| Written during the Heian Period at the beginning of
the 11th century by Murasaki Shikibu,"The Tale of Genji" is the best
known example of Heian women's literature.
The author, Murasaki Shikibu, was born around the year 973
(Ten'en 1), the daughter of Fujiwara Tametoki, a nobleman of middle
rank. Her real name is unknown, and it is thought that the name
Murasaki Shikibu is taken from "The Lady Murasaki," one of the
female protagonists in "The Tale of Genji." Murasaki Shikibu married
Fujiwara Nobutaka in 998, and had one daughter by him, Daini no
Sanmi. Her husband died three years later. It was most probably
around this time that she began work on the "The Tale of Genji." In
or around 1005 (Kanko 2), she began service for Empress Akiko, who
was the daughter of Fujiwara Michinaga and wife of Emperor Ichijo.
The journals she kept during this period reveal much about the life
of a courtesan, as well as such details as the fact that her
nickname was "the Library of Japanese History," thanks to her
knowledge of Chinese writing, at that time required of all men of
birth.
This tale is told in the voice of a lady at court, who is herself
a character in the novel, seeing and hearing the events she narrates
firsthand. It is thought that one reason it is narrated in this
manner is because it was the custom at the time for
ladies-in-waiting to recite tales to their mistresses, looking at
picture scrolls. Of course, this story was not only read aloud, but
was also enjoyed alone, or as an example for calligraphy study.
The story is thought to be set several decades before the novel
was actually written, in the Engi and Tenryaku Periods, making it
historical novel even for its own time. Nevertheless, despite
including several historical incidents, it is a fictional account of
a unique story. Its plot development was one popular at the time,
borrowing much from the "Taketori Monogatari" and "Ise Monogatari"
tales, other well-known works at the time. The work contains 795
poems, using the "hikiuta" technique of quoting one line from an
older poem and then building on it. The characters' conversations
and emotions are described skillfully, and their psychological side
is studied in depth.
The "The Tale of Genji" was very popular in its own time, evidenced
by the fact that the author of the "Sarashina Diary" was very
fond of it. This popularity meant that its influence on later
tales, art, and Noh chants was very large. The "Tale of Genji
Picture Scroll" (which can be found on the ¥2000 bill) comes
from the late Heian Period, and is highly valued for its deft
interpretation of the story. The novel has a long traditional
of scholastic study as an example of poetic technique, with the
renowned Edo Period scholar Motoori Norinaga famously praising
the "comb" poem in the "New Herbs (Part One)" chapter as having
a particularly Japanese kind of pathos. ("I fear these combs are
scarred and worn/I have used them to summon back an ancient day.")
Since the Meiji Period, "The Tale of Genji" has been translated
into modern Japanese by many famous writers, including Yosano Akiko,
Tanizaki Jun'ichiro, Enji Fumiko, and Setouchi Jakucho.
Popularizations such as Tanabe Seiko's abridged translation,
Hashimoto Osamu's "Yohen Genji Monogatari," retelling the story as a
confessional from Genji's point of view, and Yamato Kazunori's
comic-book version, "And no more shallow dreams" have been
well-received. Translations into foreign languages have helped
introduce the work abroad, with translations into German, French,
Korean, Chinese, and two into English, one by Arthur Waley, and one
by Edward G. Seidensticker.
The novel is generally divided into 54 chapters and three parts.
- Part One -
From "The Paulownia Court" to "Wisteria Leaves"
(33 chapters)
The story of Genji's rise to glory
- Part Two -
From "New Herbs (Part One)" to "The Wizard" (8
chapters)
The story of Genji's later years, full of nostalgia
- Part Three -
From "His Perfumed Highness" to "The Floating
Bridge of Dreams" (13 chapters)
The story of Kaoru and Niou,
the generation after Genji's death
The final ten chapters (from "The Lady at the Bridge" to "The
Floating Bridge of Dreams") are often grouped together and known as
the "Uji Chapters."
