An Introduction to Early Modern Literary Texts for International Students

This excellent book is a great study tool to help advanced learners understand the language used in modern Japanese literature. 

The book gives good insights into the origins of modern literary language, a lot of which finds its roots in classical works, such as the work of Yukichi Fukuzawa, the man on the 10,000-yen bills. It acknowledges that the literary language at that time contains vocabulary and expressions that are unfamiliar to international students, making such works difficult to understand.

For learners who do not have knowledge of classical Japanese language, this book aims to teach them the basic grammatical rules so that they can read literary texts. 

Furthermore, through readings about modern topics such as basic human rights, war, pollution, politics, and business ethics, this book uses modern Japanese social commentary, philosophy, and literary language to give the learner a deeper understanding of Japanese society and culture from the early modern period to the present day.

The book is structured in five sections. The first part is a grammar section where the reader can learn the basics of early modern auxiliary verbs and the conjugation rules. The second section is a close reading section. By using the grammar knowledge learned in the Grammar section, readers are encouraged to translate the sentences by themselves and to think about modern society in the wake of problems at the time, such as human rights and political issues.

The third section is about literary language and modern language, in which the reader can compare modern language with literary language and think about the characteristics of modern Japanese. The last section is a collection of 12 reading passages with annotations on literary expressions. This section is geared to help the reader deepen their understanding through reading comprehension exercises.

There is also an appendix with a conjugation table, old kana orthography, rules for reading Chinese texts, a reference chronology table, and so on.

This book can be used not only by international students but also as an introductory book for junior high school and high school students to study ancient writing and Japanese history, and it provides a great opportunity for teachers to incorporate early modern and modern Japanese history and into lessons.

Structure:

• 5 sections: Grammar, Close Reading, Literary Language and Modern Language, Reading Passages, Appendix.

Recommended for you if:

• You are an advanced-level Japanese language student
• You are interested in Japanese literature
• You are studying for the N1 JLPT.
• You are a teacher looking for a challenging but engaging book for your advanced-level Japanese language or Japanese high school classes

About this volume:

Original Title: 留学生のための近代文語文入門－現代の日本と日本語を知るために－
Pages: 161
ISBN: 978-4-88319-897-9
Book Size: B5
Languages: Japanese (with furigana)
Publication Date: December 2021

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