Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature
- The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Contributors
- Book part
- A note on Romanization and conventions
- Glossary
- General introduction
- Part I The ancient period (beginnings to 794)
- Part II The Heian period (794–1185)
- 7 Introduction: court culture, women, and the rise of vernacular literature
- 8 Sugawara no Michizane, a Heian literatus and statesman
- 9 Kokinshūand Heian court poetry
- 10 Early Heian court tales
- 11 Genji monogatariand its reception
- 12 Late courtly romance
- 13 Premodern commentary on the classical literary canon
- 14 ThePillow Bookof Sei Shōnagon
- 15 Heian literary diaries: fromTosa nikkitoSarashina nikki
- 16 The Heian Academy: literati culture from Minamoto no Shitagō to Ōe no Masafusa
- 17 Heian canons of Chinese poetry:Wakan rōeishūand Bai Juyi
- 18 The Literary Essence of Our Court (Honchō monzui)
- 19 Vernacular histories:Eiga monogatari, Ōkagami, Gukanshō
- 20 Heian popular songs:imayōandRyōjin hishō
- Part III The medieval period (1185–1600)
- Part IV The Edo period (1600–1867)
- Part V The modern period (1868 to present)
- Bibliography of English secondary sources and translations
- Index
20 - Heian popular songs:imayōandRyōjin hishō
from Part II - The Heian period (794–1185)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 January 2016
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Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature
- The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Contributors
- Book part
- A note on Romanization and conventions
- Glossary
- General introduction
- Part I The ancient period (beginnings to 794)
- Part II The Heian period (794–1185)
- 7 Introduction: court culture, women, and the rise of vernacular literature
- 8 Sugawara no Michizane, a Heian literatus and statesman
- 9 Kokinshūand Heian court poetry
- 10 Early Heian court tales
- 11 Genji monogatariand its reception
- 12 Late courtly romance
- 13 Premodern commentary on the classical literary canon
- 14 ThePillow Bookof Sei Shōnagon
- 15 Heian literary diaries: fromTosa nikkitoSarashina nikki
- 16 The Heian Academy: literati culture from Minamoto no Shitagō to Ōe no Masafusa
- 17 Heian canons of Chinese poetry:Wakan rōeishūand Bai Juyi
- 18 The Literary Essence of Our Court (Honchō monzui)
- 19 Vernacular histories:Eiga monogatari, Ōkagami, Gukanshō
- 20 Heian popular songs:imayōandRyōjin hishō
- Part III The medieval period (1185–1600)
- Part IV The Edo period (1600–1867)
- Part V The modern period (1868 to present)
- Bibliography of English secondary sources and translations
- Index
Summary
The term imayo denotes a wide rubric of popular song, which could even include regular waka, and a specific type of song, only ten of which are extant in Ryojin hisho. In the narrow sense, imayo proper knows a limited set of prosodic possibilities, often in the form of a quatrain, that follow an alternation of eight and four syllables. The three main genres that survive in Ryojin hisho are Buddhist song, deity song quatrains, and deity song couplets. In fact, within the two extant categories of "deity songs", many lyrics deal with the topic of love and yearning. Whatever the theme of an imayo, the majority of songs take their cues from the lives of the Heian lower classes. The second half of the twelfth century saw the rise of a new type of female performer, the shirabyoshi. The term at first denoted only a type of song; later it came to refer also to its singers.
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- The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature , pp. 206 - 208Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2015