The Epic Element in Japanese Literature

Abstract

To begin with let us recall Sartre’s emphasis upon the societal aspect of literature. No literature exhibits the impact of the social life more clearly than Japanese literature. My paper will treat largely the “epic element” in Japanese literature rather than the epic as such. Since the definition of what constitutes the epic derives wholly from Western literature, quite obviously I should have had to take great liberties in applying that definition to a literature which has had such a different development. A glance at any of the numerous handbooks or glossaries of literary terms will suffice to show that the common features of literary epics are in fact derived from the traditional epics of Homer. One of these handbooks ¹ gives five major features of the epic: (1) the hero is a figure of great national or international importance; (2) the setting is ample in scale, sometimes world-wide, or even larger; (3) the action involves heroic deeds in battle, or a long and arduous journey intrepidly accomplished; (4) in these great actions the gods and other supernatural beings themselves take an interest and an active part; (5) an epic poem is a ceremonial performance and is deliberately given a ceremonial style proportionate to its great subject and architecture.