A courtesan to the Kiritsubo Emperor becomes the object of his
affections, despite their difference in rank. She bears him his
second prince, and is therefore hated by Kokiden, daughter of the
Minister of the Right and mother of the first prince. She eventually
dies. The Kiritsubo Emperor worries about the future of the
magnificently beautiful second prince, who has no powerful family
backing, and so gives him the last name "Minamoto" and makes him a
vassal. This is Shining Genji. Genji is forced into a marriage of
convenience with Aoi, the daughter of the Minister of the Left, but
is never at ease with her. He falls in love with the one of the
Kiritsubo Emperor's concubines, Fujitsubo, the spitting image of his
own dead mother. The two eventually begin meeting secretly, and a
baby boy is born. The child's parentage is kept secret, and he
becomes the tenth prince to the Kiritsubo Emperor, eventually
ascending to the throne himself. Thus Genji, despite having at one
point moved away from the throne, in essence is returned closer to
it, in a manner that quite passes the bounds of common sense. As
though trying to replace the unrequited love he experienced with
Fujitsubo, Genji begins romantic relationships with a number of
women, starting with Lady Murasaki, who is Fujitsubo's niece, and
continuing with the Lady of the Locust Shell, the Lady of the
Evening Faces, the Safflower Lady, the Rokujo lady, Oborozukiyo, the
Lady of the Orange Blossoms... The list goes on. Some of these
relationships have a strong influence on the course of Genji's life,
as when he goes into a period of voluntary exile at Suma and Akashi
after the ascension of the Suzaku Emperor, the first prince borne by
Kokiden. Once back in the capital, however, his own illegitimate
child has taken the throne as the Reizei Emperor, and the political
winds are blowing in his favor once again. He brings many of the
women he has loved to live in a grand residence known as the Rokujo
mansion. Genji reaches the zenith of his political power when he has
his daughter, the Akashi Princess, who was born in Akashi, presented
at court to the Togu Emperor, and is thus accorded all the benefices
equivalent to a reigning emperor.
Wishing to abdicate the throne and join the monkhood, the Suzaku
Emperor is worried about his daughter, the Third Princess, and
decides to put her in Genji's care. Genji is moved by the fact that
this girl, like Lady Murasaki, is also a niece of Fujitsubo's, and
agrees to marry her. Much to Genji's surprise, the girl is very
immature, but this only strenthens his love for Lady Murasaki. The
appearance of an official wife of high breeding, however, forces
Lady Murasaki into seclusion. Meanwhile, one of the suitors who had
been vying for the Third Princess's hand before she married Genji,
Kashiwagi, has not given up his hopes of having her, and eventually
manages to arrange a tryst with her. The Third Princess bears the
illegitimate outcome of this union, and Genji must nevertheless
accept the child, Kaoru, as his own, causing him to repent for many
of the excesses of his own youth. At the same time, Lady Murasaki,
who has long asked Genji's permission to become a nun, dies without
getting the opportunity. Genji begins preparations to take the vows
himself, while in mourning for Lady Murasaki.
Kaoru, the illegitimate offspring of the Third Princess and
Kashiwagi, considers a monastic life, as he is unable to become
accustomed to the ways of the world. He begins visiting the Uji
residence of theEighth Prince, who has gone into reclusion, and in
whom he finds a kindred spirit in these matters, and there meets his
daughter, Oigimi, for whom he feels a strong attraction. After the
death of the Eighth Prince, Kaoru proposes marriage to Oigimi, but
she instead suggests he marry her younger sister, Nakanokimi,
suppressing her own feelings for Kaoru. Kaoru, however, urges Niou
to marry Nakanokimi, encouraging Oigimi to agree to this marriage.
Oigimi dies without having taken back her rejection of Kaoru's
marriage proposal. After the death of Oigimi, Nakanokimi is
tormented by Kaoru's persistent wooing, and tells him of Ukifune,
her half-sister by a different mother, who resembles Oigimi. Both
Kaoru and Niou wind up in a romantic tangle with Ukifune, who finds
no way out other than to drown herself. Saved by the bishop of
Yokawa, Ukifune goes to Ono and becomes a nun there, refusing to
meet Kaoru, who has discovered her whereabouts. Thus the story ends.
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