mainly since the Meiji Restoration of 1868. To ap-
preciate Japan’s literature is first to come to terms with
Japan’s own deeply seated ideological roots before at-
tempting to impose values and critical analyses devel-
oped in other societies.
Evidence of Buddhist influence on Japanese ver-
nacular literature—both doctrinal and secular
writings—can be seen, of course, in obvious references
to pagodas, sutras, and monks. But a more difficult,
and far more rewarding, understanding can be found
by exploring the aesthetic milieu that informs this lit-
erature rooted in a native tradition assimilated with
Buddhism and Confucianism. The two oldest surviv-
ing Japanese literary works—composed in Chinese—
the Kojiki(Record of Ancient Matters, 712 C.E.) and the
Nihon shoki(Chronicles of Japan, 720 C.E.), have much
to offer historically, but say little about Buddhist liter-
ature. They offer slight opportunity to share an author’s
feelings, ideals, and sentiments with the immediacy
that distinguishes literature from reporting.
The following short thirty-one-syllable Japanese
poem (waka) by Buddhist novice Manzei (fl. 704–731)
is a rare example of a verse arguably revealing Bud-
dhist influence. This poem first appears in the mon-
umental Man’yoshu (Collection of Ten Thousand
Leaves,ca. 759):
To what yo no naka wo
shall I compare this life? nani ni tatoen
to the white wake asaborake
of a boat rowing away kogiyuku fune no
at the break of dawn. ato no shiranamiThe reasons for the late appearance of Buddhist im-
agery and ideals in Japanese literary works were sim-
ply the late development of a comfortable vocabulary
to supersede the often abrasive transliterations of Chi-
nese (and even Indian) religious technical terms into
the more fluid native language (yamato kotoba) and
the refinement of a phonetic (kana) syllabary to sup-
plant the often stodgy Chinese compounds. The syl-
labary, traditionally attributed to KUKAI(774–835), is
now believed to have developed gradually, becoming
standardized by the late eleventh century. The anony-
mous I-ro-ha uta (Syllabary Song),an imayo(“modern-
style”) verse organizing all but one of the syllabary’s
sounds (“-n-”), first appeared in a work written in
1079, and is still a familiar furnishing of the Japanese
literary consciousness. Its message is the ancient Bud-
dhist theme of ANITYA(IMPERMANENCE; mujo):Blossoms glow iro ha ni(h)o(h)e to
but then they scatter, chirinuru wo
and in this life of ours wak[g]a yo tare so
who endures? tsune naramu
Today we cross the u[wi] no okuyama
dense mound
of worldly illusion, kefu koete
dissolving our asaki yume mish[j]i
shallow dreams,
beyond inebriation. [w]ehi mo ses[z]uIt should be noted, however, that this sense of im-
permanence, in spite of its terminology and somber
shadings, is a powerful affirmation of the value and
wonder of every moment of our brief lives. The courtly
priest Yoshida Kenko declares in his Tsurezuregusa
(Essays in Idleness,ca. 1330–1333): “If man were never
to fade away like the dews of Adashino, never to van-
ish like the smoke over Toribeyama, but lingered on
forever in this world, how things would lose their
power to move us [mono no aware]! The most precious
thing in life is its uncertainty” (Seeds in the Heart,
p. 859). Some time later the great Nativist scholar
Motoori Norinaga (1730–1801)—no friend of
Buddhism—characterized Genji monogatari(The Tale
of Genji,ca. 1007) as a novel of mono no aware,though
he defined it somewhat differently, possibly as “sensi-
tivity to the wonder of things.”
It is also well known that in her defense of fiction
(“lies” in the opinion of traditional moralists), Lady
Murasaki, the author of Genji monogatari,appealed to
the Buddhist doctrine of skillful means (hoben; San-
skrit, upaya), which is so tenaciously argued in the
LOTUS SUTRA(Saddharmapundarlka-sutra;Japanese,
Myohorengekyo), the source of seven parables whose
imagery permeates traditional secular literature. There
are many routes to religious enlightenment expressed
through a variety of mythologies, modes of practice,
and necessary “fictional” devices possible in literature.
The blandness of many modern translations of tradi-
tional Japanese poetry and literature is often the result
of its being sanitized to conform to Western expecta-
tions rather than asking the Western reader to suspend
disbelief in a fascinating world of alien values and ideas.JAPANESE, BUDDHISTINFLUENCES ONVERNACULARLITERATURE IN