Dazai Osamu’s short story, “A Sound of Hammering” is the focus of a three-day investigation of modern Japanese literature and life in post-World War II Japan. The events in Osamu’s story mirror those in his own life, and give a...

First drafted in the year 996, The Pillow Book contains reflections of those met by a lady-in-waiting in the Japanese court. A brief summary, historical context, and discussion questions are provided on the first two pages. Then, two...

Students identify formal elements that characterize the scroll, work in a variety of media, from traditional to digital, to create their own scrolls, work into digital printout with at least two media, and engage in meaningful critiques...

This site provides both biographical information and some analysis of Issa's work. Links to significant names.

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.