List of literary terms related to Japanese literature

The list of specialist literary terms for Japanese literature contains in particular terms that are not listed as an independent lemma. It serves as a concordance to technical terms in German literary studies. As part of the broad genre “drama”, technical terms from traditional Japanese theater arts and classical theater forms are also listed.

Alphabetical list of technical terms

A.

Ageku ( 挙句 ): last line of a renga .
Ato-shite ( 後シテ ): Describes the second appearance of an actor in the Nō theater, often as a ghost.
Aware ( 哀れ ): originally an interjection like oh! Ah!. Since the Heian period , Aware has referred to feeling, elegance and pathos as an art-theoretical term in literature.
Azuma uta ( 東歌 ): Poem form, especially found in Man'yōshū and Kokin-wakashū .

B.

Banka ( 挽歌 ): denotes elegies , mourning poems by Man'yōshū.
Benbun ( 駢文 ): also Benreitai ( 駢儷体 ), old Chinese poem style with alternating lines of four and six moras.
Biwa ( 琵琶 ): Traditional Japanese string instrument.
Bōtō (冒頭): Particularly carefully formulated introductory sentence to a literary work.
Bundan ( 文壇 ): literary circle, in contrast to the literary group (see also -ha).
Bungaku ( 文学 ), Kyūjitai ( 文學 ): originally the term for scholarship and especially for the knowledge of Chinese poetry or Japanese poetry based on the Chinese model. Since the Meiji Restoration, the meaning has changed towards a general term for literature.
Bunraku ( 文楽 ): refers to the Japanese puppet theater, which consists of the Jōruri recitation, the shamisen accompaniment and the actual puppet show.
Bunruitai: Term used in Japanese lexicography , refers to dictionaries that are sorted by characters (see also: onbiki , jikeibiki ).
Bussokuseki-ka ( 仏足石歌 ): Literally Buddha footprint poems , designates 21 anonymous poems that were engraved on a stele in the Yakushi monastery in Nara and mostly boast the Buddha's footprints depicted on the foundation stone.

C.

Chika renga ( 地下連歌 ): Underground Renga , in contrast to aristocratic poetry, denotes the popular Renga poetry, especially around Guzai.
Chōka ( 長歌 ): Long poem with lines, the length of which alternates between five and seven moras .
Chosha ( 著者 ): General term for author, in contrast to writer (see: Sakka ) or poet (see: Kajin ).

D.

Daisan ( 第三 ): Name for the third stanza of a renga (see also Waki ).
Daruma uta ( 達磨歌 ): Literally nonsense poetry , pejorative term for Zen poetry, especially from the 12th and 13th centuries.
Dengaku ( 田楽 ): Artistic, dance performance that died out in the 17th century and is considered a pioneer of the Nō.
Denki ( 伝記 ): biography
Densetsu ( 伝説 ): Japanese sagas
Do: see Michi
Dōchaku gohō ( 撞着語法 ): Oxymoron .
Dōka ( 道歌 ): Moral didactic poem, in contrast to the literary poem, the didactic poem serves Buddhist instruction or the achievement of satori (enlightenment) in Zen.
Dōwa ( 童話 ): Collective name for Japanese fairy tales

E.

Ebaisho ( 絵俳書 ): small genre of illustrated Haikai anthologies that flourished in the Edo period .
Ehon ( 絵本 ): Picture book , refers to illustrated books in which the picture has priority over the text and which were produced using wood printing.
Eiribon ( 絵入り本 ): Forerunner of the Ehon, in which the illustration does not yet dominate the text.
Emakimono ( 絵巻物 ): Picture scrolls, scrolls with illustrated stories from the Heian , Muromachi and Kamakura periods .
Engo ( 縁語 ): synonymous association words are referred to, which are combined in a poem according to fixed conventions and which refer to each other.

F.

Fūga ( 風雅 ): Art theoretical concept of poetry, "Man as co-being of all beings of the universe, in whose change he participates, can only reach the truth ( makoto ) and thus Fūga through immersion and right comprehension of the being of all things ".

