春雨直播app

This book examines why poetry was composed and read by the people of Japan during the 19th century, a period when Japanese society and culture underwent significant transformations. Specifically, it explores why people needed to engage with poetry during the tumultuous times from the late Edo period to the early Meiji period, why traditional Japanese poetry (waka) survived as tanka in the modern nation-state, and why new-style poetry (Shintaishi), modeled after Western poetry, was created. The book discusses issues surrounding poetry from pre-modern to modern times.
 
The book’s approach and methodology differ from those of general Japanese literary studies in the following ways: First, to capture the process of Japan’s integration into international society led by Western powers and the creation of a modern state system and corresponding society and culture, the book adopts the 19th century as a chronological framework, encompassing the late Edo period to the 1890s. Second, it distances itself from traditional genre histories (e.g., waka history or poetry history), poetic style, or poetic circle histories that take the existence of genres as a given and instead view poetry as a speech act that can carry political and social meanings. This approach raises fundamental questions about why waka has retained its significance in the modern state and society. Additionally, to highlight the dynamics of the chaotic period from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji period, the book takes a cross-sectional and multi-layered approach, examining multiple regions and social strata, each relativizing others.
 
This book is divided into three parts. The first part, “Politics and Waka in the Late Edo and Meiji Periods,” discusses the significance of waka for the rulers of the late Edo period and the new Meiji government. The second part, “The Grassroots and Waka,” shifts focus to the lower-ranking samurai and commoners, examining what waka meant to the so-called grassroots who advocated for reverence for the emperor and the expulsion of foreigners. The third part, “New-Style Poetry and ‘Songs,’” builds on the first and second parts, discussing the Shintaishi created in 1882 and the interdependent relationship between poetry (the new-style poetry and waka) and songs in the early Meiji period, exemplified by the emergence of new-style waka poets like Akiko Yosano.
 
This book aims to open up the literature on political, social, and cultural history by relativizing the literature itself and traditional literary studies. However, the process of argumentation is based on the meticulous empirical work of uncovering and analyzing materials, a traditional approach in literary research. Ultimately, the book seeks to reveal the paradox of history where people need the power of words in literature, especially during turbulent times.
 

(Written by AOYAMA Hidemasa, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences / 2024)