Zuihitsu

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Zuihitsu ( Japanese 随筆 , Eng. " Miscell literature ; essay") describes a literary form, commonly called miscell literature, which is specific to Japan. Zuihitsu is a very heterogeneous form of discussion that is characterized by subjective experience and reflection. Zuihitsu literature is comparable to the essay in Europe and America. The form criteria and subject matter, however, are looser and broader than for the essay. Literally translated, Zuihitsu means: "following the brush".

Demarcation

At the end of the 16th century, two collections of shorter prose texts appeared in Europe at the same time and independently of each other, marking the beginning of the essay as a literary form. In 1580, the first two volumes of Michel de Montaigne's Essais were published in Bordeaux . In 1597 Francis Bacon published his essayes . The essay was created as a counterweight to the scientific treatise and treatise .

In contrast to the essay, Zuihitsu dates back to the end of the 10th century. The works of the "three great Japanese Zuihitsu writers" ( 日本 三大 随筆 , Nihon Sandai Zuihitsu ) are prototypical for Zuihistu literature : Sei Shōnagons Makura no Sōshi ( 枕 草 子 , "pillow book"), Kamo no Chōmeis Hōjōki ( 方丈 記 , dt. "Notes from a close hermitage ") and Yoshida Kenkōs Tsurezuregusa ( 徒然 „," observations from the silence ").

The Zuihitsu and the essay have in common that they differ in the same way from the style , method and intention of scientific work. The intention of a scientific work is to convince or instruct with the help of data and facts. It makes use of empiricism in order to achieve and present results that are as objective and repeatable as possible. In a “methodologically unmethodical” way, however, the “law of loose connection” prevails in the literary forms Zuihitsu and Essay. With stylistic brilliance and rich in rhetorical figures and tropes , both forms target the lover who is familiar with the subject of the description . The breaking up of mental stereotypes is characteristic.

shape

Zuihitsu in particular is used to sketch out spontaneous inspirations, personal impressions, experiences and thoughts on paper. The scope of a Zuihitsu ranges from a simple word note or sentence to a lengthy discussion. Since the Edo period , Zuihitsu can increasingly take on the character of a diary ( 日記 , Nikki ).

Subject

Thematically, Zuihitsu literature often includes the experiences, the reading knowledge of the authors, i.e. impressions and speculative things , in contrast to prose ( Sam , sambun ), which is characterized by thinking and by carefully composing an idea. In anecdotal and narrative terms, very different topics, with more associative than content-related connections, can be more or less loosely and without reference to a continuous plot. During the Edo period, it was mainly samurai and citizens who wrote zuihistsu. Therefore, Zuihitsu is thematically very complex. It deals, for example, with natural and human life, social criticism, science, philosophy, literary theory, etc. One example is Matsudaira Sadanobus (1758–1829) Kagetsu sōshi ( 花 月 双 紙 , notes on cherry blossoms and full moon night).

Representative examples

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Adams: The essay. P. 88.
  2. ↑ Full title: Les Essais de messire Michel, seigneur de Montaigne .
  3. ↑ Wolfgang Adams: The essay. P. 89.
  4. ↑ Quotation: "The unconventional formlessness of the genre, held together solely by the personality and sensitivity of the author, caused its widespread popularity into the 20th century." 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 , p. 1052.
  5. ↑ Lexicon entry (Japanese)