Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/577

Rh Kada no Adzumamaro, Mabuchi, and Motoöri Norinaga, written in excellent classical Japanese, and conceived on a proper method. The Sanjiurokka-shiu Riakuden, in 2 small volumes, by Kawagita Mahiko (1848), is a handbook of reference for the lives and productions of 36 native authors of the same period. In poetry the Japanese do not seem to have advanced much beyond the most elementary forms. With few exceptions their so-called poetry consists of songs in five lines of 31 syllables called uta. These songs seem in early times to have been spontaneous compositions, but about the middle of the 8th century they had hardened into a conventional form, and verse making became a mechanical accomplishment, of which dexterity in punning was the most important part. Assemblies were held by the amateurs of versification, at which lots were drawn for a certain number of subjects, and the greater part of the uta which are contained in the numerous selections originated in this manner. The most ancient songs are no doubt those which are given in the Kojiki and Nihongi, and next to them in point of time must probably be ranked the naga-uta in the Manyoshiu. A naga-uta (or "long song") ought to consist of unrhymed lines of 5 and 7 syllables alternately, terminating in two lines of 7 syllables each; but this rule is by no means inflexibly adhered to. The first naga-uta in this collection will serve as a specimen; the numbers of the syllables are 5, 6, 5, 6, 5, 5, 5, 5, 4, 7, 5, 7, 5, 6, 5, 6, 7. In the shorter songs, ordinarily 31 syllables in length, an extra syllable is sometimes admitted; and if we are to believe the native commentators, it is also permissible to insert here and there, to make up the measure, odd syllables without any meaning. Another kind of short song, called sedoka, consists of six lines of 5 and 7 syllables, arranged in the following order: 5, 7, 7; 5, 7, 7. This, however, admits of certain modifications. The actual date of the compilation called the Manyoshiu is disputed; the usual account is that it was commenced in the middle of the 8th and completed early in the beginning of the 9th century. It contains 4,315 of the 31-syllable songs and sedoka, and 250 naga-uta, arranged in 20 books. The critics classify them as follows: various songs; songs of the affections, chiefly amatory; pathetic songs; songs involving a simile; and songs of the four seasons. Great difficulties exist with regard to the proper reading of the Manyoshiu, on account of its being written with Chinese characters, which sometimes stand for whole words and at others for single syllables. The first approach to a correct interpretation is believed to have been made by the priest Keichiu (1640–1701). He was followed by Kamo no Mabuchi (1698–1769), whose edition, entitled Manyoko (9 vols.), is highly esteemed, and by Kato Chikage (1734–1808), whose edition in 30 volumes, called Manyoshiu Riakuge, is perhaps the best, though by no means perfect. The earliest of all the songs in the Manyoshiu is that ascribed to Yuriaku Tenno (457–'59); the best are contained in the 1st, 2d, and 13th books; then come those in the 11th, 12th, and 14th. The Kokin Wakashiu, the second of the compilations made by order of the mikado, was commenced in 905 and finished about 922. The preface is one of the oldest specimens of Japanese compositions in hiragana, the Chinese character having been exclusively employed up to that time. The object of this collection was to preserve for posterity those verses which had not been considered worthy of a place in the Manyoshiu, but it also contains many of later date. The whole number of songs is estimated at 1,099, classified as follows: spring, summer, autumn, winter, felicitations, parting, journeys, names of things, love, pathetic, miscellaneous, naga-uta (5), sedoka (4), haikai, and o-naobi no uta. The best commentary on this collection is the Kokin Wakashiu Uchigiki (20 vols.), by Kamo no Mabuchi; the Tokagami (6 vols.), by Motoöri Norinaga, is an explanation of the songs in the common colloquial dialect of Kioto. The Gosen Wakashiu, in 20 books, was compiled about the middle of the 10th century; it contains 1,356 songs, classified much in the same way as those in the Kokinshiu. The Shiu Wakashiu dates half a century later, and contains 1,351 songs, among which are a few naga-uta and kagura-uta. These three together are known as the Sandaishiu. There are innumerable other collections made at the mikado's command and by private persons, besides selections of 100 songs, each called Hiakushiu Kui. The best known of the latter works is the Hiakuninshiu, which is the most popular classic of the Japanese; it was formed about the year 1235 by a court noble, commonly called Teika Kio. The commentaries on it are very numerous, but the best are the Uimanabi, by Mabuchi, the Hitoyogatari (1833), and the Mine no Kakehashi (1805). A translation of the Hiakuninshiu, with notes, has been made by F. V. Dickins (London, 1866). A better work on Japanese poetry is the Anthologie japonnaise of Léon de Rosny (Paris, 1870), to which is prefixed an excellent treatise on the different kinds of Japanese poetry. "The term monogatari is used to denote a class of composition which differs from history in that the author makes no attempt to sift the true from the fictitious, but simply records the current tradition respecting the hero or heroine." This definition, which is that of Mabuchi, is not applicable to all monogatari. In some cases individuals who actually existed at some time or other have been made the heroes of fictitious adventures, while others have not even that slight basis of fact. Certain of the monogatari are collections of verses, with short stories attached, which profess to give the circumstances under which they were composed; while others which bear the title are in reality