Imayō
Imayō ( Japanese 今 様 , dt. "Songs in a modern way", abbreviation of Imayō-uta ) is a literary genre of folk poetry in song form, which at the beginning of the Heian period (794-1192) from the originally performed in Chinese language Buddhist hymns ( Kansan ( 漢 讚 ), later performed as Wasan ( 和 讚 ) in Japanese) developed.
Usually the Imayō consists of 8 to 12 lines, i.e. i. two half-verses , with alternating 7 and 5 moras . In Imayō, the previously dominant syllable rhythm 5-7 is reversed. Performed at festivals with musical accompaniment, the content usually revolves around worldly topics such as nature and love. In the real sense, however, the Imayō is of Buddhist origin. One of the oldest surviving Imayō is the "Iroha Uta" of the monk Kūkai .
The Imayō influenced on the one hand the style of the war novel ( 軍 記 物語 , Gunki Monogatari ) and on the other hand the Nō theater. The only known and only fragmentary preserved collection of Imayō is the Ryōshin Hishō ( 梁 塵 秘 抄 , dt. "Secret copy of beautiful songs") compiled by Go-Shirakawa -Hōō from the 12th century (10 volumes).
- Example of a non-Buddhist imayo to Florence
The Horai-zan
On Mount Horai -zan thousand years passed
thousand autumns and myriads of years in succession
So the cranes nest on the branches of pine trees
and on the rocks Playing the turtles
unknown author
literature
- Jürgen Berndt (Hrsg.): BI Lexicon - East Asian literatures . 2nd Edition. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1987, ISBN 3-323-00128-1 , p. 168-169 .
- Bruno Lewin (ed.): Small dictionary of Japanese studies . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1981, ISBN 3-447-00530-0 , p. 159 .
- Karl Florence : History of Japanese Literature . 2nd Edition. CF Amelangs, Leipzig 1909, p. 250-254 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Karl Florenz : History of Japanese Literature . 2nd Edition. CF Amelangs, Leipzig 1909, p. 250-251 .
- ↑ a b c Jürgen Berndt (Ed.): BI Lexicon - East Asian Literatures . 2nd Edition. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1987, ISBN 3-323-00128-1 , p. 168-169 .