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Japanese Authors
NAQT
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What was the first known novel? | The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari). |
| What was the name of the diary written by the author of The Tale of Genji? | Murasaki Shikibu nikki. |
| What other types of works did the author of The Tale of Genji write? | A collection of tanka poems. |
| Who was the author of The Tale of Genji's father? | The court official Fujiwara Tametoki. |
| How did Lady Murasaki Shikibu receive an education against Heian traditions? | She sat in on the classical Chinese literature lessons intended for her brother. |
| What was Sei Shonagon's job? | Lady-in-waiting of the Empress. |
| What is the title of Sei Shonagon's major work? | The Pillow Book (Makura no soshi). |
| What is The Pillow Book considered the best source of information about? | Life at the Japanese court during the Heian period (784–1185). |
| Who was Sei Shonagon a contemporary and rival of? | Lady Murasaki Shikibu. |
| What was Zeami also called? | Kanze Motokiyo. |
| What theatrical school did Zeami belong to? | The Kanze theatrical school. |
| Who founded the Kanze theatrical school? | Zeami's father, Kan'ami. |
| What type of theater is Zeami regarded as the greatest playwright of? | No theater. |
| How many plays did Zeami contribute to the modern No repertoire? | 30 to 40. |
| What work of his father's did Zeami revise? | Wind in the Pines. |
| What samurai play did Zeami write? | Atsumori. |
| What manual did Zeami write for his pupils? | Fushi kaden (The Transmission of the Flower of Acting Style). |
| What was Matsuo Basho's pseudonym? | Matsuo Munefusa. |
| What poetic form is Matsuo Basho the master of? | Haiku. |
| What influenced Matsuo Basho's work? | Zen Buddhism and his travels throughout Japan. |
| What work by Matsuo Basho includes prose and haiku descriptions of local sights? | The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Oku no hosomichi). |
| What is the origin of Matsuo Basho's pseudonym? | The name of his hut, Basho-an, which means "Cottage of the Plaintain Tree." |
| What was Chikamatsu Monzaemon's original name? | Sugimori Nobumori. |
| What is Chikamatsu Monzaemon considered? | One of Japan’s first professional dramatists. |
| What two types of theater did Chikamatsu Monzaemon write for? | Bunraku (puppet theater) and kabuki (popular theater). |
| What are the two categories of Chikamatsu Monzaemon's scripts? | Historical romances (jidaimono) and domestic tragedies (sewamono). |
| What was the historical melodrama written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon about an attempt to re-establish the Ming dynasty? | The Battles of Coxinga. |
| What style did Chikamatsu Monzaemon develop in the joruri? | Sewamono (contemporary drama on contemporary themes). |
| What happened to Akutagawa Ryunosuke's mother when he was a child? | She died insane. |
| What happened to Akutagawa Ryunosuke's father? | He was a failure who gave him up to relatives. |
| What short story brought Akutagawa Ryunosuke into the highest literary circles? | “Rashomon,” in 1915. |
| What type of stories is Akutagawa Ryunosuke known for writing? | Macabre stories. |
| How did Akutagawa Ryunosuke die? | He committed suicide by overdosing on pills. |
| What was Akutagawa Ryunosuke's suicide letter titled? | “A Note to a Certain Old Friend.” |
| What film was based on Akutagawa Ryunosuke's short stories? | Rashomon by Kurosawa Akira. |
| What short story of Akutagawa Ryunosuke's was the film Rashomon more closely based on? | “In a Grove.” |
| What literary prize is named for Akutagawa Ryunosuke? | The Akutagawa prize, for the best serious work of fiction by a new Japanese writer. |
| What prize did Kawabata Yasunari receive in 1968? | The Nobel Prize for Literature. |
| What was Kawabata Yasunari the first Japanese author to win? | The Nobel Prize. |
| What themes are combined in Kawabata Yasunari's works? | Classic Japanese values with modern trends. |
| What is the name given to Kawabata Yasunari's short stories that are only a few pages long? | “Palm-of-the-hand.” |
| What are Kawabata Yasunari's three best-known novels? | Thousand Cranes, The Sound of the Mountain, and Snow Country. |
| What novel by Kawabata Yasunari was based on the tea ceremony and inspired by The Tale of Genji? | Thousand Cranes. |
| What is the focus of Kawabata Yasunari's novel The Sound of the Mountain? | The relationship of an old man and his daughter-in-law. |
| Who was Kawabata Yasunari friends with? | Mishima Yukio. |
| What political causes did Kawabata Yasunari openly protest? | The Cultural Revolution in China. |
| How did Kawabata Yasunari die? | He committed suicide two years after Mishima. |
| What was Mishima Yukio's pseudonym? | Hiraoka Kimitake. |
| What was Mishima Yukio's central theme as a novelist? | The disparity between traditional Japanese values and the spiritual emptiness of modern life. |
| What did Mishima Yukio do during World War II instead of military service? | He worked in an aircraft factory. |
| What was the title of Mishima Yukio's successful first novel? | Confessions of a Mask (Kamen no kokuhaku). |
| What is the title of Mishima Yukio's four-volume epic? | The Sea of Fertility (Hojo no umi). |
| What are the four volumes of The Sea of Fertility? | Spring Snow, Runaway Horses, The Temple of Dawn, and The Decay of the Angel. |
| What society did Mishima Yukio organize? | The Tate no kai, a right-wing society. |
| How did Mishima Yukio die? | He committed ritual suicide after a public speech failed to galvanize the armed forces. |
| At what age did Endo Shusaku convert to Catholicism? | 11. |
| What did Endo Shusaku major in? | French literature. |
| What did Endo Shusaku's first works, White Man and Yellow Man, explore? | The differences between Japanese and Western values and national experiences. |
| What is the plot of Endo Shusaku's novel Silence? | The martyrdom of the Catholic converts of Portuguese priests. |
| What is the plot of Endo Shusaku's novel The Samurai? | A samurai sent to establish trade relations between his shogun and Mexico, Spain, and Rome. |
| What are Endo Shusaku's greatest achievements considered to be? | Silence and The Samurai. |
| What prize did Oe Kenzaburo receive in 1994? | The Nobel Prize for Literature. |
| What was Oe Kenzaburo's first work? | Shiiku (The Catch). |
| What award did Oe Kenzaburo's first work win? | The Akutagawa award. |
| What was the subject of Oe Kenzaburo's first work? | A friendship between a Japanese boy and a black American POW. |
| What characterized Oe Kenzaburo's early works? | Insanity, abuse, perverse sex, and violence. |
| What do Oe Kenzaburo's later works reflect? | The experience of being the father of a brain-damaged child. |
| What are some of Oe Kenzaburo's later works? | A Personal Matter (Kojinteki-na taiken) and The Silent Cry (Man’en gannen no futtoboru). |
| What does Oe Kenzaburo's fiction center on? | The alienation following Japan’s surrender. |
| What do Oe Kenzaburo's political writings focus on? | The search for cultural and ideological roots. |
| What did Lady Murasaki call Sei Shonagon? | Dreadfully conceited. |
| What was Lady Murasaki's opinion of Sei Shonagon's writings? | That they left a great deal to be desired. |
| What did Lady Murasaki think of Sei Shonagon's use of Chinese characters? | She thought Sei Shonagon littered her writings with them. |
| According to Lady Murasaki, what would happen to people who think of themselves as being superior to everyone else? | They will inevitably suffer and come to a bad end. |
| What did Lady Murasaki think of Sei Shonagon's sensitivity? | She thought it was ridiculous and superficial. |
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