The purview of this historical dictionary is modern Japanese literature and theater. Although there are good reasons to view the history of Japanese literary arts in terms of a “long” 19th century, beginning in the 1780s and ending after World War I, I have chosen to begin the “modern” with the restoration of the Emperor Meiji to ruling power in 1868. This is, in part, because the Meiji Restoration presents a convenient watershed event from which to begin. It also follows the practice of many Japanese literary historians, who note a general and rapid decline of literary production as the Tokugawa period drew to a close and see the revolutionary changes of the Meiji period offering an infusion of strength to a waning tradition.
I define “Japanese” literature generally as that written in the Japanese language. Other possible definitions, which are explored in part in some of the articles herein, include literature written by Japanese in other languages (such as that in English by Booker Prize–winning author Kazuo Ishiguro), and literature written in Japanese by non-Japanese writers (such as Japan-resident Korean [zainichi] authors). Although the definition of “literature” follows general conventions as well (poetry, drama, and narrative fiction), I also include the oral tradition of professional storytelling (rakugo and kôdan) that played an important role in the emergence of modern literary style.
Compiling a historical dictionary on a Japanese subject is not an easy task. The various sources from which material has been gleaned for this volume do not subscribe to the same editorial conventions. Because the Japanese language uses a different and complex writing system, even the simple task of converting the Japanese terms into roman letters presents a challenge because there have been various systems invented over the years to do so, each with its own idiosyncrasies. Likewise, written Japanese does not place breaks between words, which can create ambivalence about where words begin and end. Also, there is nothing resembling capitalization in Japanese. Although styles for editing Japanese in English-language publications have evolved into a general set of conventions, there is still great variety in usage. I have sought for simplicity and consistency herein.
Regarding proper names, Japanese custom dictates that surnames (Kawabata) be mentioned first, followed by given names (Yasunari). I have followed this practice throughout the work, listing all authors by surname first, alphabetically, in both the dictionary and in the bibliography (in the latter I have listed surnames in ALL CAPS for clarity). To complicate matters, in critical discourse most modern Japanese writers are referred to by their first, rather than last, name, particularly when they possess a fairly common surname. If the reader is unsure, try both names, just to be safe.
Japanese contains lengthened vowels, which are usually represented by a macron above the vowel (nô theater, for example). Although these lengthened vowels matter significantly and change the very meaning of the word when not included, I have nevertheless chosen to pretend they do not exist when it comes to alphabetizing the entries. Accordingly, the author Ôba Minako will precede, rather than follow, Oda Sakunosuke.
Within the articles themselves are several simplifying conventions. When a term has an entry of its own, it appears in boldface on the first occurrence within the article. Japanese language titles are followed by parentheses that contain the year of publication as well as the title in English translation. The notation “tr.” before the italicized English title indicates that the work has been published in English with that title, and the year of first translation immediately follows. Example: Nobi (1951; tr. Fires on the Plain, 1957). Otherwise, if not italicized, the English translations are my own approximations. Example: Setchûbai (Plum Blossoms in the Snow, 1886). (In some cases I have opted to provide more accessible than correspondent translation titles or more recent translations.)