions by Mary Louise NAGATA, YAMAMOTO Jun, Hiroko COSTANTINI, Stephen ROBERTSON, MIZOGUCHI Tsunetoshi, NAKAJIMA Mitsuhiro, TSUBOUCHI Yoshihiro and MORIMOTO Kazuhiko.
By analyzing works songs and oral testimonies of former silk-reeling operatives about their lives in the factory and in their native countryside, it challenges the long-standing assumption describing their history as merely exploitative, convincingly showing that factory life could appear as a window of opportunity or at least a lesser evil to workers born in rural underprivileged families.
By analyzing works songs and oral testimonies of former silk-reeling operatives about their lives in the factory and in their native countryside, it challenges the long-standing assumption describing their history as merely exploitative, convincingly showing that factory life could appear as a window of opportunity or at least a lesser evil to workers born in rural underprivileged families.
The series published one volume over the last 5 years.
"The Man’yōshū (‘Anthology of Ten Thousand Leaves [of Words]’) is the largest and the oldest Japanese poetic anthology and contains 4,516 poems of varying length. It was probably compiled by the famous Japanese poet and statesman Ōtomo-no Yakamochi (Opotǝmǝ-nǝ Yakamǝti in the language of the eighth century) around 759 AD. The poetry is mostly in Japanese, but there are several poems in Chinese, and a few of Japanese-Korean macaronic verses. Some books, such as Book Five, include beautiful passages of Chinese prose.
The Man’yōshū is not only a poetic anthology, but also an encyclopedia of Ancient Japanese literature, history, mythology, religion, and anthropology. It is also the most important source on the Old Japanese language, its dialects, and historical change. In addition, it contains a sizeable amount of words in Ainu, a nearly extinct aboriginal language of Japan.
Several partial and complete translations of the Man’yōshū into English have appeared in the past. The most the most formidable among them was J.L. Pierson’s (Brill 1929-1963). Pierson’s edition is in the process of being definitively superseded by the present edition which, in addition to the original text, kana transliteration, glossing, and a Romanization, also contains a precise and an up-to-date linguistic analysis of the text, a meticulous and well-grounded decipherment of the most of obscure passages, and a much more detailed commentary.