Japanese literature: Did you mean...?

Ihara Saikaku (1642-1693) was a Japanese poet and novelist who played a leading role in creating the so-called ‘floating world’ (ukiyo-zoshi) genre of popular literature in the 17th century. His work was significant because, in terms of both...

Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1725) was a Japanese playwright who wrote for both the puppet theatre and kabuki. He is regarded as Japan’s greatest dramatist. Apart from their aesthetic appeal, his plays are of value because they provide an insight...

Map of the Japanese Empire, 1895. It was issued shortly after the 1895 Japanese invasion of Taiwan and is consequently one of the first Japanese maps to include Taiwan and Korea as provinces of Imperial Japan. Geographicus Rare Antique Maps...

A photograph showing Japanese troops at the Mukden Little West Gate during the invasion of Chinese Manchuria (Manchukuo) in September 1931. The invasion caused a crisis with the League of Nations.

A drawing of a kappa, a Japanese mythological water sprite, by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) as part of his wider work, the Hokusai Manga, which he began publishing in 1812.

The Japanese Tea Ceremony.

A print showing Japanese tea vendors. Edo Period, c. 1846, print from a 1632 original. Copied by Kanō Osanobu and Kanō Masanobu. (From Poetry Competition of Artisans, vol.2)

A traditional Japanese tea room with tatami matting, caligraphy hanging scroll and a single vase of flowers. The hearth is set into the floor on the left.

Drawing of a Japanese kappa, supposedly caught in 1801 in Mito domain. Illustration from an 1836 copy by Reikai of Suiko Kōryaku by Koga Tōan. The inscription reads: Height 3.5 shaku, weight 12 kamme. The chest protudes, the neck is short...

The essential implements of the chanoyu or Japanese tea ceremony.