The sweep of Japanese literature in all its great variety was made available to Western readers for the first time in this anthology. Every genre and style, from the celebrated No plays to the poetry and novels of the seventeenth century, find a place in this book. An introduction by Donald Keene places the selections in their proper historical context, allowing the readers to enjoy the book both as literature and as a guide to the cultural history of Japan. Selections include “Man’yoshu” or “Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves” from the ancient period; “Kokinshu” or “Collection of Ancient and Modern Poetry,” “The Tosa Diary” of Ki No Tsurayuki, “Yugao” from “Tales of Genji” of Murasaki Shikibu, and “The Pillow Book” of Sei Shonagon from the Heian Period; “The Tale of the Heike” from the Kamakura Period; Plan of the No Stage, “Birds of Sorrow” of Seami Motokiyo, and “Three Poets at Minase” from the Muromachi Period; and Sections from Basho, including “The Narrow Road of Oku,” “The Love Suicides at Sonezaki” by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, and Waka and haiku of the Tokugawa Period.

The fourth book in a multivolume history of modern Japanese literature by one of the world's most accomplished translators and scholars of Japanese culture and literature, this volume offers unparalleled insight into Japanese poetry, drama, and criticism.

Book by Keene, Donald

Donald Keene combines informative works on two forms of classical Japanese theater into a single volume. The No text looks at all aspects of this traditional theater form including its history, its stage and props, the use of music and dance in its performances, the plays as literature, and the aesthetics of No. Also discussed are Kyogen, the comic farces that are typically interspersed with the solemn No dramas.

A superb introduction to modern Japanese fiction as well as a memoir of his own love affair with Japanese literature and culture, this volume consists of chapters on five modern Japanese novelists whom Donald Keene knew personally: Yasunari Kawabata, Yukio Mishima, Jun'ichiro Tanizaki, Ryotaro Shiba, and Kobo Abe. Each chapter opens with a vignette describing Keene's personal encounters with these famous men, blending his autobiographical observations with literary and cultural analysis.

This collection of 20 essays focuses on the rich tradition of Japaneseulture. It illuminates important aspects of Japanese literature for theeneral reader and places each subject within the context of the tradition as whole.

Illuminates the wealth, themes, and character of Japanese literature from the fifteenth century to 1912 by introducing Western readers to the life, work, and literary style of twenty-one Japanese poets and writers.

New York:: The Viking Press,, 1961.. Ex-library with the usual markings, but overall tight and clean in a near fine unmarked dust jacket.. First US printing. Contains 3 short novels, translated and with an introduction by Donald Keene: The Songs of Oak Mountain by Shichiro Fukasawa, Ohan by Chiyo Uno, and Asters by Jun Ishikawa. Although the title refers to these as three modern novels, the themes "stem from the days before the Westernization of Japan when men with swords roamed the city streets and poverty made infanticide a normal practice in the countryside." 172 pp. Jacket design by Kazue Mizumura. 172 pp.

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!