LADY MURASAKI'S THE TALE OF GENJI or GENJI MONOGATARI
The Tale of Genji written about 1000 A.D. by Lady Murasaki Shikibu may
be described as many things such as the world's first great novel, a detailed
semi? historical account of court life in Heian Japan, a highly complicated yet
subtle psychological drama, a societal comment/criticism of refined court life.
All of these descriptions pay tribute to the literary skill of Lady Murasaki.
Who was this exceptional woman and how did she acquire her exceptional skills
despite being reared in a time when women were not encouraged to educate themselves
beyond what was necessary for a genteel lady of the aristocracy?
Section I
Lady Murasaki Shikibu was born in 978 A.D. (although possibly as early as 973).
She was the daughter of Fujiwara Tametoki, a member of a minor branch of the
powerful family and a scholar of Chinese, assigned to the Board of Rites (Puette
50). Half of her name comes from the office her father held (Shikibu), and she
was dubbed Murasaki after the character in her book by a lady of the court.
Because of his own studies, Lady Murasaki's father wanted his son to be an accomplished
Chinese scholar. Lady Murasaki often attended her brother's lessons and was
such a quick learner that she often outshone her brother (Waley vii). Because
she was a female and therefore expected to content herself with the newly developed
phonetic syllabaries, her father would not allow her to have formal lessons. However
as her father was such an accomplished scholar, she could not help but be passively
educated while with him. Eventually, because her knowledge was so far greater
than what was proper for a woman to know, she was forced to conceal her abilities
(Waley vii).
Lady Murasaki spent several years with her father while he was the governor
of Echizen province. Then, in her late teens she was married to her kinsman
Fujiwara no Nobutaka, a lieutenant in the Imperial Guard. The marriage was a
happy one, producing one daughter, but Nobutaka died during a plague in 1001
(Bowring 4).
Eventually, her father arranged for her to become an attendant
on the Empress Akiko, who appreciated Murasaki's more subdued and serious nature.
She secretly tutored the Empress in Chinese (even though it was improper) and
read Chinese poetry to her (Waley ix).
While at court she kept a detailed diary
in which she entered not only her own thoughts, but also descriptions of the
court around her, the way the ladies dressed, the characters of the ladies,
as well as stories about various parties, festivals, ceremonies and scandals.
The story is that around 1003, Lady Murasaki began work on The Tale of Genji when she was asked
by the Empress to come up with something more entertaining than the regular
storiesor "monogatari" that were so well known they had become boring (Puette 51).
Lady Murasaki was well known at the court as a poetess. However, even though
she was well known, she was not very popular. In her diary she admits that she
was often critical of the conduct of the members of the court, making those
around her think she was a prude (Waley xv). She preferred to be alone feeling
that sorrow over so many deaths in her family (her husband, her mother and sister)
bade her do so. Members of the court thought her too severe and spiteful and
that her solitary nature meant that she was too proud and unsociable (Puette
53).
Lady Murasaki's diary stops in 1010. After this date nothing is known except
that her name still appeared on a list of those waiting on Empress Akiko in
1025, and that it is missing on the list made in 1031 (Bowring 5).
Section II
The Tale of Genji tells the story of the the life of a man, a courtier, the son of the Emperor by his
favorite consort, and his many escapades. In order to protect him since he has
no backing at court, the Emperor makes the boy a "commoner" by granting him the surname, Genji. So, he becomes a member of a non-royal
clan, meaning that he cannot become Emperor and thus is not a threat to anyone. Specifically, the group centered around the Minister of the Right, whose daughter, the Kokiden Consort, was the mother of the Emperor's older son, who was likely to be the Heir Apparent or Crown Prince until Genji's birth spreads some doubt and uncertainty because he is so beautiful and talented.
As Genji grows and continues to become the most handsome, charming and talented person at court;
he is even dubbed "the Shining One." The story continues through Genji's
life, telling of his health, wealth and fortune concerning three wives and innumerable
mistresses (including the consorts of two Emperors). Some of these women are
members of the court. Others are those he met while on his travels. After Genji's
death the story is continued with the next generation.
A poem from the Tale of Genji:
Just as the Ise Monogatari before it, the Genji is full of "embedded" poems, and their meaning is often highlighted by the events and characters they refer to.
