Japanese Literature
Why are Western readers turned off by Japanese literature?
insipid translations
What form of poetry has lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables?
haiku
Where was Abe raised?
Manchuria
What is the man's hobby?
What is the importance of the article in the first newspaper he receives?
a man killed by sand
What condition was necessary for a work to be considered a novel?
same author or members of the same emperor's court
What form of poetry has lines of 5, 7, 5, 7, and 7 syllables?
tanka
He was given a degree in medicine on what condition?
he never use it
What two items are people in the pits given every week?
cigarettes and sake
Why does he stuff sand in his mouth?
to extract moisture
What happens when a new form of verse is created to amuse the lower class?
co-opted by the aristocracy
A poem written by multiple authors is called what?
linked poetry
What organization did Abe join - along with many other Japanese writers - after World War II?
What is the woman's condition at the end of the book?
pregnant
How does he get out of the quicksand?
They give him a board to hold while they dig him out
Why are tales that do not advance the story kept?
for the sake of the beauty
Most Japanese poetry is classified as what two kinds of poetry?
love and nature
What two major Japanese concepts did Abe not adhere to?
hometown and emperor
What is "Hope"?
his crow/water trap
Why does he constantly believe they will let him go?
societal laws
Japanese literature presents emotion and theme in what way?
leading emotion instead of stating it
According to Basho, what two components are necessary for good poetry?
change and permanence
What two concepts did Abe experiment with in his literature?
Why is the mist important?
no mist means no wind;
no wind means no shovelling
At the end of the book, what does the notice in his hometown newspaper say?
he's missing