The self – writing in the japanese literature: a brief analysis of the Tosa Diary and The gossamer years

Abstract

Although nowadays oriental literature can be more easily perceived in our daily lives, due to the globalization of the publishing market and the possibility of access to translations into Portuguese, it seems to us that little is known about the canonical works of Japanese culture, although much of what we have access to today - contemporary literature was influenced by this classical literature. This article aims to briefly analyze two classical works of Japanese literature under the focus of the daily narrative voice, currently known as intimate production or writing of itself, where despite being two diaries, their narrators have peculiar characteristics, reflecting the society and culture of the time in a particular way. In this way we also have access to the period of flowering of the native Japanese culture, where writing and literature were formed in the country. The two diaries analyzed here, contemporary at the time of their production, deeply influenced Japanese literature, since they were the first works written using the female narrative voice. The “The Tosa Diary”, written by the poet Ki no Tsurayuki (872 - 945), has as its narrative voice a lady who accompanies the return trip to the capital journey of the governor of Tosa and his entourage to the capital Heian, and in the “The Gossamer Years”, the author known only as the Mother of Michitsuna (936 - 995) assumes the narrative voice in order to relate her own memories as a lady of the court, married to one of the princes regents of the Court of Heian.