Modern Day Japanese

1
?????

• Modern Day Japanese
• 1868 - Present

2
Historical Overview
3
The Meiji Restoration ????

• Satsuma and Choshu form alliance against
  shogunate support Emperor Komei
• Komei dies Meiji (Matsuhito) ascends to throne
  at 14, ??(????)had real power
• First 15 years of reform (Charter Oath, land
  taxes, emphasis on textiles, conscript army)
• Feudal class system officially abolished in 1972
• Imported political, social, economic, literary
  ideas from western powers in order to modernize,
  sent students abroad
• New sense of nationalism

4
Compulsory Education

• 1872 Primary education became mandatory
• 1885 Ministry of Education established
• Spelling reforms for education purposes
  (hentaigana, simpler spelling for Sino-Japanese
  words)
• Pro-state education led to new sense of
  nationalism

5
Later Meiji Period

• 1889 Meiji Constitution (parliament responsible
  to the emperor, emperor in charge of all of all
  acts of war/peace)
• 1894-95 First Sino-Japanese War
• 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War
• 1910 Annexation of Korea

6
Literature During Meiji

• Influenced by influx of translated Western
  literature
• Realism
• ?? ?? (?????????)Essence of the Novel ???? 1885
• ?????(????????)Floating Clouds ?? 1887
• ??? Writing society containing?? ??(???????)1890
• Naturalism influenced by French naturalism
• ?? ??(???????)The Broken Commandment ??? 1906
• ????(???????)I am a Cat ???????? 1905
• ? ??(??????)literary criticism, tanka

7
Taisho Period ( ????) and WWI (???????)

• Responded to British request for aid against
  Germany in 1914
• Opportunity to increase power in China, take over
  German-controlled islands in south pacific
• Treaty with Russia consolidated power in
  Manchuria and Mongolia
• Wartime industry (supplied materials for Allies,
  increased exports, inflation)
• Request for racial equality denied at Paris Peace
  Conference/Treaty of Versailles

8
Economy after the War

• Wartime economy collapsed Japan went back to
  debtor nation
• Depression in West affected export industry
• 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake
• 1924 Japanese Exclusion Act
• Mindset turned to extreme nationalism and
  militarism

9
Taisho Literature

• ?? ???(???????????)
• Father of Japanese short story
• Disciple of Soseki

10
Showa Period (????) and WWII/Pacific War (?????)

• 1931 Manchurian Incident
• 1937 Second Sino-Japanese War began (Marco Polo
  bridge incident
• 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor
• Expansion to Southeast Asia
• 1942 Naval battles at Coral Point and Midway
  shift the tide
• 1944-45 US advances in Philippines, Britain in
  Burma, firebombing raids
• Aug. 6, 1945 Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima,
  Aug 9 on Nagasaki
• Announcement of surrender on Aug. 14, Japanese
  Instrument of Surrender on Sep. 2

11
Pre-War and WWII Literature

• 1920s proletarian literature, I novel
  (???????????????????)
• 1930s ???? conversion novels
• Patriotic literature during wartime

12
Post-War Period

• 1945-1952 US Occupation led by General MacArthur
• Constitution in 1947, drawn up by General Whitney
• Land reforms to help stabilize failing economy
• ???? disbanded
• initial encouragement of Communist idealism,
  reverse course (Cold War)
• Article 9 amended
• Manufacture of arms and war supplies for US
  troops during Korean War
• Establishment of JSDF in 1954 (for peacekeeping
  and disaster relief)
• Economic turn-around, growth through the 80s
• 1964 Olympics held in Tokyo
• Liberal Democratic Party dominant through 80s

13
Language Reforms during Post-War Period

• 1946 ???? list established with 1850 kanji
  (simplified, decreased number of kanji and
  readings)
• 1946 ??????established, spelling based on
  pronunciation rather than Heian phonemes
• various additions and amendments for names,
  public desire for kanji increase in 70s and 80s
• 1978 Invention of word processor, allowed easier
  use of typed kanji
• 1981 ???? (1945 kanji)

14
Post-War Literature

• New sense of self prevalent in literature
• ?? ?(??????)The Setting Sun (??) 1947dealt with
  soldiers returning from Manchuguo
• -?? ???(??????)Confessions of a Mask (?????)
  conflicts of sexuality
• -?? ??(????????)wrote throughout Showa period
• focus on psychological fiction
• Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968
• Others ?? ???(????????), ?? ???(???????????),
  ?? ??(????????)
• ????(??????)avant-garde novelist Woman in the
  Dunes (???) 1962
• 70s and 80s writing to raise social
  consciousness

15
Heisei Period ??

• 1989 Show Emperor dies
• Liberal Democratic Party overthrown briefly,
  returned to power in 1996
• Bubble Economy collapses by 1991, followed by
  period of recession
• 1991 Gulf War raised questions of participation
  in war
• 1995 Kobe Earthquake and Subway Sarin Incident
• 2003/2004 Japan sent troops to assist US with war
  on Iraq, largest number since WWII

16
Heisei Literature

• 1994 Oe Kenzaburo won Nobel Prize for Literature
• ????(???????)
• -The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle ??????????
• Underground ?????????

