Japanese literature is one of the major bodies of Oriental literature. It is less voluminous than Chinese literature, but it is comparable to Arabic, Persian, and Indian literature.it cover the periods from the fifth century A.D to the present.
Poems and does to the gods were composed in the early Japanese language before the art of writing was known in Japan. Only fragments of this literature have survived, but these are thought to have been extensive. During the first centuries of writing on Japan, the spoken language and written language were identical. But with the study of Chinese literature, literary work began to be composed almost exclusively in Chinese. There soon grew differences between colloquial Japanese and literary idioms. The addition of Chinese words into the Japanese language increased rapidly. In Japanese writing at present, Chinese characters occupy the most important places. But for the most part, the wants, feelings, and concerns of everyday life and all that like deeper in the human heart are expressed in native word.
The written language, therefore, consists mainly of characters borrowed from the Chinese, each character representing an idea. To read and write, the student must learn several thousand separate characters. But Japan has developed a basic alphabet of only 47 characters, the Katakana.
Learning in Japan was confined to the court circles before 1200. From 1400 to 1500 the military came into power, and education was denied to everyone except the priests. In 1600 the modern period of general culture began. The people responded enthusiastically to the policy of general education. Reading became a very popular pastime. It was a common sight in Japan to see circulating libraries carried from house to house on the backs of men.
It is a remarkable fact, without parallel in the history of literature, that a large proportion of the literary works in Japan was written by women. This genius is said to have maid Japanese a literary language. The cultivation of the native tongue was left to the ladies of the court and these ladies performed this task nobly.
The earliest Japanese literary work is the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters). It relates the creation of the world, describes the Gods and Goddess of the mythological period, and contains facts about the earliest history of Japan. The next important creative work was the Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan). It tells of the early history of Japan in poetry and shows the profound influence of the Chinese. These two books are the oldest in the language.
The Japanese are intensely proud of their history and take great care in keeping and preserving records. Every town and village has its own historical records. Even family records are carefully copied from one generation to the next. In cities, there are professional story-tellers whole earn their livelihood by narrating legendary and historical tales. Memorial stones are among the striking sights along the highways in every town and village and temple yard. these memorial honor some noted scholar, ruler, or hero.
Haiku is one of them right?