Prelude: cohesion and coherence

Although we study organizational principles, as in other languages, not all Japanese written texts strictly follow them. Some writings (e.g., formal letters, newspaper reports, and academic theses) follow organizational principles more closely than creative writings (e.g., novelistic writings, advertising copy and poetic texts). Many options are available to writers, and the end result is often a combination of various discourse schemes. Despite this complexity, knowing basic organizational principles is useful for identifying overall internal structures of discourse. For example, one maybe able to predict the kind of information appearing in different parts of discourse.

I am not claiming that all the readings the reader will be exposed to can be explained in terms of the discourse organizational principles we will be studying. Creativity and conformity, both important ingredients, go hand-in-hand in writing. Although creativity often calls on surprises, surprises are surprises because we know the ordinary and the expected. I am saying, therefore, that learning conventional and prescribed principles of Japanese discourse is useful in the end.

Important in understanding Japanese beyond the sentence is that Japanese writings in certain genres, especially short essays, follow the organizational principle called ki-shoo-ten-ketsu. Under the ki-shoo-ten-ketsu organization, the writer presents the conclusion toward the end in somewhat roundabout ways. Generally, a reversal in the form of a surprise turn occurs immediately before the conclusion. It is also important to understand how text is first divided into segments – such as paragraphs (or danraku in Japanese) – and is then reconnected to form a coherent and meaningful whole.