# Anthology of Japanese Literature

Followed by Modern Japanese Literature.
​Anthology of
Japanese Literature
* Grove Press New York
Anthology of
Japanese
Literature
from the earliest era to the
mid-nineteenth century,
compiled and edited by
Donald Keene
Unesco Collection of Representative Works
[Japanese Series]
Copyright © 1955 by Grove Press, 795 Broadway, New York 3 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, without permission in writing from the publisher Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 55-5110 Manufactured in the United States of America by H. Wolff, New York design: Marshall Lee
This volume is published in accordance with an arrangement between Unesco and the Japanese Government.
​To Arthur Waley
Note on Japanese Names and Pronunciation
Japanese names are given in this book in the Japanese order: that is, the surname precedes the personal name. Thus, in the name Matsuo Bashō, Matsuo is the family name, Bashō the personal name. However, Japanese usually refer to famous writers by their personal names rather than by their family names and this practice has been observed in the anthology.
The pronunciation of Japanese in transcription is very simple. The consonants are pronounced as in English (with g always hard), the vowels as in Italian. There are no silent letters. Thus, the name Ise is pronounced “ee-say.”
The Japanese words used in the text are those which have been taken into English and may be found in such works as the Concise Oxford Dictionary.
​Preface
It can only be with diffidence that this first anthology of Japanese literature in English is offered to the reading public. I cannot recall ever having read a review of an anthology of European literature which did not point out glaring omissions and inexplicable inclu­sions—this in spite of the comparatively long tradition of such an­thologies. How much less likely it is, then, that the present volume will escape such criticism!
A word must therefore be said as to what principles guided the compilation of this book. It is, first of all, an anthology of Japanese works which translate into interesting and enjoyable English. No matter how important a work may be in the original, if it defies artistic translation I could not include it. Secondly, the selection is as representative of all periods of Japanese literature as is consonant with the above caveat. Thirdly, the anthology is as representative as possible of the different genres of Japanese literature—poetry, novels, plays, diaries, etc.—although, again, it must be borne in mind that in Japan, as in every other country, these various genres have not pro­gressed uniformly. There is, for example, much great dramatic litera­ture from the Muromachi Period but very little quotable poetry.
The length of a selection is not necessarily an indication of the relative importance of the work from which it is taken. It is easier to make extracts from certain types of writing than from others.
One rather unusual feature of the anthology is the inclusion of a limited number of works written by Japanese in the classical Chinese language. Just as Englishmen at one time wrote poetry and prose in Latin, so Japanese wrote in Chinese, with the difference, of course, that while they were writing there was still a country called China where the classical language was constantly being developed.
As I have noted, the translations in this book are meant to be literary and not literal. For example, names of persons, titles, and ​places not essential to a story have sometimes been omitted in the interest of easy reading for Westerners not able to absorb large quan­tities of Japanese proper names. Puns, allusions, repetitions, and incommunicable stylistic fripperies have also been discarded whenever possible. Extracts have been made with the intent always of present­ing the given work in as favorable a light as possible, even though it might at times be fairer if the book were presented as rather uneven.
There are many objections to the practices cited above, and I am aware of them. But I think it highly important that this first anthol­ogy of Japanese literature have as wide an appeal as possible. For those interested in more literal versions of Japanese works, there are at least two scholarly books of recent years designed to meet their needs: “Translations from Early Japanese Literature” by E. O. Reischauer and J. K. Yamagiwa and “The Love Suicide at Amijima” by D. H. Shively. Both of these books give translations of complete texts; all allusions, wordplays, etc., are explained; and words which have been supplied by the translator are enclosed in brackets.
In presenting the anthology I have, for the sake of convenience, divided the literature into political periods: Ancient, Heian, Kama­kura, Muromachi, and Tokugawa. However, this division is to be considered as little more than a convenience; it is obvious that a change of regime did not instantly produce a new literature, and it is sometimes indeed difficult to decide to which period a given work belongs. But, just as “eighteenth-century literature” has a meaning for us in spite of the qualifications we may make about its appropri­ateness as a general term, so “Tokugawa literature” makes enough sense for such a division to be made.
It will be noted that a majority of the translations in this book have never before been printed. Some of them have been made especially at my request, and at some urgency when the translators were engaged on other projects. I wish therefore to take this oppor­tunity of thanking them all for their collaboration.