17
Japanese Writing
18
Meiji Period

• Considered to be the beginning of modern
  literature
• Large changes in Japanese political system
• Increased literacy and education among general
  populace
• Heavy Western influences
• Demise of Classical Japanese writing style (??)

19
Introduction of New Punctuation

• Traditional punctuation
• ????
• ? ? ? ? ?
• Borrowed punctuation
• ? ! ( )

20
Tategaki (???) vs Yokogaki (???)

• Tategaki
• Written vertically, right to left
• Traditional structure of Japanese writing
• Commonly used today in novels, newspapers and
  comics
• Yokogaki
• Written horizontally, left to right
• Introduced via Western influence, when Japanese
  would print Western language dictionaries
• Migi-Yokogaki Writing horizontally right to
  left short lived
• Commonly used today in academic texts, scientific
  texts, texts mixing words from other horizontally
  written languages
• Not uncommon for both forms to be used
  simultaneously depending on the need

21
Shinjitai (???)

• Simplifying and limitations put on kanji
  characters due to the post-WWII reforms
• Types of simplifications
• Adopting cursive form of a kanji
• Ex ? ? ?, ? ? ?
• Standardizing a single kanji for a meaning
• Ex ?, ?, ? ? ?
• Removing complex portions
• ? ? ?, ? ? ?

22
Other Examples of Shinjitai

• ??? (YO, ataeru bestow, impart)
• ??? (GAKU, manabu learn)
• ??? (TAI, karada body)
• ??? (TAI n. stand)
• ??? (KOKU, kuni country)
• ??? (KAN, seki involve, concerning)
• ??? (SHA, utsusu to write or compose)
• ??? (KO, hiroi expansive, wide)
• ??? (EN marui round, circular)

23
Japanese Writing Reforms

• Late 19th century saw the rise of colloquial
  Japanese used in serious Japanese writing
• Generally attributed to Futabata Shimeis
  Ukigumo (??)
• Reform of 1900
• Standardization of hiragana, elimination of other
  varying hentaigana scripts
• Restriction of kanji taught in general education
  to 1,200
• Conforming of irregular kana to match with the
  pronunciation (?????)
• The reform is only partially successful, namely
  due to the criticism of conforming irregular
  kana, along with a rise in Japanese nationalism

24
Japanese Writing Reforms Cont.

• Post-WWII Reforms
• Reform of kana usage with modern pronunciations
  (1946)
• Implimentation of toyo kanji (????), restricting
  kanji used in academic materials to a standard of
  1,850 kanji (including simplified kanji) (1946)
• Approval of additional jinmeiyo kanji (?????) to
  be used along with toyo kanji for proper names
  (1951)
• In 1981, the toyo kanji are replaced with the
  1,945 joyo kanji (????) no longer a restriction
  but a recommendation
• In 2004, the number of jinmeiyo kanji is increased

25
Literature Selections
26
Selection 1

• Fukuzawa Yukichi (?? ??)
• Gakumon no Susume (??????) A Recommendation
  of Learning
• 17 volumes from 1872-1876
• Written entirely in classical style Japanese

27
Selection 2

• Futabatei Shimei (??? ??)
• Ukigumo (??) Floating Clouds
• Written in 1887
• Never completed
• One of the first published works written in
  colloquial style Japanese, Western puncutation

28
Selection 3

• Akutagawa Ryunosuke (?? ???)
• Yabu no Naka (???) In a Grove
• Published in 1922
• Monologue style prose
• Again, more colloquial style Japanese with
  Western influence

29
Selection 4

• Nihonkoku Kempo (?????) The Constitution of
  Japan
• Adopted in 1946, replacing the Meiji Constitution
  of 1889
• Verbose, stuffy writing style, still uses some
  rekishiteki kanazukai

30
Selection 5

• Segawa Biki (????)
• Saigo no Ichinichi (?????) The Last Day
• Written in April 1995, short story contest winner
• Modern Japanese

31
End of This Lesson