English Flashcards
What are the three ages of Japan?
- The Heian Age
- Feudal Era
- Tokugawa Shogonate Era
What is the Heian Age?
- Golden Age of Literature and Peace
- Period of aesthetic refinement and artificial manner
What is the “Pillow Book”?
- vivid sketches of people and places
- anecdotes and witticism
Who wrote the “Pillow Book”?
Sei Shonagon
What is the Feudal Era?
- Dominated by the Samurai class (militaristic
lords, the daimyo, and the band of
warriors.)
What is the Tokugawa Shogonate Era?
- Late 1500
- Crushed the warring feudal lords
- Controlled of Japan from Edo (Tokyo)
What are the two religious beliefs of Japan?
- Shintoism
- Zen Buddhism
What is Shintoism?
- “The way of the gods”
- An ancient religion that worships divine spirits called kami.
What is Zen Buddhism?
- Originally from China, came to Japan
- Emphasized the importance of meditation, concentration, and self-discipline as the way to enlightenment.
What are the four noble truths of Zen?
I. The truth of suffering
2. The truth of the cause of suffering
3. The truth of the end of suffering
4. The truth of the path leading to the end of suffering
What is a Zen Master?
- Writes Zen stories
- Teaches Zen Buddhism.
What are the two socio-political concepts of Japan?
- Giri
- On
What is Giri?
- connotes duty, justice, honor, face, decency, respectability, courtesy, charity, humanity, love, gratitude, claim.
What is On?
- an obligation or indebtedness which propels a Japanese to act.
What are the four types of poetry in Japan?
- Choka
- Tanka
- Renga
- Haiku
What is Choka?
- Poems consisting of alternate lines of five and seven syllables with an additional syllable line at the end.
What is Tanka?
- Five lines
- 5-7-5-7-7 syllables.
- Used to communicate in ancient Japan
What is Renga?
- Japanese linked-verse poetry
- Two or more poets supplied alternating sections of a poem.
- Began as the composition of a single tanka (a
traditional five-line poem) by two people - Popular pastime from ancient times, even in remote rural areas.
What is Haiku?
- Three lines, 5-7-5 syllables
- The haiku developed from the hokku.
- Generally discusses and deepens a fleeting moment, a natural phenomenon, or an observation of nature and its elements like animals, insects, and seasons.
- It usually has a seasonal reference called kigo.
- It has two juxtaposed subjects with two contrasting parts.
Who are the three great haiku writers of Japan?
- Matsuo Basho
- Kobayashi Issa
- Yosa Buson
Who is Matsuo Basho?
- The first great poet of haiku in the 1600s.
- Greatest haiku poet
- Poets used the hokku’s form as a template for composing small standalone poems engaging natural imagery, a form that eventually became known as haiku.
- Master of haiku writing
Who is Kobayashi Issa?
- Issa’s haiku are as attentive to the small creatures of the world. (mosquitoes, bats, cats)
- Wrote pieces that intertwined prose and poetry, including Journal of My Father’s Last Days and The Year of My Life.
- A Buddhist monk and haiku writer.
Who is Yosa Buson?
- His work is generally regarded as more
sensuous - Buson was influenced by Chinese poetry.
- Second greatest haiku poet.
- Yosa Buson was a poet and a painter.
What are the four types of Japanese Drama?
- NOH Play
- Kyogen
- Kabuki
- Jorori
What is the NOH Play?
- Emerged during the 14th century
- The earliest form of Japanese drama
- The Noh performers’ subtle expression of inner strength and the costumes’ beauty.
What is the Kyogen?
- Traditionally performed between the NOH tragedies.
What is the Kabuki?
- It is performed with the accompaniment of an orchestra.
- Generally focus on the lives of common people rather than aristocrats.
What is the Jorori?
- Jōruri (music)
- A type of sung narrative with shamisen accompaniment,
- typically found in bunraku, a traditional Japanese puppet theatre
What are Misplaced Modifiers?
- A word, phrase, or clause that is improperly separated from the word it modifies/describes.
What are Misplaced Adverbs?
- “Only, just, almost, nearly, and especially” can subtly change the meaning of a sentence depending on where they are placed.
What are Misplaced Adjectives?
- Adjectives that are incorrectly separated from the nouns they modify and almost always distort the intended meaning.
What is a Dangling Modifier?
- occurs when the subject of the modifier is missing, and another subject appears in its place.
