Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons: Nature, Literature, and the Arts

345 Pages·2012·6.73 MB·English

by  Haruo Shirane

(ConTInUED from fronT fLAP) s Elegant representations of nature and the
hh
four seasons populate a wide range of Japa-
ia
Illuminating the deeper meaning behind r nese genres and media—from poetry and
r
Japanese aesthetics and artifacts, Shirane au screen painting to tea ceremonies, flower
clarifies the use of natural images and season- praise for n arrangements, and annual observances. In
o
al topics and the changes in their cultural as- Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons e Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons,
sociations and functions across history, genre, Haruo Shirane shows how, when, and why
and community over more than a millenni- this practice developed and explicates the
“Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons provides a compelling account of how
um. In this fascinating book, the four seasons J richly encoded social, religious, and political
Japan has appropriated, interpreted, and valued nature over the centuries. Haruo
a
are revealed to be as much a cultural con- meanings of this imagery.
Shirane’s wide-ranging study tracks the culture of nature in Japan and especially
p
struction as a reflection of the physical world.
the central role of waka in constructing a vision of nature that influenced all the a
Refuting the belief that this tradition re-
arts. In its breadth, depth, and accessibility, his book is of great value not only to
n
flects Japan’s agrarian origin and supposedly
scholars and students of Japan but also to anyone interested in the intersections
mild climate, Shirane traces the establishment
of art and nature.” a
Haruo Shirane is Shincho Professor of —Andrew M. Watsky, Princeton University nd t of seasonal topics to the poetry composed by
Japanese Literature and Culture at Colum- h the urban nobility in the eighth century. Af-
e Japan

bia University. He is the author and editor “A tour de force. Haruo Shirane synthesizes the long and complicated encoding C ter becoming highly codified and influencing
of numerous books on Japanese literature, u visual arts in the tenth and eleventh centu-
of the flora, fauna, toponyms, and annual events of the Japanese landscape and
including, most recently, The Demon at Agi ries, the seasonal topics and their cultural as-
calendar, untangling their synchronic connections and their historical develop- l
and the
Bridge and Other Japanese Tales; Envisioning ment from the eighth to the nineteenth century, from the small cuckoo (hototo- t sociations evolved and spread to other genres,
The Tale of Genji: Media, Gender, and Cultural gisu) as a harbinger of summer in the Kokinshu- to the lovemaking of cats as a topic u eventually settling in the popular culture of
Cultur e
Production; Traditional Japanese Literature: An the early modern period. Contrasted with the
for comic haikai verse in the Edo period. Shirane’s book is essential for anyone r
Anthology, Beginnings to 1600; Early Modern elegant images of nature derived from court
interested in virtually any genre of the traditional Japanese arts: poetry, costume,
e
Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600–1900; poetry was the agrarian view of nature based
painting, noh theater, architecture, tea ceremony, flower arranging—or even Jap-
of the
Classical Japanese: A Grammar; and Traces of o on rural life. The two landscapes began to
anese sweets (wagashi)!” f
Dreams: Landscape, Cultural Memory, and the th intersect in the medieval period, creating a
—Joshua Mostow, University of British Columbia e Four
Poetry of Basho-. complex, layered web of competing associa-
F
tions. Shirane discusses a wide array of rep-
“‘Sensitivity to nature’ is one of those commonplaces about Japanese tradition o
resentations of nature and the four seasons in
that, because of its all-too-easy association with cultural nationalism, tends to set u Seasons
many genres, originating in both the urban
many people’s teeth on edge. This engaging and impressive study provides a wel-
r
and the rural perspective: textual (poetry,
come antidote. Drawing from literary, visual, historical, and religious sources,
chronicles, tales), cultivated (gardens, flower
Haruo Shirane cuts through the clichés to uncover multiple, evolving, and some- S
e arrangement), material (kimonos, screens),
times surprising dimensions of the Japanese relationship with nature from early
a Nature, Literature, performative (noh, festivals), and gastronom-
times to the present.”
—Kate Wildman Nakai, professor emerita, Sophia University s ic (tea ceremony, food rituals). He reveals
o and the Arts how this kind of “secondary nature,” which
n flourished in Japan’s urban architecture and
printed in the u.s.a.
gardens, fostered and idealized a sense of
s
harmony with the natural world just at the
Jacket design:
Columbia University Press / new York haruo shir ane moment it was disappearing.
nayon Cho
cup.columbia.edu
Jacket art:
Blossoming Cherry Trees in Yoshino (detail),
momoyama period, sixteenth century. Columbia
John C. Weber Collection. Photo: John bigelow Taylor (ConTInUED on bACk fLAP)
Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons

Japan
and the
Culture
of the
Four Seasons
Nature, Literature, and the Arts
HARUO SHIRANE
Columbia University Press New York
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
Copyright © 2012 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Shirane, Haruo, 1951–
Japan and the culture of the four seasons : nature, literature, and the arts /
Haruo Shirane.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-15280-8 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-231-52652-4 (e-book)
1. Japanese literature—History and criticism. 2. Seasons in literature.
3. Arts and society—Japan. 4. Philosophy of nature in literature. 5. Seasons in
art—Japan. 6. Japan—Civilization. I. Title.
PL721.S4S555 2012
895.6'0936—dc23
2011033921

Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free
paper.
This book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
R eferences to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither
the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have ex-
pired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
For Sakae

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xvii
Historical Periods, Romanization, Names, Titles, and Illustrations xix
Introduction Secondary Nature, Climate, and Landscape 1
1 Poetic Topics and the Making of the Four Seasons 25
2 Visual Culture, Classical Poetry, and Linked Verse 57
3 Interiorization, Flowers, and Social Ritual 89
4 Rural Landscape, Social Difference, and Confl ict 113
5 Trans-Seasonality, Talismans, and Landscape 133
6 Annual Observances, Famous Places, and Entertainment 153
7 Seasonal Pyramid, Parody, and Botany 175
Conclusion History, Genre, and Social Community 201
Appendix Seasonal Topics in Key Texts 221
Notes 225
Bibliography of Recommended Readings in English 249
Selected Bibliography of Primary and Secondary Sources in Japanese 259
Index of Seasonal and Trans-Seasonal Words and Topics 271
Index of Authors, Titles, and Key Terms 289
viii | contents
Illustrations
Figures
1. Interior and Garden in a Heian-Period Residence 2–3
2. Interiorized Nature in a Heian-Period Residence 4
3. A S atoyama 15
4 . Bush W arbler on Red Plum Branch 33
5. Y ellow Kerria and Frogs 37
6. Multilayered Heian-Period Kimono 59
7. Young Woman’s Kimono with Yellow Kerria 62
8. Flowers and Birds of the Twelve Months 66
9 . Blossoming Cherry Trees in Yoshino 70 –71
10. Nabeshima Ware Dish with Tatsuta River 72
11. Tea Scoop with Case 73
12. Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang 84 –85
13. Heian-Period Palace-Style Residence 90 –91
14. Tearoom and a Flower in the Alcove 105
15. High-ranking Courtesans with a Flower Arrangement 109