Daisaku Ikeda: On the Japanese Classics. Conversations and Appreciations

On the Japanese Classics is a series of conversations and appreciations between Daisaku Ikeda and Makoto Nemoto in which they discuss the great works of Japanese literature that are esteemed throughout the world as classics. Their talks center on the Man'yoshu (Collection of Ten Thousand Poems, c. late eighth century), the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters, 712), the Genji monogatari (The Tale of Genji, c. early eleventh century), and the Konjaku monogatari (Tales of Once Upon a Time, c. 1120). The participants try not to impose any broad framework of interpretation upon the works or to arrive at any systematic conclusions concerning them. Rather, they attempt to define the particular worth and appeal of each of these classics, to discover some of the ways in which each is related to the life and thought of the time, and to suggest what significance each may hold for our own age. Although not specialists in Japanese literature, these men bring to the Japanese classics a superb knowledge of Japanese and Chinese history and literature, as well as of Buddhism, and a freshness of approach and understanding that make these classics alive and brilliant. Their book, it almost goes without saying, contains a wealth of very interesting revelations.