Abstract
In this study, I conducted a stylistic typology of literary works from the Heian–Kamakura period based on the properties of sentence predicates using a multivariate analysis (correspondence analysis and cluster analysis). As a result, I found that the style of Heian–Kamakura period literature can be divided into the following four types: a. wabun (native-style) stories and diaries; b. kanbun kundoku (vernacular reading of Literary Sinitic)-inspired stories and diaries; c. travelogues and waka anthologies; and d. travelogues and waka anthologies with strong stylistic features. I also demonstrated that the opposition of wa (native elements) versus kan (Literary Sinitic elements) was the largest contributor to vocabulary selection, followed by genre-related style, and that predicates of the wabun stories and diaries-style are much more diverse than those of the other styles. It was also revealed that stylistic differences may be observed across large numbers of vocabulary and not just among so-called ‘wabun-exclusive’ or ‘kanbun kundoku-exclusive’ vocabulary.
