As 201 Genji monogatari (源氏物語)
We can also identify the following
"Themes" in the Tale of Genji
Early commentators on the Genji interpreted it as a Buddhist moral parable, in which Genji’s lust is ultimately punished by the ghost of the Rokujō Lady and by his being cuckolded by another man.
However, for the last few centuries, the most common Japanese view has been that Genji must be appreciated for his breathtaking aesthetic qualities rather than morally judged.
In addition, for all the moral and aesthetic issues that it raises, the plot of the novel is driven to a surprising extent by court politics.
Keep in mind these ethical, aesthetic, and political aspects of the novel below as you read.
I. Ethics (Buddhist)
A. attachment: According to Buddhism, the
primary source of human wrongdoing and suffering is selfish attachment to the transitory people and things of this world.
B. Karma
1. Technically, “karma” refers to the inescapable cosmic law.
2. “Karma” refers especially to the law that good (unattached) actions have good consequences, while bad (attached) actions have bad consequences.
C. Fate and rebirth
1. The karmic consequences of one’s actions will often be evident in this life, but may also appear when one is reborn in a later life.
2. Consequently, when bad things happen to good people, it is often attributed to a “fate” caused by actions in a previous life.
D. “Grudge” onryō (怨霊)
1. One form that karmic consequences manifest themselves is a “grudge.”
2. A “grudge” or “vengeful spirit” is typically a woman who was wronged during her life and who comes back to seek revenge after death.
3. The Rokujō Lady is the “grudge” in Genji; as her example illustrates, the source of the “grudge” need not be dead, and the direct target of her actions need not be the man who wronged her.
4.This concept has deep roots in Japanese popular religion and folklore; the Japanese horror films The Ring (Ringuリング) and The Grudge (Ju-on呪怨) are both inspired by it.
II. Aesthetics
A. Miyabi (雅)
1. “Miyabi” might be translated “ courtly refinement,” and refers to graceful skill at performing and appreciating the aesthetic activities of the Heian court:
i. performing and appreciating music (particularly with the koto箏, a sort of zither derived from the Chinese zhēng)
ii. composing and appreciating poetry (particularly in the waka poetic form, but intimate familiarity with Chinese poetic models is also assumed; any poem is expected to make learned allusions to other poems and stories)
iii. writing and appreciating calligraphy (an old Chinese saying goes, “a person’s handwriting reflects his character,” 字如其人, a principle the Heian Japanese accepted)
iv. producing and appreciating painting (particularly ink painting, rather than the color painting favored in Europe)
v. performing and appreciating ritual dances
2. If miyabi seems like a shallow value, consider Oscar Wilde’s statement: “It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.”
B. Mono no aware(物の哀れ)
1. “Mono no aware” literally means “the sadness or the pathos of things.”
2. It refers to the ability to appreciate and be moved by the sad beauty things have because of their transient nature.
3. An example of this might be crying at your high school graduation: you are happy but also sad, because you are conscious of this moment as indicating a change you can never undo.
III. Politics
A. Royal vs. Ministerial power
1. The Heian era is a transition between the Nara period (710-794), when the emperor had considerable individual power, and all later periods (beginning with the Kamakura, 1185-1333), in which the emperor was solely a figurehead.
2. Standing emperors were under immense social pressure to conform to the wishes of their older relatives. (This is grounded to some extent in the Confucian value of filial piety.)
3. Consequently, influential families at court vied to marry their daughters to the emperor, and thereby get one of their descendants on the throne.
4. As we see from the sad example of Genji’s mother (Chapter 1), having influential support at court (and not just from the emperor) is necessary for success in life.
5. Heian emperors are still sometimes able to assert their own will, though, as when the Suzaku emperor recalls Genji from exile, against the wishes of his consort, the Kokiden Lady.
B. Ministerial factions
1. The two major factions in The Tale of Genji are those of the Minister of the Left and the Minister of the Right. (The titles are traditional Chinese ones.)
2. The Minister of the Left leads the faction Genji belongs to; the Minister of the Right leads the faction that opposes Genji.
3. Genji goes into exile (Chapter 12: Suma) in part because he is discovered in flagrante delicto (i.e., caught rught in the middle of the act!!) with the daughter of the Minister of the Right, Oborozukiyo, but this would have been considered a minor indiscretion had it not been exploited by his political opponents.
4. Seemingly inconsequential events (such as the “Picture Contest” of Chapter 17) are opportunities to achieve greater influence at court that are hotly contested by the two factions.
Instructions