THE ART OF NOVELLA BY IHARA SAIKAKU (TRADITIONS AND NATIONAL SPECIFICITY)

Literature, as any type of panhuman activity, has its own canons and patterns that have been mastered and expanded by the classic writers of all nations of the worldover the centuries.In particular, Japanese literature is characterized by reliance on traditions, the active use of historical experience of previous periods literature and redefinition of the past, as well as an original and innovative point of view on reality.It is known that in the East the role of traditions has always been very important. Social behavior, the need to adhere to national traditions in the formation of the consciousness of each individual. Undoubtedly, this also applies to the cultural sphere of Japanese life, especially the work of writers. Direct references to past sources in the creative process were considered as important criteria in assessing the value of the work, and for a long time it was an indicator of the author’s level and extensive knowledge. The paper covers the role of literature traditions, the principles of interpretations classical Japanese and Chinese literary sources in the works of a talented representative of Japanese literature of the seventeenthcentury Ihara Saikaku. For this purpose, a selection of the interpreted works of the author and their analysis with a number of classical primary sources of Japanese and Chinese literature has been made. Through the analysis, the principles of redefinition, an innovative interpretation of examples of Japanese and Chinese literature of the past, as well as shifts in the system of artistic representations of that time have been revealed.