The poem below is from Chapter 4, "Yugao," in which Prince Genji has a brief love affair with a young girl, known as Yugao. But there is another lady, with whom Genji had an affair, and she remains deeply in love with Genji. Unbeknownst to herself, at night her sprit travels and attacks rivals that this woman, the Rokujo Haven, hates. Yes, at that time people believed that hatred can kill people!
After the funeral of Yugao, Genji is looking at the smoke from the pyre, and he recites this poem (Helen McCullough's Translation):
The evening sky itself
becomes something to cherish
when I gaze at it,
seeing in one of the clouds
the smoke from her funeral pyre
It also is important to know that Yugao's name means "Twilight Beauty." Therefore, Genji's reference to "being deeply intimate with the evening sky" refers to the love he shared with Yugao.
The poem in classical Japanese:
見し人の
煙を雲と
眺むれば
夕べの空も
むつましきかな
mishi hito no
keburi o kumo to
nagamureba
yuube no sora mo
mutsumashiki ka na
mishi is the rentaikei of miki, which is the past of miru, to see. The rentaikei form is used when a verb is set before a noun as an adjective. In modern Japanese, we would say mita hito, the person seen. In this case it means "beloved person."
mutsumashiki would be mutsumaji in modern Japanese. It meams "intimate, harmonious."
NOTE: Royall Tyler translates the poem slightly differently (see p. 82):
When the clouds to me always seem to be
the smoke that rose from her pyre,
how fondly I rest my gaze
even on the evening sky.
In both cases, the smoke from her funeral pyre is equated with the clouds visible in the evening sky and when the poet gazes upon them, memories of the young woman, her untimely death and her hasty cremation, come flooding back to him. Pain and loss are inseparable from this sight which comes before his eyes and sparks memories.
***
The Tale of Genji itself is a very intricate and detailed description
of court life in Heian Japan. It was only meant to be entertainment for the
courtiers, as few outside the court would be capable of reading at all. In fact,
many of the characters in the novel were based on members of the court around
her that would have been easily recognizable, thus making the criticism particularly
biting.
Lady Murasaki wrote the work over many years (possibly as many as twenty)
eventually accumulating 54 "maki" or chapters. Originally each chapter
was bound separately and then passed around the court to be read and copied
with little attention being paid as to whether the chapters were being read
chronologically. There is still a great deal of debate about when Lady Murasaki
actually began writing The Tale of Genji, whether it was before or after
she became an attendant to the Empress Akiko. And while it is agreed that it
took years to write, there is still argument about when and actually whether
it is was finished. Some believe the last chapter is abruptly ended on purpose,
others that Lady Murasaki intended to continue the story but never had the chance.
The outstanding features of the Tale of Genji are the author's detailed descriptions and her moving dialogue, in the course of which, she reveals the inner workings of the minds of her main characters. No one was doing this anywhere else in the world at the time!
An interesting observation:
The Genji may always seem indescribably exotic to us, because of what the characters do and the world they live in, but it also seems familiar because the details of their relationships - jealousy, frustration, desire, gossip, anxiety, rivalry, intimacy, good fellowship - are utterly understandable. There is nothing even remotely primitive about it. If anything, the level of luxury and convenience depicted, as well as the complexity of daily life, with all its errands and responsibilities and conflicting demands, seem almost modern. (Adapted from Jane Smiley)
Despite her society's feelings that women
were to remain "femininely" ignorant, Lady Murasaki educated herself, and she rose to become a poetess of some note among the court and in so doing made
herself remembered far beyond her own time.
Even though many refer to the Genji a "novel," technically, this would be a misnomer because novels did not come into existence until much later--the late 1600s--and in England, very far away from Japan. So, the author had no model with which to work in the year 1000, no form or genre to which she may have conformed.
In this sense, it is very original and presents characters who think and feel in ways that feel familiar to us, giving it a certain "modern" feel. Yet it is much more than that: the prose is beautiful, filled with atmospherics and poetic allusions, while the situations and emotions depicted are realistic and compelling. An unusual and compelling combo!
WORKS CITED
Bowring, Richard. Murasaki Shikibu: The Tale of Genji. Cambridge University
Press. Cambridge, England. 1988.
Puette, William J. Guide to the Tale of Genji. Charles E. Tuttle Company,
inc. Tokyo, Japan. 1983.
Waley, Arthur, Ed., The Tale of Genji: A Novel in Six Parts by Lady Murasaki.
George Allen & Unwin Ltd. London, England. 1973.