Some Notes On
Nonomiya Ki = An Account of the Shrine in the Fields
As a place where young women went for purification, it reflects the influence
of an ancient shamanistic tradition in Japan.
Today, the shrine is a scene of "dreary abandonment."
My own interest in the spot, indeed, derives not from its historical significance
but
from the intense sympathy I feel for the character of the Rokujô lady in
the Tale of Genji.
She is dismissed in recent scholarship as a mere villain like the Kokiden
Lady (mother of the Crown Prince and architect of Genji's fall from grace and
exile). But Mieko thinks that the role she plays is much more significant than
that. She has an enormous influence over Genji and it is essentially shamanistic
influence.
The Rokujô Lady, or Haven, was very finely bred and wonderfully refined. She was married the Crown Prince, the
younger brother of Genji’s father. But he decided to step down from his
position thus denying her the role she was due. He then died, leaving her pride
deeply wounded. This pride prevented her from accepting her role as a 2nd or 3rd concubine.
But, she had superb gifts as a writer, poet, calligrapher, with unrivaled taste
in music and fashion. She seemed doomed to pass the remainder of her life in
a dim twilight; but enter the bright light of Hikaru Genji into her world. In
her cool dignity and reserve, and her age, she resembled Fujitsubo, so Genji
fell for her. But unlike Fujitsubo, the Rokujô Lady could not surrender her lively intensity
to any man. Over time, his ardor for her cooled asnd he ceased pursuing her. Again, she was hurt.
Mieko believes that the typical portrayal of her as someone whose passions turned
her into a living ghost is a Buddhist overlay. She sees Lady Murasaki as actually
sympathetic to her. She had an intense ego that men could not diminish or control.
Unconscious spirit possession was the only available outlet for her strong will.
Genji is tolerant of her because he knows that this spirit possession could
actually be his own fault, the work of his guilty conscience, or the devil in his own heart!
In the essay, the Rokujô Lady is likened to a Ryô no onna, i.e., someone who
chafes at the prospect of submitting her ego to a man’s will.
Sometimes, the RL is able to channel her powerful ego into lyrical expression
at times and stave off the spirit possession outlet—which is what the Akashi
Lady represents in the Genji. Able to find outlets for her strength and
creative enrgies in literary expression, she is spared the psychic ordeals of
the RL and therefore basks in Genji’s affection.
Unlike the Rokujô Lady, the Akashi Lady is endowed with a sufficiently keen
intellect and enough common sense to avoid squandering her mental energy
in spirit possession, turning instead to literary expression as the ideal
means of exercising her powers.
Akikonomu—RL’s daughter—and Akashi Lady, both strong women who
win Genji’s favor, express different facets of the RL—and illustrate
how Genji favors strong women. We know that Murasaki did not really regard shamanism
very highly—she was too modern—yet she was able to combine ego suppression
with ancient female shamanism, depicting both in opposition to men.
Shamanism has withered today but it may remain as a partial explanation of women’s
power over men. "It is a stream of blood flowing on and on, unbroken, from
generation to generation. "
Just as there is an archetype of woman as the object of man’s eternal
love, so there must be an archetype of her as the object of his eternal
fear, representing, perhaps, the shadow of his own evil actions. The Rokujô Lady is an embodiment of this archetype.
Mieko seemed to view RL as a loyal sister; perhaps her essay, An Account
of the Shrine in the Fields, is an excuse to write about her own psychic
powers. Is it true that women are such creatures of revenge?