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Gesaku
is an alternative style, genre, or school of Japanese literature. In the simplest contemporary sense, any literary work of a playful, mocking, joking, silly or frivolous nature may be called gesaku. Unlike predecessors in the literary field, gesaku writers did not strive for beauty and perfect form in their writings, but rather for popular acceptance. Gesaku writers were dependent on making a living by sale of their books. Like popular magazines and books of the 21st century, their product was aimed at as wide a public as possible. When a book was successful it was usually followed by as many sequels as the audience would tolerate. A very popular humorous variety of gesaku fiction was '' Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige'' by Jippensha Ikku, the story of the travels and slapstick adventures of two carefree men from Edo along the Tokaido, the broad highway between Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture i ...
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:Category:Japanese Words And Phrases
{{Commons Words and phrases by language Words Words Words A word is a basic element of language that carries meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consensus among linguists on its ...
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Japanese Literature
Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japanese creole language. Indian literature also had an influence through the spread of Buddhism in Japan. During the Heian period, Japan's original culture () developed and literature also established its own style, with the significant usage and development of to write Japanese literature. Following the end of the policy and especially during the increasing westernization of the Meiji era, Western literature has also had an influence on the development of modern Japanese writers, while Japanese literature has in turn become more recognized internationally, leading to two Japanese Nobel laureates in literature, namely Yasunari Kawabata and Kenzaburō Ōe. History Nara-period literature (before 794) Before the introduction of kanji ...
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Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige
, abbreviated as ''Hizakurige'' () and known in translation as ''Shank's mare, Shank's Mare'', is a comic picaresque novel (kokkeibon) written by Jippensha Ikku (十返舎一九, 1765–1831) about the misadventures of two travelers on the Tōkaidō (road), Tōkaidō, the main road between Kyoto and Edo during the Edo period. The book was published in twelve parts between 1802 and 1822. The two main characters, michiyuki, traveling from Edo to Kyoto on their pilgrimage to Ise Grand Shrine, are called Yajirobē (彌次郎兵衛) and Kitahachi (喜多八). The book, while written in a comical style, was written as a traveler's guide to the Tōkaidō Road. It details famous landmarks at each of the 53 post towns along the road, where the characters, often called Yaji and Kita, frequently find themselves in hilarious situations. They travel from station to station, predominantly interested in food, sake, and women. As Edo men, they view the world through an Edo lens, deeming themse ...
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Jippensha Ikku
was the pen name of Shigeta Sadakazu (重田 貞一), a Japanese writer active during the late Edo period of Japan. He was among the most prolific writers of the late Edo period — between 1795 and 1801 he wrote a minimum of twenty novels a year. He mainly wrote , and over 360 illustrated stories, ( gōkan, 合巻 ). He also helped create ''kokkeibon'' as a genre. Ikku was one of the most prolific writers of his time, and shaped the literary history that came after him. Life Jippensha Ikuu was born in 1765 in the Suruga Province. Ikku's life story is hard to define, because most of what we know about him comes from his own literary works, and hearsay from his peers. What we do know about his actual upbringing is: that he was born into the high-middle class, his father being a samurai for the magistrate of Fuchu. He lived and worked in Suruga for the daimyo until he was fired. He also worked in Osaka briefly until he was fired again. After this, he decided to follow his ...
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Slapstick
Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as saws and ladders. The term arises from a device developed for use in the broad, physical comedy style known as ''commedia dell'arte'' in 16th-century Italy. The "Clapper (musical instrument), slap stick" consists of two thin slats of wood, which makes a "slap" when striking another actor, with little force needed to make a loud—and comical—sound. The physical slap stick remains a key component of the plot in the traditional and popular Punch and Judy puppet show. More contemporary examples of slapstick humor include ''The Three Stooges'', ''The Naked Gun'' and ''Mr. Bean (character), Mr. Bean''. Origins The name "slapstick" originates from the Italian ''batacchio'' or ''bataccio''—called the "Clapper (musical instrument), slap sti ...
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Tōkaidō (road)
The , which roughly means "eastern sea route," was the most important of the Edo Five Routes, Five Routes of the Edo period in Japan, connecting Kyoto to the ''de facto'' capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Unlike the inland and less heavily travelled Nakasendō, the Tōkaidō travelled along the sea coast of eastern Honshū, hence the route's name. The Tōkaidō was first used in ancient times as a route from Kyoto to central Honshu before the Edo period. Traveling the Tōkaidō Most of the travel was on foot, as wheeled carts were almost nonexistent, and heavy cargo was usually sent by boat. Members of the higher class, however, traveled by ''kago''. Women were forbidden from travelling alone and had to be accompanied by men. Other restrictions were also put in place for travelers, but, while severe penalties existed for various travel regulations, most seem not to have been enforced. Captain Sherard Osborn, who traveled part of the road in around 1858, noted that: ...
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Kyoto
Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it the List of cities in Japan, ninth-most populous city in Japan. More than half (56.8%) of Kyoto Prefecture's population resides in the city. The city is the cultural anchor of the substantially larger Greater Kyoto, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 3.8 million people. It is also part of the even larger Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area, along with Osaka and Kobe. Kyoto is one of the oldest municipalities in Japan, having been chosen in 794 as the new seat of Japan's imperial court by Emperor Kanmu. The original city, named Heian-kyō, was arranged in accordance with traditional Chinese feng shui following the model of the ancient Chinese capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang. The emperors of Japan ruled fro ...
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Peter Kornicki
Peter Francis Kornicki (born 1 May 1950) Fellow of the British Academy, FBA is an English Japanologist. He is Emeritus Professor of Japanese at Cambridge University and Emeritus Fellow of Robinson College, Cambridge. He is particularly known for his studies of the history of the book and of languages in Asia. In 2018, Kornicki was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun 3rd Class, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the promotion of Japanese Studies in the UK and thus to deeper mutual understanding between Japan and the United Kingdom. Life and career Kornicki was born at Maidenhead on 1 May 1950, the eldest son of Sq/Ldr Franciszek Kornicki and Patience Ceredwin Kornicka (née Williams). He went to schools in Malta, Aden and Cyprus and was then educated at St George's College, Weybridge. He matriculated at Lincoln College, Oxford, initially to read Classics. He graduated with First Class Honours in Japanese with Korean in 1972. He spent the ...
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