![](https://moodle.s.kyushu-u.ac.jp/pluginfile.php/469466/course/overviewfiles/Murasaki.jpg)
This course surveys the history of Japanese literature, from ancient times through the medieval period. Students will read texts from a variety of genres: narrative tales, poetry and songs, diaries, travel accounts, miscellanies, and plays. Topics of focus include the influence of the classical Chinese canon; the shifting balance between innovation and traditionalism in literary expression; the material and performative aspects of literary practice; and literature’s relationship to broader social, political, and religious currents.