As far as my own translations are concerned, I should like to thank first Professor Noma Kōshin of Kyoto University, under whom I have studied for two years; D. J. Enright and Carolyn Bullitt for help with the poetry; Hamada Keisuke and Matsuda Osamu for their ​useful suggestions on translations; and Edward Seidensticker for having read over my translations, pointing out the infelicities.
Acknowledgments are also due to: The Asiatic Society of Japan for the “Kojiki” and other works published in their Transactions; Professor Doi Kōchi and The Kenkyūsha Publishing Company for “The Diary of Lady Murasaki” and “The Sarashina Diary”; Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai for the “Man’yōshū”; Kenneth Rexroth for “100 Poems from the Japanese”; A. L. Sadler for “The Tale of the Heike”; Dr. Sakanishi Shio for “The Bird-Catcher of Hades” and poetry by Ishikawa Takuboku and Yosano Akiko; G. B. Sansom for “Essays in Idleness”; Thomas Satchell for “Hizakurige”; Yukuo Uyehara and Marjorie Sinclair for “A Collection from a Grass Path” (University of Hawaii Press); Arthur Waley and George Allen and Unwin, Ltd., for “The Tale of Genji,” “The Pillow Book,” “The Lady who Loved Insects,” “Atsumori,” “The Damask Drum,” and “The Uta”; Columbia College Oriental Studies Program, Columbia University, for “Kūkai and His Master” and “Seami on the Art of the Nō”; and Meredith Weatherby and Bruce Rogers for “Birds of Sorrow.”
Mr. Seidensticker, Mr. Watson, and I were in receipt of grants from the Ford Foundation during the period when the book was being prepared, and wish to express our thanks to the Foundation, which is not, however, responsible for the contents of the book.
Thanks are also due the Japan Society, Inc. for their cooperation in the production of the book.
Muhinju-an, Kyoto
​Contents
019 Introduction
Ancient Period [to 794 A.D.]
033 Man’yōshū 054 The Luck of the Sea and the Luck of the Mountains 059 Kaifūsō
Heian Period [794–1185]
063 Kūkai: Kūkai and His Master 067 The Tales of Ise 076 Kokinshū 082 Ki no Tsurayuki: The Tosa Diary 092 Poetry from the Six Collections 097 The Mother of Michitsuna: Kagerō Nikki 106 Murasaki Shikibu: Yūgao (from “The Tale of Genji”) 137 Sei Shōnagon: The Pillow Book 145 Murasaki Shikibu: Diary 156 The Daughter of Takasue: The Sarashina Diary 162 Poetry in Chinese 167 Ryōjin Hishō 170 The Lady Who Loved Insects
Kamakura Period [1185–1333]
179 The Tale of the Heike 192 Shinkokinshū 197 Kamo no Chōmei: An Account of My Hut
213 Tales from the Uji Collection 224 The Captain of Naruto
Muromachi Period [1333–1600]
231 Yoshida Kenkō: Essays in Idleness 242 The Exile of Godaigo 258 Seami Motokiyo: The Art of the Nō 263 Plan of the Nō Stage 264 Kan’ami Kiyotsugu: Sotoba Komachi 271 Seami Motokiyo: Birds of Sorrow 286 Seami Motokiyo: Atsumori 294 Seami Motokiyo: The Damask Drum 301 The Bird-Catcher in Hades 305 Busu 312 Poems in Chinese by Buddhist Monks 314 Three Poets at Minase 322 The Three Priests
Tokugawa Period [1600–1868]
335 Ihara Saikaku: What the Seasons Brought to the Almanac-Maker 354 Ihara Saikaku: The Umbrella Oracle 357 Ihara Saikaku: The Eternal Storehouse of Japan 363 Matsuo Bashō: The Narrow Road of Oku 374 Matsuo Bashō: Prose Poem on the Unreal Dwelling 377 Mukai Kyorai: Conversations with Kyorai 384 Haiku by Bashō and His School 386 Chikamatsu on the Art of the Puppet Stage 391 Chikamatsu Monzaemon: The Love Suicides at Sonezaki 410 Ejima Kiseki: A Wayward Wife 416 Jippensha Ikku: Hizakurige 423 Takizawa Bakin: Shino and Hamaji
429 Haiku of the Middle and Late Tokugawa Period 432 Waka of the Tokugawa Period 436 Poetry and Prose in Chinese
000 Short Bibliography
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