G

Gagaku ( 雅楽 ): Form of music and dance popular at the Japanese imperial court during the Tang Dynasty .
Gensei rieki ( 現世利益 ): Profit and happiness, a concept of Japanese Buddhism in which prayers etc. are coupled with benefits in everyday life.
Geinō ( 芸能 ): Arts, in the sense of traditional show arts (such as Nō ) and in contrast to geijutsu ( 芸術 ) - art as an academic and theoretical term.
Giri to ninjō ( 義理と人情 ): describes the conflict between social obligation ( giri ) and feeling ( ninjō ), which usually leads to a double suicide. Often the subject of Sewamono.
Goro awase ( 語呂合わせ ): Puns , word rotation.
Gozan-ban ( 五山版 ): refers to books that were printed in the Gozan temple complex in Kambun , especially during the Kamakura and Muromachi periods .
Guwa ( 寓話 ): Fable .

H

-ha ( 派 ): means group or school and is used as a suffix to denote literary groups and writers' associations.
Haibun ( 俳文 ): Mixture of haiku and prose.
Haiga ( 俳画 ): often single sheet prints in which a haiku ( hai ) was combined with an illustration ( ga ).
Haikai ( 俳諧 ): Posse, joke, continued as Haikai no renga , from the 16th century humorous counterpart to Renga.
Haikai renga ( 俳諧連歌 ): humorous variant of the renga.
Haiku ( 俳句 )
Hairon ( 俳論 ): written work on the theory and criticism of haikus.
Hanamichi ( 花道 ): Flower path , footbridge to the stage. In the Kabuki i. R. to the left of the viewer (see also: Kari-Hanamichi).
Hanja ( 判詞 ): Judge who decided the competition in Uta-awase.
Hanka ( 反歌 )

I.

Imayō ( 今様 ): is a literary genre in song form.
Imbun ( 韻文 ): rhyme
Inritsu ( 韻律 ): meter
Ishiki no nagare ( 意識の流れ ): Stream of consciousness ( stream of consciousness )

J

Jiamari ( 字余り )

K

Kaeri-ten ( 返り点 ): Inversion marking, refers to reading marks in old texts that were written exclusively or primarily with Chinese characters.
Kagebōshi ( 影法師 ): Shadow play , (also name of an ebaisho ).
Kago ( 歌語 ): Specific words in poetry that are not used in the spoken language.
Kagura ( 神楽 ): also kamiasobi, God's music , called an ancient form of music accompanied, Shinto ritual dance, listed since 1002 for the worship of the gods at the court.
Kaibun ( 回文 ): palindrome
Kaisho ( 楷書 ): Rule script , one of the five main categories of Chinese calligraphy .
Kajin ( 歌人 ), also Shijin ( 詩人 ): General term for poet or poet, in contrast to writer (see: Sakka ) or author (see: Chosha ).
Kakekotoba ( 掛詞 ): a form of poetic play on words in which a character can assume different meanings and syntactic functions depending on the type of reading (see: Paronomasia ).
Kakemono ( 掛け物 ): a scroll with calligraphy that is hung in the tokonoma for decoration .
Kakioroshi ( 書き下ろし ): Technical term for published books that have not previously been published as a series in newspapers or magazines, as is common in Japan. In the case of manga and illustrations one writes, with the same reading: 描き下ろし .
Kakugen ( 格言 ): aphorism
Kambun ( 漢文 ): denotes literature in Japan written in Chinese characters
Kami no ku ( 上の句 ): denotes the Oberstrophe, also Oberstollen or Aufgesang, of a tanka.
Kana-zōshi ( 仮名草子 ): Mainly in syllabary (Kana) written entertainment literature of the Tokugawa period . Are considered to be the forerunner of bourgeois entertainment literature ( Ukiyozōshi ).
Kanimoji ( 蟹文字 , also 蠏文字 ): horizontally written text (see also Tategaki).
Kanji kana majiribun ( 漢字仮名交じり文 ): a text that consists of a combination of kana and kanji .
Kansan: Chinese hymns (see also Wasan).
Kanshi ( 漢詩 ): chinese poem.
Kan'yōku ( 慣用句 ): idiomatic phrase
Kan'yu ( 換喩 ): Metonymy .
Kanzen chōaku ( 勧善懲悪 ): ethical standard based on the Chinese model: highlighting the good, condemning the evil.
Kari-Hanamichi ( 仮花道 ): fake flower path , bridge to the stage, parallel to the Hanamichi. In the kabuki to the right of the audience.
Karon (sho) ( 歌論書 ): a treatise on poetry (the waka). Term for poetological writings.
Karukuchi ( 軽口 ): joke
Cheese ( 歌仙 ): denotes a renga that consists of 36 stanzas.; also refers to a "poet prince", "immortal of poetry", "poet genius" or "poet saint"
Kashu ( 家集 ): are private collections of poetry by individuals or families, in contrast to collections that were created, for example, in the Heian and Kamakura periods at the behest of the Tennō.
Qataribe ( 語り部 ): Narrators who passed on the myths, legends and stories orally before the written language was adopted in Japan.
Katarimono ( 語り物 ): a narrative to be declaimed is usually accompanied by background music.
Kata-uta ( 片歌 ): Half- poem, each denotes one of the two stanzas of a Sedōka (Kehrverslied). Is usually a three-line with 19 moras according to the scheme: 5-7-7.
Kawaraban ( 瓦版 ): first form of printed newspaper in brick printing.
Kayō ( 歌謡 ): Song poetry, rhyming prose, ballad .
Ken'yōgen ( 兼用言 ): are ambiguously used words with different etymology and grammar for the purpose of play on words. Example: A raven sits there on the branch. Faced is the god Janus ; Japanese example: hito o matsu no eda (matsu here as a verb with the meaning to wait, and as a noun with the meaning of pine; as a verb it is also part of the first half-sentence to wait for someone , as well as a noun part of the genitive construction: Zweig (eda) a pine ).
Kidai ( 季題 )

