| * Boldface
titles indicate works in the anthology. |
TEXTS
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CONTEXTS
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4th–6th centuries Clans ally to form Yamato, precursor of
Japanese state
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552 Buddhism introduced into Japan
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600 Chinese and Korean artisans settle in Japan
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645 Taika Reforms redistribute land and place imperial house in
control of Japan
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712 A Record of Ancient Matters, a mythic history
legitimizing early Japanese rulers who commissioned it
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710–784 Nara period: capital established at Nara in time of
first great intellectual and cultural achievement
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ca. 759 The Man'yoshu, an anthology of over 4,500 poems
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794–1185 Heian period: cultural life continues to flourish as
capital moves to Heian (present-day Kyoto)
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800 Charlemagne crowned, inaugurating Holy Roman empire
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ca. 890 The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, first extant work
of Japanese fiction
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9th century Japanese syllabary is developed from Chinese
characters
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ca. 905 The Kokinshu, first imperially commissioned
poetry anthology
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mid-10th century Tales of Ise, 125 brief lyrical episodes
giving fictional context to one or more poems; influenced The
Tale of Genji
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early 11th century The Tale of Genji (Murasaki Shikibu),
considered world's first novel • The Pillow Book (Sei
Shonagon), collection of random observations on love, life at court,
and human nature
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1180–1185
Gempei Wars end aristocratic monopoly of power, inspiring
the Tale of the
Heike |
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1185–1333
Kamakura period: political center moves east to Kamakura
with rise of warrior elite known as samurai |
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ca. 1206 The New Kokinshu, the eighth imperial anthology
of poetry
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1215 Magna Carta grants rights to "free men" of England
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1271–1295 Marco Polo journeys to China, opening trade routes and
cultural ties between Europe and east Asia
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| 13th–14th
centuries the Tale of the Heike,
an account of the Gempei Wars, which led to the aristocracy's
loss of wealth and political power |
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1330s Essays in Idleness (Yoshida Kenko ), discursive
observations revolving around aesthetic issues
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1338–1573 Muromachi period: culture flourishes despite social
upheaval, reflected in austere, introspective character of the arts
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| 14th–16th
centuries no drama
flourishes: Zeami Motokiyo's Atsumori
and Haku Rakuten, and Dojoji
by Kanze Kojiro Nobumitsu |
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15th century Linked poetry, composed by several poets, develops
from entertainment into favored literary form
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15th century Rise of Zen Buddhism
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1463 Murmured Conversations (Shinkei), a treatise on
principles of linked poetry
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1488 Three Poets at Minase, a 100-verse sequence by Sogi,
Shohaku, and Socho, epitomizes linked-poetry tradition
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1519 Magellan circumnavigates globe, proving earth is round and
revealing the Americas as a new world
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1543 Portuguese land in Japan, bringing firearms and
Christianity
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1573–1600 Momoyama period: civil war leads to unification of
Japan
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1597 Japanese build printing press with wooden movable type
after Korean model in cast metal
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