Art and Beauty
What is considered art and beauty in the world? It depends on who the question is asked to. Different cultures have different notions of art and beauty. In Africa, long necks are considered beautiful. Americans like cleavage and long legs for beauty. The Japanese are crazy about a bare nape for their notion of beauty. However, beauty does not stop at people. Beauty also plays heavily in art as well. Every piece of painting, sculpture, and literature revolves around beauty in some sort of way. The Japanese have that idea very well in their literature. Japan has always been seen as elegant, classy, and charming in the eyes of the Western world.
One has to wonder why that is. One reason is that the Japanese have always been strict with how they carry themselves and how they take care of every part of their lives. They may be letting their hair down some today, but over centuries ago, the Japanese were much stricter and much more board-minded about their homeland. It may sound painful to the modern outsider, but it was not all that terrible. Around in the Edo period, beautiful stories and poems sprang up from Japan. The Pillow Book, Kokinshu, and Man’Yoshu are lovely examples of such charm and beauty. Each has their own way of displaying their own beauty to the reader. However, all beauty is not created equal. The Pillow Book, Kokinshu, and Man’Yoshu demonstrate that pretty clearly with how they are written and the topics that they cover.
The first item on the list of beauty is Man’Yoshu. This is a book of poems written by various Japanese poets. People all over the country seemed to have pitched in to make this book possible. The title literally means “The Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves” (Man’Yoshu Pg. 2148.) This is said to be Japan’s earlier collection of poems to be written. They date from 686 to 784 AD and consist of 4,500 poems. The poems most deal with life in Japan from the Edo period. Different writers mean different style for each piece of work in a book. The three known ones are called, hanka, renga, and “Buddha's Foot Stone Poems.” (http://mll.kenyon.edu/~japanese02/J28sp99/projects/larsson/1/index.html) Hanka is a verse that repeats. It is used to explain or detail the contents of the main poem. They are basically just the prompt of a really good story. They just guide the reader along to what will or has happened.
Regna is poems in series. They are like stories in a book series. One or more poets write a poem stanza by stanza. In a sense it is like an improv game on paper. Regna was popular for poetry contests in the 14th century. It is easy to understand why. It sounds like it would be so fun. The final style is the "Buddha's Foot Stone Poem.” In short, it is “commemorates a stone monument bearing Buddha's foot-mark, erected at Yakushi-ji Temple near Nara in 752” (http://mll.kenyon.edu/~japanese02/J28sp99/projects/larsson/1/index.html) The poems contains six lines that have a 5-7-5-7-7-7 syllable pattern to them. Almost like a haiku, only much longer and complex.
So what makes the Man’Yoshu so beautiful? Each poem tries to be unique in their own way. Even though Japan is a homogonous country, the need to stand out is in human nature for everyone. The poems in Man’Yoshu do just that in their own way. The moods in the words highlight their beauty in a strong way. Dialog of the Destitute breathes out sorrow and suffering. The poem written by Kakinomoto Hitomaro when he passed the ruined capital at Omi is filled with a strange sense of wonder that one could only feel if they he or she saw Omi for themselves. Man’Yoshu can easily connect to itself readers almost perfectly.
The next item on the beauty list is Kokinshu. This too is a collection of poems. Only, they are much shorter. This book contains 1,111 poems. They each use a style called waka. Waka is by definition, it is a form so basic to Japanese literature that Japanese still study and write it today.( http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/japan/japanworkbook/literature/waka.htm) It is also known as tanka. Sometimes, less is more. These poems demonstrate that very well. They are all just short and simple pieces of work. But yet, they all deliver a powerful punch to the emotional side of man. Each of the poems revolves about various themes. The seasons and love are the most dominate themes. The Japanese seem to derive inspiration from nature and human emotions. These two subjects in poetry are as old as time. However, they are still just as strong even to today. So what makes these poems so beautiful? Each of the words and stanzas are skillfully crafted and fitted together to measure up to Japan’s enigmatic and elegant charm that the country is well-known for. One of the poets, Lady Ise, has mastered Japan’s charm down to a tee. The following poem demonstrates that very well: Could I think myself/like a winter-wasted field,/this fiery passion/might offer hope that springtime/would bring a new growth of love. (Lady Ise Pg. 2172) That poem is filled with romance, beauty, and seduction. One would blind not to see the elegance in those words.
The last item on the beauty is The Pillow Book. This is Japan’s finest example of class and charm. This was book was originally meant to be just a secret diary of Sei Shonagon. The entries all talk about life in the Edo period, nature, and her options on many topics. There are 320 entries total. (http://home.infionline.net/~ddisse/shonagon.html) Some of the titles come from the first lines in the entries. It is hard to say when these entries were written because they are not dated and are not in any particular order. The Pillow Book’s name in Japanese is Makura no soshi. (http://home.infionline.net/~ddisse/shonagon.html) There is a strong sense of romance in every single word that is written. The entries are all free-written with some poems written in them. If no one knew how old this book was, Shonagon’s work could be placed in fiction in modern times. The Pillow Book is beautiful because it is what it is. Shonagon does not try at all to be fake. Her best entries are To Meet One’s Lover and Flowering Trees. To Meet One’s Lover is filled with seductive romance with lines such as, “In the winter, when it is very cold and one lies buried under the bedclothes listening to one’s lover’s endearments, it is delightful to hear the booming of a temple going, which seems to come from the bottom of a deep well. (The Pillow Book. Pg. 2292) Flowering Trees talk about the many beautiful flowers that bloom on the different trees when spring arrives. The Pillow Book is one of the most beautiful pieces of Japanese literature ever written. It is a shame that Shonagon regretted it ever coming to light.
All standards of beauty are not created equal. Some things are more beautiful than others. The Japanese have proved that so strongly with their pieces of literature through The Pillow Book, Kokinshu, and Man’Yoshu. Not many countries can ever measure up to Japan’s beauty and elegance. That is what makes that country’s charm stand out for years to come.
Works Cited
Asia for Educators. Contemporary Japan: A Teaching Workbook. What is a Waka?
<http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/japan/japanworkbook/literature/waka.htm>
Disse, Dorothy. Other Women's Voices. “Sei Shonagon.” Updated 11-25-08.
<http://home.infionline.net/~ddisse/shonagon.html>
Larsson, Kris. The Man'Yoshu. The Man'Yoshu and The Seasons in Japanese Waka
<http://mll.kenyon.edu/~japanese02/J28sp99/projects/larsson/1/index.html>
Kokinshu. The Norton Anthology of World Literature 100 to 1500 Volume B. Ed. Sarah Lawall& Maynard Mack. New York, NY, London, England: W.W. Norton & Company, 1984. 2160-2174.
Man’Yoshu. The Norton Anthology of World Literature 100 to 1500 Volume B. Ed. Sarah Lawall& Maynard Mack. New York, NY, London, England: W.W. Norton & Company, 1984. 2148-2160.
The Pillow Book. The Norton Anthology of World Literature 100 to 1500 Volume B. Ed. Sarah Lawall& Maynard Mack. New York, NY, London, England: W.W. Norton & Company, 1984. 2270-2300.