M.

Mae-ku ( 前句 ): Front stanza, generally denotes in a renga the stanza that preceded the one to be composed.
Mae-shite ( 前シテ ): is the counterpart to Ato-shite, it denotes the first appearance of an actor in the Noh theater.
Magemono ( 髷物 ): Historical drama, film or novel.
Maki ( 巻き ): means scroll, originally referred to a scroll, later also used analogously to chapter .
Makura kotoba ( 枕詞 ): Pillow words , introductory attributes in poetry and shorter than the Joshi.
Manzai ( 漫才 ): Form of comic theatrical art, similar to stand-up comedy , i. R. with two actors.
Meishoki ( 名所記 ): Description of famous places , describes a form of humorous travel novels (see also Saikenzu).
Michi ( 道 ): Onyomi -Lesung Dō , Chinese Tao , means way in the sense of a doctrine or manner, is a central concept of the Japanese intellectual history. The onyomi reading is often added as a suffix to the names of Japanese craftsmanship (e.g. Sadō - way of tea).
Michiyuki-bun ( 道行文 ): Travel signage style; In Joruri, the term Michiyuki-buri ( 道行振り ) is used in particular to describe the escape of a pair of lovers.
Min'yō ( 民謡 ): Folk songs.
Monogatari ( 物語 ): narrative
Mono no aware ( 物の哀れ ): an aesthetic concept, often translated as pathos , which, similar to the ancient concept of the lacrimae rerum, describes sadness in things.

N

Naga uta ( 長唄 ): Long poem of the archaic period, from a more or less regular sequence of five and seven-mole verses that exceed the size of a tanka.
Naniwabushi ( 浪花節 ): Oral narrative form, presentation of folk ballads with musical accompaniment.
Nazo ( 謎 ): Riddles.
Nigyōren ( 二行連 ): Couplet
Nikki ( 日記 ): denotes the genre of diaries.
Niku isshō ( 二句一章 ): Two verses, one sentence , denotes a construction principle for haiku. By blending two meanings, the knowledge of a term is synthetically evoked.
Ninjōbon ( 人情本 ): bourgeois love stories from the Edo period.
Nioizuke ( 匂い付け )

O

Okuzuke ( 奥付 ): Imprint, colophon of a Japanese book.
Onbiki ( 音引き ): Term used in Japanese lexicography, denotes dictionaries that are arranged according to pronunciation (see also: jikeibiki , bunruitai ).
Onnade ( 女手 ): Woman's handwriting
Onsūritsu ( 音数律 ): Meter with alternating lines of five and seven mors .
Otogibōko ( 御伽婢子 ): Ghost stories.
Otogizōshi ( 御伽草子 )

R.

Rakugo ( 落語 ): Literal Words is a Japanese form of entertainment based on comic monologues.
Renga ( 連歌 ): Chain poem , poems written jointly by several poets, consisting of upper and lower stanzas.
Renku ( 連句 ): connected verses , denotes a Haikai no Renga , the original form of Renga.
Rensai shōsetsu ( 連載小説 ): Japanese serial novel; published periodically, mostly in magazines and newspapers.
Rōei ( 朗詠 ): Recitation of a poem
Rokkasen ( 六歌仙 ): denotes the six immortals of poetry .
Ruisui ( 類推 ): analogy
Ryūkōgo ( 流行語 ): Buzzword

S.

