THE HERITAGE OF UEDA AKINARI IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE YOMIHON GENRE

Abstract

The article deals with the work of Ueda Akinari, a bright representative of Japanese townsman’s literature of the 18th century, and his role in the development of the yomihon genre. The article focuses on the biographical information related to the writer's life. The article begins with a characterisation of gesaku prose literature and reveals the unique artistic features of one of its genres, the yomihon genre. Then, in the context of the development of Japanese townsman’s literature and the yomihon genre, the question of the significance of the writer's literary works will be highlighted. The paper also examines a collection of short stories entitled “Tales of the Moon and Rain”, which occupies an important place in Akinari’s creative legacy, and analyses each of his stories in terms of the distinctiveness of the yomihon genre. Through this collection, the question of how Akinari, working as representative of kokugaku movement, utilised classical Japanese and Chinese sources in his work is also highlighted.