Curated OER
Lands That I Love
Students create a graph showing their family roots. They read about how immigrants can develop strong feelings for two countries. They discover the importance of their earliest memories.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Japanese Literature
Wikipedia provides detailed information on the history, forms, and authors of Japanese literature. Includes external links and hyperlinked terms.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: List of Japanese Writers
This is a sizeable list of Japanese writers and poets, organized alphabetically. It includes many 20th century and contemporary people, as well as a scattering of writers from earlier periods. Some authors have extensive articles; others...
Nobel Media AB
The Nobel Prize: The Nobel Prize in Literature 1968
This website from The Nobel Foundation gives the 1968 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature -- Yasunari Kawabata -- is organized into the following sections: "Presentation Speech," "Biography," "Nobel Lecture," "Swedish Nobel Stamps,"...
Other
Kanzaki: History of Japan's Literature
This resource traces the changes in Japanese literature from its beginnings in the Nara period through the present.
Other
A Brief Biography of Isikawa Jun
Included in this biography is an explanation of the political influences which affected Jun's writing, as well as some discussion of how he influenced other Japanese writers like Abe.
Other
Interview With Abe Neri
This is quite an interesting interview with the daughter of the famous Japanese writer, Abe Kobo. It is a translation, so the language doesn't flow as smoothly as it would in the original, but Neri talks about a lot of the influences in...
Hanover College
The Diary of Lady Sarashina
The complete diary of one of the "Court Ladies" at the Japanese Imperial Court during the early 11th century. Provides many examples of Japanese poetry from the period.
Other
Database of Award Winning Children's Literature
This is a phenomenal resource. It allows the user to create a reading list of quality children's literature based of choices such as reading level, type of book, genre, ethnicity, gender, etc. In addition, one can determine if a book won...
University of Virginia
University of Virginia: Twenty Classical Works
From "A Reader's Guide of Japanese Literature" at the University of Virginia comes this list of twenty important pieces of classical Japanese literature, including author(when known), genre and date. It offers links to pieces available...
Authors Calendar
Author's Calendar: Yasunari Kawabata (1899 1972)
This site presents a biography of Yasunari Kawabata, who was the first Japanese novelist to win the Nobel prize for literature. The biography highlights the poetic nature of Kawabata's fiction.
University of Wisconsin
Kitchen: "Beauty That Seems to Infuse Itself Into The"
This is a paper by a college student majoring in Japanese. In it, she analyses Banana Yoshimoto's novel, "Kitchen," and the differences she finds between the original and an English translation.
Columbia University
Asia for Educators: What Is a Waka?
This large, wonderful site includes so much information on Asia that it is hard to showcase each element. It is easiest to enter Waka into the keyword box in order to access all the provided information. You will find an essay that...
Other
Sur La Lune Fairy Tales: Japanese Fairy Tales
Online version of the book, "Japanese Fairy Tales," first published in 1908. It includes 20 or so tales translated from Japanese into English including the following: "My Lord Bag of Rice," "The Farmer and the Badger," "The Adventures of...
University of Illinois
University of Illinois: Alan G. Chalk Guides to Japanese Films
Reviews of 26 Japanese movies that each include a list of suggested reading materials, plot summary, suggested grades, and a brief lesson plan. They are organized into two groups: one for students of literature and the humanities, and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: The World of Haiku
A productive, technologically relevant site that provides a lesson plan on the Japanese Haiku. Complete with educational objectives and extensive student-centered lesson development.
Other
Great Japanese Poets: Kakinomoto Hitomaro
This site talks about Kakinomoto Hitomaro and has links to many other great Japanese poets.
Other
Presents From the Dead: Analysis of Haruki's Works
The author of this critical review analyzes the role of the narrator, "I," in Haruki's novels, discussing whether the "I" psychologically plays a mother or father role. This site is a translation of the original critique.
University of Arizona
The Milky Way Train: Celebrating Kenji Miyazawa
This site presents a synopsis of Kenji Miyazawa's novel, "The Milky Way Train," focusing on the author's interest in astronomy and how he weaves that into his story.
Other
Mishima Yukio Cyber Museum
This "cyber museum" of material about Mishima's life and writings accompanies the building of a new museum dedicated to Mishima in Yamanakako. This site has a detailed timeline which combines events in Mishima's life with events in...
Authors Calendar
Author's Calendar: Osamu Dazai
This biographical sketch of Osamu Dazai focuses on how his personal life and experiences were reflected in his writing.
Authors Calendar
Author's Calendar: Junichiro Tanizaki
This brief biography summarizes several of Tanizaki's more important works and a list of many of his writings.
Other
Univ. Of Virginia: Ogura Hyakunin Isshu: 100 Poems by 100 Poets
By clicking through this site, the viewer may see these 100 poems in English, in Japanese characters or in Japanese (using the English alphabet). Some explanation of the poems' sources is also given.
Other
In the Moonlight a Worm Haiku Homepage
Learn the form, inspiration and spirit of haiku poetry and learn to write it yourself. An in-depth discussion of the philosophy behind haiku, as well as the literary structure.