Japan's Golden Age Flashcards
literature
nobles of Heian court wrote journals poems and stories they wrote in a script called kana adapted from Chinese characters. each symbol represented a sound in Japanese. in the past Japanese writers had written in Chinese
what is the tale of Genji about
describes the romantic adventures of a prince named Genji. Murasaki Shikibu the story’s author joined the Heina court around 1005
what was the writing doing when she wrote the tale
while serving the emperor’s wife she wrote her tale which is now praised as a great masterpiece of Japanese literature
what was the work regarded as
many regarded this work as the world’s first novel. a novel is a long fictional story often with a complex plot and many chapters. Murasaki’s work through fiction has provided scholars with many details about life in the Heian court
art and architecture
Japanese artists and architectures added their own ideas to styles borrowed from china. Heian artists admired Chinese scroll painting but developed scrolls with a distinctively Japanese style
what was similar in Japanese and Chinese home
they included several buildings around a garden. but facing the garden, Japanese homes had sliding doors instead of fixed walls. in warm weather, the doors were removed and the rooms became part of the garden
what did the Japanese garden look like
Japanese garden usually had flowering trees and a small stream or pond. it might also have a teahouse. A practice borrowed from China, the formal tea ceremony was designed to calm the mind and heart
what drama did Japan develop
Noh was a drama that appealed to the nobles and samurai. it is serious and intense. a Noh play takes place on a simple almost bare stage. The players wear colourful costumes and masks. they dance and tell stories.
