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Sep 2009
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The Tale of Genji
by Shikibu Murasaki, Japan, (c 1000
This is the first complete new translation for 25 years of the acknowledged masterpiece of Japanese literature. Lady Murasaki's great 11th century novel is a beautifully crafted story of love, betrayal and death at the Imperial Court. At the core of this epic is Prince Genji, the son of an emperor, whose passionate character, love affairs and shifting political fortunes, offer an exquisite glimpse of the golden age of Japan. Royal Tyler's superb new translation is scrupulously true to the Japanese original but appeals immediately to the modern reader. This edition also includes notes, glossaries, character lists and a chronology to enable the reader to appreciate the richness of this classic of world literature.
==
The Tale of Genji
(源氏物語,
Genji Monogatari
?
) is a classic work of
Japanese literature
written by the Japanese noblewoman and
lady-in-waiting
Murasaki Shikibu
in the early years of the 11th century, around the peak of the
Heian period
. It is sometimes called the world's first
novel
, the first
modern novel
, the first
psychological novel
or the first novel still to be considered a classic. Notably, the novel also illustrates a unique depiction of the livelihoods of high
courtiers
during the
Heian period
.
[1]
While universally considered a masterpiece, its precise classification and influence in both Western and Eastern canon has been a matter of debate.
The first partial translation of
Genji Monogatari
into English was by
Suematsu Kenchō
, published in 1882.
Arthur Waley
published a six-volume translation of all but one chapter, with the first volume published in 1921 and the last in 1933.
[2]
In 1976,
Edward Seidensticker
published the first complete translation into English, made using a self-consciously "stricter" approach with regards to content if not form.
[3]
The most recent English translation was published in 2001 by
Royall Tyler
and aims at fidelity in content and form to the original text.
[4]
Introduction
The Tale of Genji
may have been written chapter by chapter in installments, as Murasaki delivered the tale to aristocratic women, (the
yokibito
). It has many elements found in a modern novel: a central character and a very large number of major and minor characters, well-developed characterization of all the major players, a sequence of events covering the central character's lifetime and beyond. The work does not make use of a
plot
; instead, events happen and characters evolve simply by growing older. One remarkable feature of the
Genji
, and of Murasaki's skill, is its internal consistency, despite a
dramatis personæ
of some four hundred characters. For instance, all characters age in step and the family and
feudal
relationships maintain general consistency.
One complication for readers and translators of the
Genji
is that almost none of the characters in the original text are given explicit names. The characters are instead referred to by their function or role (e.g. Minister of the Left), an
honorific
(e.g. His Excellency), or their relation to other characters (e.g. Heir Apparent), which changes as the novel progresses. This lack of names stems from Heian-era court manners that would have made it unacceptably familiar and blunt to freely mention a person's given name. Modern readers and translators have used various nicknames to keep track of the
many characters
.
The Tale of Genji
was written in an archaic court language that was already unreadable a century after it was written.
[5]
Thus, the Japanese have been reading annotated and illustrated versions of the work since as early as the 12th century.
[5]
It wasn't until the early 20th century that
Genji
was translated into modern Japanese, by the poet
Akiko Yosano
.
[6]
[
edit
] Authorship
The debate over how much of
Genji
was actually written by
Murasaki Shikibu
has gone on for centuries and is unlikely to ever be settled unless some major archival discovery is made. It is generally accepted that the tale was finished in its present form by 1021, when the author of the
Sarashina Nikki
wrote a diary entry about her joy at acquiring a complete copy of the tale. She writes that there are over 50 chapters and mentions a character introduced at the end of the work, so if other authors besides Murasaki Shikibu did work on the tale, the work was done very near to the time of her writing.
Murasaki Shikibu's own diary
includes a reference to the tale, and indeed the application to herself of the name 'Murasaki' in an allusion to the main female character. That entry confirms that some if not all of the diary was available in 1008 when internal evidence suggests convincingly that the entry was written.
[7]
Lady Murasaki is said to have written the character of Genji based on the Minister on the Left at the time she was at court. Other translators, such as Tyler believe the character Murasaki no Ue, whom Genji marries, is based on Murasaki Shikibu herself.
Yosano Akiko
, the first author to make a modern Japanese translation of
Genji
, believed that Murasaki Shikibu had only written chapters 1 to 33, and that chapters 35 to 54 were written by her daughter Daini no Sanmi.
[4]
Other scholars have also doubted the authorship of chapters 42 to 54 (particularly 44, which contains rare examples of continuity mistakes).
[4]
According to
Royall Tyler
's introduction to his English translation of the work, recent computer analysis has turned up "statistically significant" discrepancies of style between chapters 45–54 and the rest, and also among the early chapters.
[4]
Plot
Ch. 15 – 蓬生
Yomogiu
("Waste of Weeds"). Scene from the 12th century illustrated handscroll
Genji Monogatari Emaki
kept at the Tokugawa Art Museum.
Ch. 16 – 関屋
Sekiya
("At The Pass"). Tokugawa Art Museum’s Genji Monogatari Emaki.
Ch. 37 – 横笛
Yokobue
("Flute"). Tokugawa Art Museum’s Genji Monogatari Emaki.
Ch. 39 – 夕霧
Yūgiri
("Evening Mist"). 12th century Gotoh Museum handscroll Genji Monogatari Emaki.
