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An Introduction to Classical Japanese

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This textbook approaches classical Japanese from a structural standpoint, concentrating heavily on grammar and linguistic rigor. It basically consists of grammatical topics such as verb conjugations and inflecting suffixes accompanied by example sentences. Broadly speaking, this book is useful to anyone wishing to read premodern Japanese, from the intractible pages of the Kojiki to Edo period haiku. Still, as expected, the sense one gets is that the book prepares students for reading mostly Heian and Kamakura period writing. Overall, the grammar-centered approach is rather dry if you want to learn classical Japanese through flowing, ebullient Heian prose, though there are some short excerpt sentences from famous texts used to elucidate certain points of grammar. Yet a strong foundation in syntactic structure is probably the most critical element in attaining proficiency in any language; this textbook, along with McCullough's famous 'Bungo Manual', constitutes a valuable reference for any student of Japanese literature, language, or history. It is accessable to students with a good grasp of elementary modern Japanese encountered in standard third and fourth year undergraduate classes.