Diary literature - Nikkibungaku

Japanese: 日記文学 - にっきぶんがく

Japan

Diaries were related to the establishment and development of the ancient Ritsuryo system, and were first and foremost official records of the Imperial Court. In principle, they were written in a daily schedule, and sometimes referred to as records of specific events or incidents. They developed significantly during the Middle Ages, when historical examples were valued, and many diaries were written personally by Ritsuryo officials. They were written in classical Chinese or modified classical Chinese, and were not literary. Other personal records include diaries of experiences and observations by monks who traveled to the continent, and Ennin's "Nitto Guho Junrei Koki" (Records of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law) is a representative work of this type. Even though they are written in classical Chinese, they often contain articles that are of deep cultural historical significance or full of human emotion. In the broad sense, diary literature is when a diary contains such introspective and moving content, and while they take on the characteristics of each era from ancient times to modern times and depending on the field of description, they are always in some sense a record of life.

By the way, there is a group of diary literature that started with "Tosa Nikki" and developed into a unique literary genre in the Middle Ages. Although they are based on real experiences and documentary facts, they do not exist within the constraints of those experiences, but exist as a unique creative world that for the first time concretely depicts the ultimate life that exists behind those facts. It was born in an inseparable relationship with the creation of a subjective style of writing in kana prose that was far removed from the conceptual and normative Chinese expressions. This group of works is not a daily diary. In other words, the process of creating the work corresponds to reality on the one hand, while at the same time being based on the unity of the work itself. After "Tosa Nikki," the hand of the pen was passed to women, and the inner aspects were further refined, and works such as "Kagero Nikki," "Izumi Shikibu Nikki," "Murasaki Shikibu Nikki," "Sarashina Nikki," and "Sanuki no Suke Nikki" were written. It is also closely related to waka poetry, especially private anthologies, and works such as "Jojin Ajari no Haha no Shu" and "Kenreimon'in Ukyo no Daibu Shu" are extremely diary-like works. It is also noteworthy that each of these diary works is extremely unique in the history of ancient literature.

The lineage of this imperial diary literature was inherited in the Middle Ages, but the positive significance of creating a unique literary world was gradually lost. However, among them, "Towazugatari" is valuable because it confesses the life of the author Nijō from his life of love to his repentance for Buddhism. Others include "Takemukigaki" and others. There were also many travelogues such as "Kaido-ki", "Tokan-kikou", and "Izayoi Nikki", and through Sogi and others, Basho's haiku travelogues. Diaries as records of experiences and observations became increasingly diverse from the Middle Ages to the early modern period, and the characteristics of diary literature naturally dissolved into this broad definition. Then, in modern times, the characteristics of diaries due to the awakening of the ego were demonstrated in works such as Nagai Kafu's "Danchotei Nichijo".

[Masaaki Kimura]

Western

Starting from the Roman era's memoranda, notes, or commentarii, which were records of daily events, many were similar to official diaries, but Caesar's "Commentaries on the Gallic Wars" (c. 51 BC) stood out for its powerful style. However, truly literary diaries began to be written in the 17th century and after, when the Renaissance gave rise to the modern ego and critical spirit, the Protestant Reformation intensified the conflict within the soul, and the rapid modernization and the anguish over political and social turmoil all combined to produce many diaries.

Diaries come in a wide variety of forms, from private, secret memoranda to those embellished for public consumption, to those capturing moment-by-moment social movements and tracing the trajectory of spiritual anguish, but the point is that they have great value in that they reveal frank facts not recorded in history and in the continuity of records over a long period of time. In other words, while history is often written mainly about the merits and demerits of rulers, diaries contain living records of writers and ordinary people, and therefore are invaluable materials for understanding the society of the time.

Famous diaries include those of the British writers Evelyn (1641-1706), Pepys (1660-1669), and Mrs. Burney (1784-1840). Pepys's diary was written in code, which was not deciphered until the 19th century, but it contains detailed descriptions of London, and Burney's mentions secret stories of the royal court. The 18th century British naturalist G. White described nature, and in the 19th century, French writers Stendhal, the Goncourt brothers, Bernard, and German playwright Hebbel left behind diaries that provide the key to understanding their works. The diary of Swiss philosopher Amiel is also valuable as a record of anguished souls in an age of skepticism. In the 20th century, there are diaries by French writer Gide and British writer Woolf, and the diary of a Jewish girl, "The Diary of Anne Frank," caused a great sensation by depicting the horrors of war.

[Hideo Funato]

"A Study of Diary Literature" by Kosuke Tamai (1965, Hanawa Shobo)" "Donald Keene, Translated by Hisao Kaneseki, "Guests of a Hundred Ages: The Japanese as Seen in Diaries" Volumes 1 and 2 (1984, Asahi Shimbun)"

"The Sixteenth Night Diary"
The 4th and 5th lines on the left page are the poem "The sound of stealth is the sound of birds in the valley of Hiki, and someday their names will rise high in the clouds of the well." Old type edition by Abutsuni, published around the Genna and Kan'ei eras (1615-1644), with notes, owned by the National Diet Library .

