The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature

The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature provides, for the first time, a history of Japanese literature with comprehensive coverage of the premodern and modern eras in a single volume. The book is arranged topically in a series of short, accessible chapters for easy access and reference, giving insight into both canonical texts and many lesser known, popular genres, from centuries-old folk literature to the detective fiction of modern times. The various period introductions provide an overview of recurrent issues that span many decades, if not centuries. The book also places Japanese literature in a wider East Asian tradition of Sinitic writing and provides comprehensive coverage of women's literature as well as new popular literary forms, including manga (comic books). An extensive bibliography of works in English enables readers to continue to explore this rich tradition through translations and secondary reading.

Part I. The Ancient Period (Beginnings to 794); Part II. The Heian Period (794–1185); Part III. The Medieval Period (1185–1600); Part IV. The Edo Period (1600–1867); Part V. The Modern Period (1868 to Present).

Haruo Shirane, Shincho Professor of Japanese Literature at Columbia University, is a specialist in Japanese literature and culture, with special interest in prose fiction, poetry, and drama; the interaction between popular and elite cultures; and issues of cultural memory. He is the author and editor of over twenty books. His most recent book, Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons (2012), explores the cultural construction of nature across a wide spectrum of media and arts.
Tomi Suzuki, Professor of Japanese Literature at Columbia University, is a specialist in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Japanese literature, with special interests in prose fiction and criticism; gender and genre; modernism and language reform; history of reading and canon formation. Her publications include Narrating the Self: Fictions of Japanese Modernity (1996) and Inventing the Classics: Modernity, National Identity, and Japanese Literature (2000).
David Lurie, Associate Professor of Japanese History and Literature at Columbia University, specializes in the literary, cultural, and intellectual history of premodern Japan. His research concerns the development of writing and literacy; the history of linguistic thought; and Japanese and comparative mythology. His first book, Realms of Literacy: Early Japan and the History of Writing (2011), treated the advent of Japanese inscription and the early development of literature and other modes of writing.