| architecture |
| calligraphy |
| ceramics |
| clothing |
| comics |
| gardens |
| lacquerwork |
| literature |
| movies |
| music |
| painting |
| poetry |
| sculpture |
| tea ceremony |
| television |
| theatre |
| weaponry |
| thematic routes |
| timeline |
| the site |
context: literature
Ancient Literature
Meaning before the start of the Heian period in 794. There are mentions in old sources of books as early as the mid-6th Century, but none survive. Most ancient books are written in verse form, but it seemed to me a stretch to therefore call them poetry.
It's also worth noting that when the Todaiji temple was built in 758AD, there were millions of sutras printed for pilgrims - this is the earliest record I've seen of printing in Japan.