• A
  • A
  • A
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • А
  • А
  • А
  • А
  • А
Regular version of the site
  • HSE University
  • Student Theses
  • Famous Places (Meisho) in Japanese Diary Literature: the Study of “Sarashina Nikki” (11 c.) and “Izayoi Nikki” (13 c.)

Famous Places (Meisho) in Japanese Diary Literature: the Study of “Sarashina Nikki” (11 c.) and “Izayoi Nikki” (13 c.)

Student: Pasivkina Sofiia

Supervisor: Evgeny Semyonovich Steiner

Faculty: Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs

Educational Programme: Asian Studies (Bachelor)

Final Grade: 10

Year of Graduation: 2016

The present thesis paper examines a complex question concerning the cultural notion of meisho (a name of often-visited place) that was widely spread in classical and medieval Japanese literature. Since the space category has always had a great importance in Japanese culture, the study of meisho concept as a system of "famous places" has its academic significance. In this study the special emphasize is put on the analysis of the system formation as well as on the process of gradual transition from the profane to the cultural perception of space category in Japan. During the research three main purposes of “famous places” are going to be defined. Firstly, meisho are considered to be a direct addressing to the exact geographical places as they served like the names of the local deities. Secondly, most of the meisho embody allusions to the preceding literary masterpieces of the classical age and the places images deeply rooted in the common consciousness of Japanese people. Finally, the homonymous Japanese language allows to convey concealed emotional statement by the means of the geographical names. To confirm the hypothesis about the three most important aspects of the meisho used in Japanese literature the examples from two diaries, ‘Sarashina nikki’ and ‘Izayoi nikki’, are provided. Regarded as models of travel diaries, these two works take their significant place in the context of formation and development of the "famous places" matrix related to the overall Japanese culture.

Full text (added April 29, 2016)

Student Theses at HSE must be completed in accordance with the University Rules and regulations specified by each educational programme.

Summaries of all theses must be published and made freely available on the HSE website.

The full text of a thesis can be published in open access on the HSE website only if the authoring student (copyright holder) agrees, or, if the thesis was written by a team of students, if all the co-authors (copyright holders) agree. After a thesis is published on the HSE website, it obtains the status of an online publication.

Student theses are objects of copyright and their use is subject to limitations in accordance with the Russian Federation’s law on intellectual property.

In the event that a thesis is quoted or otherwise used, reference to the author’s name and the source of quotation is required.

Search all student theses