Japanese literature and history of Japanese language

Studies of Japanese literature involve a wide variety of works from individual periods, from ancient times to the present day. Study targets include ancient poetry (around the time of the Kokinshu), literature written in classical Chinese language during the Heian Period (794 ? 1192), The Tale of Genji and other tales, anthologies of poems, prose and legends of the medieval ages (including Buddhist discourse and commentaries), medieval short stories called Otogizoushi, early modern novels and verses, and works by such leading novelists of the Meiji Period (1868 ? 1912) as MORI Ougai, NATSUME Souseki, and HIGUCHI Ichiyou, as well as contemporary literary works. Moreover, studies of literary works also incorporate viewpoints of art history, history, bibliography and philology.

In the field of the History of Japanese Language, students study characteristics of Japanese language in view of its historical development from ancient times to the present day, as well as such topics as phonemes, characters, vocabulary, and grammar. In addition to logical and systematic studies of various linguistic phenomena, consideration is given to social, cultural and psychological aspects. Although the studies use as materials all sorts of Japanese literary works, including classics, together with other documents written in Japanese, the focus is on the historical development of the language and on the study of historical documents.

Professors

IIKURA, Youichi (Ph.D.)

Japanese Literature; Study on Japanese Literature in Edo Period

IZUHARA, Takatoshi (Ph.D.)

Modern Japanese Literature; Study of Mori Ougai, Higuchi Ichiyou, Kitamura Toukoku, Natsume Souseki, and Izumi Kyouka, Study of the Literary of the Modern Japanese Literature

KATO, Yousuke (M.Lit.)

Japanese Literature; Study on Japanese Literature in Heian Period

KINSUI, Satoshi (Ph.D.)

Japanese Linguistics; Historical Study of Japanese Grammar

OKAJIMA, Akihiro (M.Lit.)

Japanese Linguistics; History of Japanese Language and Japanese Linguistics

Associate Professor

GOYAMA, Rintaro (Ph.D.)

Japanese Literature; Study on Chinese Poetry and Prose Written in Japan; Japanese Literature in the 19th Century

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