HISTORICAL PERIODS AND KEY TERMS

HISTORICAL PERIODS

Ancient (to 784)

Jōmon	10,000–300 B.C.E.
Yayoi	300B.C.E.–300 C.E.
Tomb	300–552
Asuka	522–710
Jinshin war	672
Nara	710–784

Heian (794–1185)

Heian

794–1185

Medieval (1185–1600)

Kamakura	1183–1333
Fall of the Heike	1185
Jōkyū rebellion	1221
Kenmu restoration	1333–1336
Northern and Southern
Courts (Nanboku-chō)	1336–1392
Muromachi	1392–1573
Ōnin war	1467–1477
Warring States (Sengoku)	1467–1573
Azuchi–Momoyama	1573–1598
Battle of Sekigahara	1600

Early Modern and Modern (1600–Present)

Edo (Tokugawa)	1600–1867
Meiji	1868–1912

KEY TERMS AND GENRES

Japanese	English
chōka	long poem
engi-mono	story of temple-shrine origins
fudoki	provincial gazetteer
gunki-mono	warrior tale
haikai	popular linked verse
hōgo	vernacular Buddhist literature
imayō	modern-style song
jōruri	puppet theater
kagami-mono	vernacular history (mirror piece)
kanbun	Chinese prose (written by Japanese)
kangaku	Chinese studies
kanshi	Chinese poetry (written by Japanese)
katari-mono	orally recited narrative
kayō	song
kikōbun	travel literature
kodai kayō	ancient song
kouta	little song
kyōgen	comic theater
monogatari	vernacular tale
nō	no drama
norito	prayer to the gods
otogi-zōshi	Muromachi tale
renga	classical linked verse
sarugaku	comic mime and skits
sekkyōbushi	sermon ballad
setsuwa	anecdote
tanka	short poem (thirty-one syllables), same as waka
uta-awase	poetry match
uta-monogatari	poem tale
utamakura	place with poetic associations
waka	classical poem (thirty-one syllables)
wasan	Buddhist hymns in Japanese
zuihitsu	essay, pensée, miscellany

RANKS, TITLES, AND OFFICES

Japanese	English
sesshō	regent
kanpaku	regent (for adult emperor)
daijō daijin	prime minister
sadaijin	minister of the left
udaijin	minister of the right
naidaijin	palace minister
daijōkan	council of state
naka no kanpaku	middle regent
nyōgo	high imperial consort
kōi	lesser imperial consort
chūgū	empress
dainagon	senior counselor
chūnagon	middle counselor
shōnagon	junior counselor
sangi	consultant
taishō (daishō)	major captain
chūjō	middle captain
shōshō	lesser captain
kami	governor
kugyō	senior noble
tenjōbito	courtier (literally, “hall person”)
daiben	major controller
chūben	middle controller
shōben	lesser controller
jige	gentlemen of low rank
zuryō	provincial governor

JAPANESE NAMES AND JAPANESE PRONUNCIATION

All Japanese names are given in the normal Japanese order, surname first. Up through the Kamakura period, the surname and the first name often were linked by the attributive particle no, as in Fujiwara no Shunzei. Fujiwara is the surname and Shunzei the given name. In addition, premodern writers are often referred to by their given name. Thus, one would say “a poem by Shunzei.” Each syllable in Japanese is distinct, with no accent, and each vowel sounds similar to that in Italian. Vowels with macrons (long mark) over them are held twice as long as the unmarked vowels.

ABBREVIATIONS OF MODERNS SERIAL EDITIONS

CZS	Chūsei zenke no shisō, vol. 16 of Nihon shisō taikei (Tokyo: Iwanami shoten, 1972)
KNKB	Kanshō Nihon koten bungaku, 35 vols. (Tokyo: Kadokawa shoten, 1977–1978)
NKBT	Nihon koten bungaku taikei, 102 vols. (Tokyo: Iwanami shoten, 1957–1968)
NKBZ	Nihon koten bungaku zenshū, 60 vols. (Tokyo: Shōgakukan, 1970–1976)
SNKBT	Shin Nihon koten bungaku taikei (Tokyo: Iwanami shoten, 1989–)
SNKBZ	Shin Nihon koten bungaku zenshū (Tokyo: Shōgakukan, 1994–)
SNKS	Shin Nihon koten shūsei, 79 vols. (Tokyo: Shinchōsha, 1976–1989)

Citations are followed by an abbreviation of the series title, the volume number, and the page. For example, NKBZ 51:525 refers to page 525 of volume 51 of Nihon koten bungaku zenshū.