The Tale of Genji
Genji Monogatari (源氏物語) is a classic work of Japanese literature written by the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period.
Overview
The Genji, as the work is commonly called by aficionados, was written for the women of the aristocracy (the Yokibito) and 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 happening over a period of time covering the central character's lifetime and beyond. The work does not make use of a plot; instead, much as in real life, events just 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 personae of some four hundred characters. For instance, all characters age in pace and all the family and feudal relationships are consistent among all chapters.
The tale
The work recounts the life of Genji, a son of the Japanese emperor, also known as Hikaru Genji, or the Shining Genji. Neither appellation is his actual name. Genji is simply another way to read the Chinese characters for the real-life Minamoto clan, to which Genji was made to belong. For political reasons, Genji is relegated to commoner status and begins a career as an imperial officer.
The tale concentrates on his romantic life and describes the customs of the aristocratic society of the time. Much is made of Genji's good looks. His most important personality trait is the loyalty he shows to all the women in his life, as he never abandons any of his wives. When he finally becomes the most powerful man in the Capital, he moves into a palace and provides for each of them.
Genji's beloved wife, Murasaki dies. (Note that Murasaki Shikibu, whose real name is unknown, is named after this character, not vice-versa.) In the following chapter, "Maboroshi" or "Illusion", Genji contemplates how fleeting life is. The following chapter begins sometime after Genji's passing and we do not know how he dies.
The rest of the work follows Nioi and Kaoru, who are best friends. Nioi is an imperial prince but secretly Genji's son, while Kaoru is known to the world as Genji's son but is in fact fathered by Genji's nephew. The tale ends abruptly, with Kaoru wondering if the lady he loves also loves him.
Literary context
Because it was written to entertain Japanese court women of the 11th century, the work presents many difficulties to modern readers. First and foremost Murasaki's language, Heian court Japanese, was highly inflected and had very complex grammar. Another problem is that naming people was considered rude in Heian court society, so none of the characters are named within the work; instead, the narrator refers to men often by their rank or their station in life, and to women often by the colour of their clothing, or by the words used at a meeting, or by the rank of a prominent male relative. This results in different appellations for the same character depending on which chapter you are reading.
Another aspect of the language is the importance of using poetry in conversations. Modifying or rephrasing a classic poem according to the current situation was expected behaviour in Heian court life, and often served to communicate thinly veiled allusions. The poems in the Genji are often in the classic Japanese tanka form. Many of the poems were well known to the intended audience, so usually only the first few lines are given and the reader is supposed to complete the thought herself, much like today we could say "a rolling stone..." and leave the rest of the saying unspoken.
As for most Heian literature, the Genji was written entirely in kana (Japanese phonetic script) and not in Chinese characters because it was written by a woman for a female audience. Writing in Chinese characters was at the time a masculine pursuit, women were generally discrete when writing in Chinese, confining themselves mostly to pure Japanese words.
Murasaki was neither the first or the last writer of the Heian period, nor was the Genji the earliest example of a "monogatari". Rather, the Genji stands above other tales of the time much as Shakespeare's plays stand above other Elizabethan drama.
Reading the Genji today
Translations into modern Japanese and other languages solve these problems by modernizing the language, unfortunately losing some of the meaning, and by giving names to the characters, usually the traditional names used by academics. This gives rise to anachronisms; for instance Genji's first wife is named Aoi because she is known as the lady of the Aoi chapter, in which she dies.
Because of the cultural difference, reading an annotated version of the Genji is quite common, even among Japanese. Many works including comics and television dramas are derived from the Tale of Genji. A comic version by Yamato Waki, Asakiyumemishi, is widely read among Japanese youth.
Structure
The novel is traditionally divided in three parts, the first two dealing with the life of Genji, and the last dealing with the early years of two of Genji's prominent descendants, Niou and Kaoru. There are also several short transitional chapters which are usually grouped separately and whose authorship is sometimes questioned.
- Genji's rise and fall
- Youth, chapters 1-33: Love, romance, and exile
- Success and setbacks, chapters 34-41: A taste of power and the death of his beloved wife
- The transition (chapters 42-44): Very short episodes following Genji's death
- Uji, chapters 45-55: Genji's official and secret descendants, Niou and Kaoru
- The Floating Bridge of Dreams, chapter 56: Seems to continue the story from the previous chapters, but has an unusually abstract chapter title.
List of chapters
- 桐壺 Kiritsubo (setting in the Court of Emperor Kiritsubo)
- 帚木 Hahakigi ("The Belvedere")
- 空蝉 Utsusemi ("A Cicada, Empty Within,a Name of the Heroines.")
- 夕顔 Yūgao ("The Moonflower,a Name of the Heroines.")
- 若紫 Wakamurasaki or Waka Murasaki ("Purple Like Lavender")
- 末摘花 Suetsumuhana ("(an Alias of ) The Safflower, a Name of the Heroines. It is a pun; A safflower and red-nose have same pronunciation in Japanese.")
- 紅葉賀 Momiji no Ga ("An Autumn Excursion")
- 花宴 Hana no En ("The Feast of Flowers")
- 葵 Aoi ("Heartvine", used to refer to Genji's first wife)
- 榊 Sakaki ("The Sacred Tree")
- 花散里 Hana Chiru Sato ("The Village Where Flowers Spread Around,a Name of the Heroines.")
- 須磨 Suma (A place of exile for Genji)
- 明石 Akashi (A second place of exile for Genji, Genji's wife from Akashi is known simply as the Akashi Lady)
- 澪標 Miotsukushi ("Buoyancy")
- 蓬生 Yomogiu ("A Land in which the Mugwort has Grown.This meaning is a Wasteland.")
- 関屋 Sekiya ("The Gatehouse")
- 絵合 E Awase ("Picture Contest")
- 松風 Matsukaze ("The Wind from the Pine")
- 薄雲 Usugumo ("A Cloud Too Thin")
- 朝顔 Asagao ("The Morning Glory(As other opinion ,"Asagao" is an archaic word of Chinese Bellflower.)")
- 乙女 Otome ("The Little Girl")
- 玉鬘 Tamakazura ("The Climbing Hydrangea,a Name of the Heroines.")
- 初音 Hatsune ("The First Sound")
- 胡蝶 Kochō("A Butterfly")
- 螢 Hotaru ("Fireflies")
- 常夏 Tokonatsu ("The Pink")
- 篝火 Kagaribi ("The Fire within the Bamboo Basket")
- 野分 Nowaki ("Typhoon")
- 行幸 Miyuki ("Imperial Visit")
- 藤袴 Fujibakama ("The Mistletoe")
- 東屋 Azumaya ("The Arbor")
- 浮舟 Ukifune ("The Floating Ship")
- 蜻蛉 Kagerō ("The Mayfly")
- 手習 Tenarai ("The Scribble")
- 夢の浮橋 Yume no Ukihashi ("The Floating Bridge of Dreams")
See also: Japanese literature