Sabi: aesthetic concept that describes strict abstinence coupled with melancholy.
Saibara ( 催馬楽 ): cheerful song genre, collection of petty songs that were reworked in the Heian period for performance with the koto at the imperial court.
Saijiki ( 歳時記 )

T

Taikōki: Hero stories
Tanka ( 短歌 ): Short poem with three-line upper stanza 5-7-5, also Oberstollen or Aufgesang, and two-line lower strophe 7-7, also lower stanza or Abgesang (see also Kami no ku and Shimo no ku ).
Tao: see Michi
Tategaki ( 縦書き ): vertical writing, from top to bottom and from right to left (see also Kanimoji ).
Tatoe ( 喩 ): Metaphor also parable .
Tengihō ( 転義法 ): Trope
Tengu ( 天狗 ): Demons and goblins of Japanese mythology.
Tenkō ( 転向 ): Conversion , describes repressive measures taken by the Japanese government, especially in the run-up to and during the Second World War, to force intellectuals and artists to turn away from communism and socialism (see also: Proletarian literature ).
Tenji ( 点字 ): Braille or Braille .
Tōin ( 頭韻 ): Alliteration and alliteration .
Tsuiku ( 対句 ): Rhyming couple
Tsukeku ( 付句 , also 附句 ): Follow-up stanza , part of the renga that followed the introductory upper stanza (Hokku); Forms together with the Hokku a complete tanka.

U

Ushin ( 有心 ): aesthetic concept that denotes the elegant and subtle taste.
Uta ( 歌 ): literally: song , like Shi, a general term to denote a poem.
Uta-awase ( 歌合せ ): a poetry contest in which two poets compete against each other to write a poem on a given topic, which was then judged by a jury.
Utagaki ( 歌垣 ): Song hedge , describes a social event or festival in antiquity, for which young people came to exchange love poems.
Utamakura ( 歌枕 ): denotes a place with poetic associations similar to the locus amoenus .

W.

Waka ( 和歌 )
Waki ( 脇 ): denotes the second stanza of a renga followed by a daisan.
Waki ( ワキ ): Opponent of the Shite (leading actor) in the Nō theater.
Wasan ( 和讚 ): Japanese hymns , usually four lines (see also Kansan).

Y

Yamato uta ( 大和歌 ): Japanese poem (see: Waka )
Yoin ( 余韻 ): literally reverberation , denotes the poetic effect of a poem.
Yomihon ( 読み本 ): Narrative literature from the Tokugawa period with fantastic and romantic content.
Yomikudashi ( 読み下し ): Japanese transcription of a Kanbun text
Yose ( 寄席 ): Name of the Japanese cabaret
Yūgen ( 幽玄 ): is an aesthetic concept that describes the expression of a feeling in a poem, where the feeling is generated indirectly and not directly named.
Yūjo hyōbanki ( 遊女評判記 ): Reports from the entertainment districts.
Yūsoku kojitsu ( 有職故実 ): refers to works that represent proper etiquette and conduct at the imperial court during the samurai reign.

Z

Zamoto ( 座元 ): Theater director, theater owner
Zappai ( 雑俳 ): popular poetry.
Zekku ( 絶句 ): Jueju , classical Chinese poem form with four lines of verse.
Zuihitsu ( 随筆 ): Miscell literature , specifically Japanese narrative form, which is comparable to the essay .

literature

The literatures of the East in individual representations . Volume X History of Japanese Literature by Karl Florenz , Leipzig, CFAmelangs Verlag, second edition, 1909
Gero von Wilpert : Subject dictionary of literature (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 231). 7th, improved and enlarged edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-520-23107-7 .

Individual evidence

↑ Examples from: The Litterarturen des Ostens in single representations. Volume X History of Japanese Literature by Karl Florenz , Leipzig, CFAmelangs Verlag, second edition, 1909, p. 27.

[1] Examples from: The Litterarturen des Ostens in single representations. Volume X History of Japanese Literature by Karl Florenz , Leipzig, CFAmelangs Verlag, second edition, 1909, p. 27.

List of literary terms related to Japanese literature

Alphabetical list of technical terms

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

G

H

I.

J

K

M.

N

O

R.

S.

T

U

W.

Y

Z

See also

literature

Individual evidence