Ch. 48 – 早蕨
Sawarabi
("Bracken Shoots"). Tokugawa Art Museum’s handscroll Genji Monogatari Emaki.
Ch. 48 – 宿り木
Yadorigi
("Ivy"). Tokugawa Art Museum’s Genji Monogatari Emaki.
The work recounts the life of a son of the
Japanese emperor
, known to readers as
Hikaru Genji
, or "Shining Genji". For political reasons, Genji is relegated to commoner status (by being given the surname Minamoto) and begins a career as an imperial officer. The tale concentrates on Genji's romantic life and describes the customs of the aristocratic society of the time. Much is made of Genji's good looks.
Genji was the second son of a certain ancient emperor ("
Emperor Kiritsubo
") and a low-ranking but beloved concubine (known to the readers as Lady Kiritsubo). Genji's mother dies when he is three years old, and the Emperor cannot forget her. The Emperor Kiritsubo then hears of a woman ("
Lady Fujitsubo
"), formerly a princess of the preceding emperor, who resembles his deceased concubine, and later she becomes one of his wives. Genji loves her first as a stepmother, but later as a woman. They fall in love with each other, but it is forbidden. Genji is frustrated because of his forbidden love for the Lady Fujitsubo and is on bad terms with his wife (
Aoi no Ue
). He also engages in a series of unfulfilling love affairs with other women. In most cases, his advances are rebuffed, his lover dies suddenly during the affair, or he finds his lover to be dull and his feelings change. In one case, he sees a beautiful young woman through an open window, enters her room without permission, and proceeds to seduce her. Recognizing him as a man of unchallengeable power, she makes no resistance.
Genji visits Kitayama, the northern rural hilly area of Kyoto, where he finds a beautiful ten-year-old girl. He is fascinated by this little girl ("
Murasaki
"), and discovers that she is a niece of the Lady Fujitsubo. Finally he kidnaps her, brings her to his own palace and educates her to be his ideal lady; that is, like the Lady Fujitsubo. During this time Genji also meets the Lady Fujitsubo secretly, and she bears his son, Reizei. Everyone except the two lovers believes the father of the child is the Emperor Kiritsubo. Later, the boy becomes the
Crown Prince
and Lady Fujitsubo becomes the Empress, but Genji and Lady Fujitsubo swear to keep their secret.
Genji and his wife, Lady Aoi, reconcile and she gives birth to a son but dies soon after. Genji is sorrowful, but finds consolation in Murasaki, whom he marries. Genji's father, the Emperor Kiritsubo, dies. He is succeeded by his son Suzaku, whose mother ("Kokiden"), together with Kiritsubo's political enemies (including the "Minister of the Right") takes power in the court. Then another of Genji's secret love affairs is exposed: Genji and a concubine of the Emperor Suzaku, Genji's brother, are discovered when they meet in secret. The Emperor Suzaku confides his personal amusement at Genji's exploits with the woman ("Oborozukiyo"), but is duty-bound to punish his half-brother. Genji is thus exiled to the town of
Suma
in rural
Harima province
(now part of
Kobe
in
Hyōgo Prefecture
). There, a prosperous man known as the Akashi Novice (because he is from
Akashi
in
Settsu province
) entertains Genji, and Genji has a love affair with Akashi's daughter. She gives birth to Genji's only daughter, who will later become the Empress.
In the Capital, the Emperor Suzaku is troubled by dreams of his late father, Kiritsubo, and something begins to affect his eyes. Meanwhile, his mother, Kokiden, grows ill, which weakens her powerful sway over the throne. Thus the Emperor orders Genji pardoned, and he returns to Kyoto. His son by Lady Fujitsubo, Reizei, becomes the emperor, and Genji finishes his imperial career. The new Emperor Reizei knows Genji is his real father, and raises Genji's rank to the highest possible.
However, when Genji turns 40 years old, his life begins to decline. His political status does not change, but his love and emotional life are slowly damaged. He marries another wife, the "Third Princess" (known as
Onna san no miya
in the Seidensticker version, or
Nyōsan
in Waley's). Genji's nephew, Kashiwagi, later forces himself on the "Third Princess" and she bears Kaoru (who, in a similar situation to that of Reizei, is legally known as the son of Genji). Genji's new marriage changes his relationship with Murasaki, who becomes a nun (
bikuni
).
Genji's beloved Murasaki dies. In the following chapter,
Maboroshi
("Illusion"), Genji contemplates how fleeting life is. Immediately after
Maboroshi
, there is a chapter entitled
Kumogakure
("Vanished into the Clouds") which is left blank, but implies the death of Genji.
The rest of the work is known as the "Uji Chapters". These chapters follow Kaoru and his best friend, Niou. Niou is an imperial prince, the son of Genji's daughter, the current Empress now that Reizei has abdicated the throne, while Kaoru is known to the world as Genji's son but is in fact fathered by Genji's nephew. The chapters involve Kaoru and Niou's rivalry over several daughters of an imperial prince who lives in
Uji
, a place some distance away from the capital. The tale ends abruptly, with Kaoru wondering if the lady he loves is being hidden away by Niou. Kaoru has sometimes been called the first
anti-hero
in literature.
[8
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