Japanese Literature: A Very Short Introduction

With a history stretching back nearly 1,500 years, written works originating from Japan encompass a vast range of forms and genres. From poetry and the lyric voice, to the art of the narrative, diary, and literary treatise, Japan boasts a powerful literary culture. This Very Short Introduction traverses the colorful canon of Japanese literature, a tradition that produced not only the world's first novel, The Tale of Genji, but also the poetry of the Man'yôshû, erotic writing of Ihara Saikaku, and magical realism of Haruki Murakami.

Alan Tansman is Professor of Japanese at the University of California, Berkeley and former Director of Berkeley's Townsend Center for the Humanities. He is the author of The Aesthetics of Japanese Fascism and The Writings of Kôda Aya, editor of The Culture of Japanese Fascism, and coeditor of Studies in Modern Japanese Literature.