SCIENZE UMANISTICHELinguistic and intercultural mediationAcademic Year 2022/2023

9795558 - CULTURA E LETTERATURA GIAPPONESE I

Teacher: MARIO TALAMO

Expected Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and understanding:

Students will know the main productions of Japanese literature, from the origins to the thresholds of modernity. The course will dwell on the evolution of classical Japanese literature throughout the most representative works. It will deal with the three main productive fields: theatre, poetry and prose, with many parallels and comparisons with history of art, religion, and society. Students will thus gain a wide picture on classical, medieval and premodern literature, and will be able to cope with this from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Applying knowledge and understanding:

The uniqueness of Japanese literature will endow students with original critical categories and with a specific terminology that every one of them will apply to several other fields of study. The parallels with art and society will give students a clear outlook on the ancient world, enabling them to cope with different cultural milieus, individuals and texts.

Making judgments:

By studying the evolution of Japanese literature, students will familiarize with other cultures. By studying the various literary productions of ancient Japan, which have no counterpart in our literary panorama, students will have the great chance to think of diversity from a new and non-ethnocentric perspective.

Communication skills:

Students will develop communication skills through new critical categories and a specific terminology. Mandatory condition in order to pass the exam will be the acquisition of the ability to express correctly the main subjects of the course.

Learning skills:

Students will organize their own schedule and study time. The great number of Japanese terms to remember represents the first mnemonic challenge for students. Several texts should be consulted; these, in their turn, will develop not only self-discipline in studying, but also capacity of choosing a research topic according to personal interests.

Course Structure

Frontal teaching

Required Prerequisites

There is no essential prerequisite for joining the course in Japanese Culture and Literature I.

Attendance of Lessons

Attendance is not mandatory but it is strongly recommended.

Detailed Course Content

The first course in Japanese Culture and Literature aims at presenting Japanese literary history from its earliest testimonies, written in Chinese, to the second half of the nineteenth century. The course will dwell on a very long time span, more than one-thousand years, from Nara (710-784) to Edo period (1603-1867), and will present some of the most representative productions of each period. The course will be divided into three sections: the first concerning ancient Japan – Nara and Heian periods –, the second will be on the medieval literary productions – from Kamakura to Muromachi periods – while the third and last on the Edo period. The course will provide information on literature, religion, art, and history.

Textbook Information

Muccioli Marcello, Orsi Maria Teresa (edited by), La letteratura giapponese, Roma, L'asino d'oro, 2015. (Chapters 1 -26)

Texts in translation (at least five per student):

Barioli C. (translated by), L’angusto sentiero del Nord, Vallardi, 2009. (Matsuo Bashō)

Boscaro A. (translated by), La bella storia di Shidōken, Marsilio, 1990. (Hiraga Gennai)

Boscaro A. (translated by), Ore d’ozio, Tsurezuregusa, Marsilio, 2014. (Yoshida Kenkō)

Boscaro A. (translated by), Storia di un tagliabambù, Marsilio, 1994. (Anonimous)

Dal Pra E. (translated by), Haiku. Il fiore della poesia giapponese da Bashō all’Ottocento, Mondadori, 2000. (Several authors)

De Baggis M. (translated by), Storie di Uji. Ujishūi monogatari. CasadeiLibri, 2010. (Anonimous)

Fraccaro F. (translated by), Ricordi di un eremo, Marsilio, 2004. (Kamo no Chōmei)

Manieri A. (translated by). Cronache del Saikaido, Carocci, 2022. (Anonimous)

Manieri A. (translated by), Hitachi no kuni fudoki, Carocci, 2013. (Anonimous)

Marra M. (translated by), Storie di mercanti, TEA, 1998. (Ihara Saikaku)

Maurizi A. (translated by), I racconti di Ise, Marsilio, 2018. (Anonimous)

Maurizi A. (translated by), Il grande specchio dell’omosessualità maschile, Frassinelli, 1997. (Ihara Saikaku)

Maurizi A. (translated by), Storia di Ochikubo, Marsilio, 2004. (Anonimous)

Migliore M.C. (translated by), Nihon ryōiki. Cronache soprannaturali e straordinarie del Giappone, Carocci, 2010. (Anonimous)

Moretti L. (translated by), Chikusai il ciarlatano, Cafoscarina, 2003. (Isoda Dōya)

Negri C. (translated by), Diario di Izumi Shikibu, Marsilio, 2008. (Izumi Shikibu)

Negri C. (translated by), La principessa di Sumiyoshi, Marsilio, 2000. (Anonimous)

Negri C. (translated by), Le memorie della dama di Sarashina, Marsilio, 2005. (Anonimous)

Norton P.O., Pozzi E. (translated by), Centoundici haiku, La Vita Felice, 2011. (Matsuo Bashō)

Norton P.O., Pozzi. E. (translated by), Sessantasei haiku, La Vita Felice, 2011. (Yosa Buson)

Origlia L. (translated by), Cinque donne amorose, Adelphi, 1979. (Ihara Saikaku)

Origlia L. (translated by), Note del guanciale, Longanesi & C., 1968. (Sei Shōnagon)

Origlia L. (translated by), Vita di un libertino, Longanesi, 1976. (Ihara Saikaku)

Origlia L. (translated by), Vita di una donna licenziosa, Longanesi. (Ihara Saikaku)

Orsi M.T. (translated by), La storia di Genji, Einaudi, 2012. (Murasaki Shikibu)

Orsi M.T. (translated by), Racconti della pioggia di primavera, Marsilio, 1992. (Ueda Akinari)

Orsi M.T. (translated by), Racconti di pioggia e di luna, Marsilio, 1988. (Ueda Akinari)

Sagiyama I. (translated by), Kokin waka shū. Raccolta di poesie giapponesi antiche e moderne, Ariele, 2000. (Several authors)

Stramigioli G. (translated by), Heike monogatari, in “Rivista degli Studi Orientali”, XLIX, 1975. (Anonimous)

Stramigioli G. (translated by), Hōgen monogatari, in “Rivista degli Studi Orientali”, XLI, 1966. (Anonimous)

Strippoli R. (translated by), La monaca tuttofare, la donna serpente, il demone beone. Racconti dal medioevo giapponese, Marsilio, 2001. (Anonimous)

Talamo M. (translated by), Hizakurige: a piedi lungo il Tōkaidō, Aracne, 2019. (Jippensha Ikku)

Talamo M. (edited by), Storie di vendetta di Samurai, Asiasphere, 2021. (Several authors)

Vignali S. (translated by), Diario di Tosa, Cafoscarina, 2004. (Ki no Tsurayuki)

Villani P. (translated by), Kojiki. Un racconto di antichi eventi, Marsilio, 2006. (Ō no Yasumaro)

French, English and German translations of works unavailable in Italian are accepted.

Please remember that in compliance with art 171 L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal to copy entire books or journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.

For further information on sanctions and regulations concerning photocopying please refer to the regulations on copyright (Linee Guida sulla Gestione dei Diritti d’Autore) provided by AIDRO - Associazione Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle opere dell’ingegno (the Italian Association on Copyright).

All the books listed in the programs can be consulted in the Library.


AuthorTitlePublisherYearISBN
Muccioli Marcello, Orsi Maria Teresa (a cura di)La letteratura giapponeseL'Asino d'Oro2015978-8864432984

Learning Assessment

Learning Assessment Procedures

Oral exam.

Versione in italiano