"The Sixteenth Night Diary"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

日本

日記は古代律令(りつりょう)制の成立発展とかかわり、まず朝廷の公的記録であった。日次(ひなみ)を追って記されることを原則とし、ときに特定の行事や事件に関する記録をさしていう。故事典例を重んずる中古に至って著しく発達し、さらに律令官人の立場で個人的に記す日記も数多く生まれた。それらは漢文もしくは変体漢文で書かれ、文学的ではない。私的な記録としては、ほかに大陸に渡った僧の体験見聞の日記があり、円仁(えんにん)の『入唐求法(にっとうぐほう)巡礼行記』はその代表的作品で、同じ漢文でも、そのなかに文化史的意義の深い、もしくは人間的感動に満ちた記事をままみることができる。広義の日記文学とは、日記がこのように内省的・感動的な内容をもつときにいうのであって、古代から近代に至るそれぞれの時代性を帯び、またその記述の分野に応じつつ、つねになんらかの意味での人生記録なのである。

　ところで、『土佐日記』を創始とし、中古に独特な文学のジャンルとして発達を遂げた日記文学の一群がある。それらは現実の体験、記録的事実に依拠するものの、その制約のなかに成り立つのではなく、それらの事実の奥に内在する究極の人生を、作品のなかに初めて具象的に描き出した、独自な創造的世界として存立する。それは、観念的・規範的な漢文表現から離れた仮名散文による主体的な文体の創出と不可分の関係において生まれた。この一群の作品は日次記ではない。すなわち、作品創造の過程が、一方で現実に対応しながら、同時に作品自体の統括性に基づくのである。『土佐日記』のあと、筆は女性の手に移って、いっそう内面性が磨(と)ぎ澄まされ、『蜻蛉(かげろう)日記』『和泉(いずみ)式部日記』『紫式部日記』『更級(さらしな)日記』『讃岐典侍(さぬきのすけ)日記』などが書かれた。また和歌、とくに私家集との関連も深く、たとえば『成尋阿闍梨母集(じょうじんあざりのははのしゅう)』『建礼門院右京大夫(うきょうのだいぶ)集』など、きわめて日記文学的である。こうした日記文学の各作品が、古代文学史のなかで著しく個性的であることにも注目される。

　中世にもこの王朝日記文学の系譜は受け継がれるが、その文学的に特有な世界を造型する積極的な意義はしだいに喪失されていく。ただそのなかで『問はず語り』が、愛欲生活から仏道懺悔(さんげ)に至る作者二条の生涯を告白していて、貴重である。そのほかに『竹むきが記』など。また『海道記』『東関紀行』『十六夜(いざよい)日記』など紀行が多くなり、宗祇(そうぎ)らを経て、芭蕉(ばしょう)の俳文紀行に及ぶ。体験見聞記としての日記は、中世から近世へますます多様になり、日記文学の特質はおのずからこの広義のなかに解消していく。そして近代は、永井荷風(かふう)の『断腸亭日乗(だんちょうていにちじょう)』等々、自我の覚醒(かくせい)による日記の特性が発揮される。

［木村正中］

西洋

ローマ時代の備忘録、覚書、または日々の事件の記録であるコメンタリイcommentariiに始まり、多くは役所の日誌に近かったが、カエサルの『ガリア戦記』（前51ころ）は、雄渾(ゆうこん)な文体によってぬきんでた。しかし、真に文学的な日記となると17世紀以降のもので、ルネサンスにより近代的自我と批評精神が芽生え、宗教改革によって魂との葛藤(かっとう)が強まり、さらに、急速な近代化と政治的・社会的混乱に対する苦悩などが重なって、多くの日記が書かれるようになった。

　日記には、自己だけの秘密な覚書、公開を意図して潤色したもの、また、社会の動きを刻々ととらえたもの、魂の苦悩の軌跡をたどったものなど多岐にわたるが、要は、歴史に記されない赤裸々な事実と、長期間にわたる記録の連続性に大きな価値がある。つまり、歴史がしばしば為政者の功罪を中心に記されるのに対して、日記には作家や庶民の生きた記録がみられ、したがって、その時代の社会を知るための得がたい資料となる。

　著名な日記としては、イギリスのイーブリン（1641～1706まで）、ピープス（1660～1669まで）、バーニー夫人（1784～1840まで）のものがある。なかでもピープスは暗号を用いて記したため19世紀になってようやく解読されたが、ロンドンに関する記述が詳しく、バーニーは宮廷の秘話などに言及している。また、18世紀のイギリスの博物学者G・ホワイトは自然を描写し、19世紀にはフランスの作家スタンダール、ゴンクール兄弟、ベルナールら、ドイツの劇作家ヘッベルらが日記を残して作品理解の鍵(かぎ)を残している。また、スイスの哲学者アミエルの日記は、懐疑主義の時代に苦悶(くもん)する魂の記録として貴重である。20世紀にはフランスの作家ジッドやイギリスの作家ウルフのものがあるほか、ユダヤ少女の『アンネの日記』が戦争の悲惨さを描いて大きな反響をよんだ。

［船戸英夫］

『玉井幸助著『日記文学の研究』（1965・塙書房）』▽『ドナルド・キーン著、金関寿夫訳『百代の過客――日記にみる日本人』上下（1984・朝日新聞社）』