Philippine Literature

under the

Japanese Period
 WEEK 10
LESSON 10
 At the end of this lesson, you should
have been able to:

JOTTING DOWN 1.sensibly familiarize on the Philippine literary

TARGETS forms written during the Japanese literature;

2. knowledgeably describe the social conditions of

the Filipinos under the Japanese colonization as
revealed in the literary texts;

3. critically analyze and interpret the short

story, EARLY HARVEST using the elements of
fiction; and

4. substantially write a reflection paper

regarding Bienvenido Santos' portrayal of the
Filipinos' struggles during the Japanese
Occupation.
 INTRODUCTION
Hi, Guys!
What happened to our Philippine
Literature under the Japanese period?
Do you think our Filipino writers
were able to write freely?

How did the Japanese colonizers

influence our Philippine literature
in terms of language? Did they allow
Filipino writers use English in
writing their literary texts?

Let's try to find out what history provides!

 PROCESSING THE MATTER
Historical
Background
Between 1941-1945, Philippine Literature was
interrupted in its development when the
Philippines was again conquered by another
foreign country, Japan.

Philippine literature in English including

almost all newspapers in English except for the
TRIBUNE and the PHILIPPINE REVIEW were stopped
by the Japanese.
 PROCESSING THE MATTER
Historical
Background

Since writing in English was severely limited and

often forbidden altogether, it had an advantageous
effect on Filipino Literature.

Writers in English turned to writing in Filipino

because of the strict prohibitions of the Japanese
regarding any writing in English.
 The weekly LIWAYWAY was placed under
strict surveillance until it was
managed by a Japanese named Ishiwara.

In other words, Filipino literature was

given a break during this period. Many
wrote plays, poems, short stories, etc.
Topics and themes were often about life
in the provinces.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Historical
Background

Furthermore, there was no freedom of

speech or press, and censorship was
widely practiced.

During WWII, Filipinos were forced to

learn Japanese, so the Tagalog language
began to incorporate Japanese slang and
idioms in its vocabulary and literature.
TAGALOG
POETRY
DURING THIS
PERIOD
The common theme of most poems
during the Japanese occupation was
nationalism, country, love, life in the
barrios, faith, religion and the arts.
Three types of poems EXAMPLES
emerged during this
period Tutubi
by Gonzalo K. Flores

HAIKU Hila mo'y tabak ...

Ang bulaklak nanginig
A poem of free verse that the Japanese Sa paglapit mo.
liked. it was made up of 17 syllables
Dragonfly
divided into three lines. The first line had 5
syllables, the second, 7 syllables, the You're pulling a saber
third, had 5. The Haiku s allegorical in The flowers shivered
meaning, is short and covers a wide scope When you approached.
in meaning.
EXAMPLES OF HAIKU

Anyaya Invitation
by Gonzalo K. Flores

Lonely grass
Ulilang damo
By the quiet river
Sa tahimik na ilog
Come, love.
Halika, sinta.
 TANAGA Palay
- like the HAIKU, it is short but it had He's a behaved palay
measure and rhyme. Each line had 17 Who bowed when the wind blew
syllables and is also allegorical in But stood up again
meaning. And bore gold.
Kabibi
Tanaga ni Ildefonso Santos Kabibi ano ka ba?
Liwayway, Okt. 10, 1943
May perlas maganda ka
Palay Kung idiit sa tainga
Nagbubuntunghininga.
Palay, siyang matino
Nang humangi'y yumuko
Shell
Shell, hay!
Ngunit muling tumayo,
You're a beautiful pearl
Nagkabunga ng ginto
If you press to the ears
You sigh.
 KARANIWANG ANYO
(USUAL FORM) Progress
Examples of the Haiku and the Usual HYou chill comrade dragonfly
Forms then please you
out a tiger in your tongue
HAIKUS
By Rodolfo S. Rosales
Justice
Beauty
Flip a coin: crown or king.
A win unseen, a sound unheard:
Coin, neither crown nor king,
a broken guitar...
"Not guilty!"
bones and skulls
 TAGALOG DRAMA
DURING THE JAPANESE
PERIOD
 TAGALOG DRAMA DURING THE JAPANESE PERIOD

The drama experienced a lull during the Japanese period because

movie houses showing American films were closed. The big movie houses
were just made to show stage shows. Many of the plays were
reproductions of English plays to Tagalog. The translators were Francisco
Soc Rodrigo, Alberto Concio, and Narciso Pimentel They also founded the
organization of Filipino players named Dramatic Philippines. A few of the
playwriters were:

1. Jose Ma. Hernandez wrote PANDAY PIRA

2. Francisco Soc Rodrigo wrote sa PULA, SA PUTI
3. Clodualdo del Mundo wrote BULAGA (an expression in the game of Hide
and Seek)
4. Julian Cruz Balmaceda wrote SINO BA KAYO? DAHIL SA ANAK, and
HIGANTE NG PARAY
THE TAGALOG
SHORT STORY
 The field of the short story widened during
the Japanese Occupation. Many wrote short
stories. Among them were: Brigido
Batungbakal, Macario Pineda, Serafin
Guinigundo, Liwayway Arceo, Narciso Ramos,
NVM Gonzales, Alicia Lopez Lim, Ligaya Perez,
Gloria Guzman, etc.
 The best writings in 1945 was selected by a group of judges
composed of Francisco Icasiano, Jose Esperanza Cruz, Antonio
Rosales, Clodualdo del Mundo and Teodoro Santos. As a result of this
selection, the following got the first three prizes:

Frist Prize: Narciso Reyes with his LUPANG TINUBUAN

Second Prize: Liwayway Arceo's UHAW ANG TIGANG NA LUPA

Third Prize: NVM Gonzales' LUNSOD NAYON AT DAGAT-DAGATAN

PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
IN ENGLISH
Because of the strict
prohibition imposed by the
Japanese in the writing and
publishing of works in
English, Philippine literature
in English experienced a
dark period. Those few who
dared to write did so for
their bread and butter or for
propaganda.
Writings that came out
during this period were
journalistic in nature and
what literary output there
was hardly negligible.
Writers felt suppressed but
slowly, the spirit of
nationalism started to seep
into their counsciousness.
PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
IN ENGLISH
Noteworthy writer of the
Journalists include
period was Carlos P. Romulo
SalvadorP. Lopez, Leon Ma.
who won the Pulitzer Prize
Guerrero, Raul Manglapuz
for his bestsellers:
and Carlos Bulosan.
a. I Saw the Fall of the
Nick Joaquin produced The
Philippines
Woman Who Looked Like
b. I See the Philippines Rise
Lazarus.
c. My Mother America and
My Brother Americans.
 Literary Text for
Study

EARLY HARVEST
By Bienvenido Santos
Summing Things Up
The Empire of Japan Conquered the Philippines.

The Japanese banned most English newspapers.

There was minimal freedom of speech and of the press.

The Japanese censored FILIPINO WRITERS' WORKS STRICTLY.

Theatres were used to show English plays translated into Filipino.

Many writers wrote short stories in Tagalog.

Notable Filipino writers in Short Stories, Poety, and Drama received

recognition.
Thank You