Journals. The earliest of these is the Murasaki Shikibu Niki, composed by her after she was left a widow. It contains descriptions of various events at the court, written in a highly ornate style, and the title is scarcely appropriate. The Kagero Niki, by the mother of Michiami, is a record of her connection with Michikane, beginning with the year 954, and coming down to 974. The Ben no Naishi Niki is a record of events beginning with the abdication of Go-Saga no In in 1246, and ending with 1252, also by a woman. The Hojoki, by Kamo no Chomei (beginning of the 13th century), contains accounts of the great fire in 1177, the hurricane of 1180, the removal of the capital to Kioto in the same year, the famine of 1181, and the great earthquake of 948. The Fuji Goran no Ki is the journal of a visit made by the shogun Yoshinori (1429–'41) to Fuji no Yama. The Saiokuken Sochoki and the Socho kuku no Ki are autobiographical notes by the priest Socho (born 1447, lived beyond 1526). IX. Travels. The Tosa Niki, by Kino Tsurayuki, is a diary of his journey back from Tosa to Kioto in 935. The author conceals his personality by writing in the style then supposed to be exclusively employed by women. The Suma no Ki purports to be the diary of Sugawara Michizane on his way to exile in Chikuzen; but although its style is exactly that of the older literature, it is a manifest forgery, for it speaks of the heroine of the Taketori Monogatari, a book written some time after the death of Michizane. The Matsushima Niki, attributed to Sei Shonagon, is also condemned by the best judges as a recent forgery. The Sarashina Niki, by the daughter of a descendant of Michizane, is the record of a journey from Shimosa to Kioto by the tokaido in the year 1021, and a second journey from Kioto to Sarashina, in Shinshiu, a few years later. The Izayoi Niki is the journal of Teika Kio's widow on a journey to Kamakura to obtain justice for her son Tamesuke against his elder brother Tameuji. It is written in good style, and appears to be merely a vehicle for introducing verses made by the way at each post town. The Fujikawa no Ki is the journal of Ichijo Kaneyoshi (1402–'81) as he was fleeing from Kioto to avoid the civil war of Onin (1467). The Shako Niki is a diary of a journey from Kioto to Suruga in 1473. The Shirin Ikoshiu, in 6 volumes, is a collection of journeys by different persons, made by Miyagawa Issuishi. All these works belong to the purely ornamental literature. A magnificent collection of fragments of this kind is the Fuso Shiuyoshiu, in 36 volumes, compiled by order of the second prince of Mito. There exists a supplementary collection called Shiui Goyoshiu, in 26 volumes, by Eda Seikio, which ranges over nearly eight centuries, from the beginning of the 10th down to near the end of the 17th. It has not been published. X. Dramatic. The Japanese drama is of three kinds: the no, a kind of historical play, generally of a tragical cast; the kiogen, or low comedy; and the joruri, a mixture of the two. The former have been collected, and are known as utai; they date from the time of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1449–'90), and are still played with the costumes of that period. There are five editions which slightly differ among themselves, a fact which is due to their having been separately preserved by as many families of hereditary actors, named Kanze, Hosho, Komparu, Kongo, and Kita. The kiogen are in the colloquial language of the same period, and possess great philological value. Fifty of them were printed in 1662, under the title of Kiogenki. The Mai no Hon, also called Kowaka Zoshi, is a collection of 36 ancient plays which are no longer acted, but recited with musical intonations by a single performer, without scenery or costume. The joruri are the modern plays, which are either acted on the stage by actors and a chorus, or recited by a single person to the accompaniment of the three-stringed lute or shamisen. XI. Dictionaries and Works on Philology. The earliest dictionary is the Wamio Ruijiu-sho, in 20 books, by Minamoto no Shitagau (911–'83). It contains a number of Japanese words, with the corresponding Chinese characters, definitions, and quotations from five or six works. The whole is divided into the following categories: 1, heaven; 2, earth; 3, water; 4, divisions of the year; 5, demons and gods; 6, social relations; 7, relatives; 8, parts of the body; 9, arts and accomplishments; 10, music; 11, offices; 12, provinces and departments; 13, dwellings; 14, ships; 15, vehicles; 16, kine and horses; 17, treasures; 18, scents and drugs; 19, lamps, &c.; 20, woven fabrics; 21, clothing; 22, utensils, weapons, instruments of punishment, &c.; 23, household utensils; 24, eating and drinking; 25, grain; 26, fruits; 27, vegetables; 28, winged tribe; 29, hairy tribe; 30, scaly tribe; 31, insects; 32, trees and plants. It is said to have been prepared at the command of one of the princesses. The Shinsen Jikio is a dictionary of Chinese characters, arranged according to the radicals, with the Chinese pronunciation according to the system of spelling called hansetsu (fan tsieh), and the Japanese equivalents, completed by the priest Shojiu in 892. Only one volume remains out of twelve. At the end there are collections of double characters and onomatapœiæ. As a general rule, however, the Japanese have contented themselves with reprinting the best known Chinese dictionaries, such as the Yu-pien, Kanghi's great lexicon, and the Wache-yun-suy. Of these the first has also been translated into Japanese. There is a useful dictionary in two volumes called Shinso Jibiki, with the Chinese characters in the square and cursive forms, and the Japanese equivalents in hiragana. Dictionaries of the Japanese language came to be made only after the revival of learning in the 17th century. The first of these is the Nihon Shakumei (1699), by Kaibara Tokushin (1630–1714), in which an
