[[Image:ch20_asago.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Ilustration of ch.20 -- 朝顔 Asagao ("The Bluebell").
Credited to Tosa Mitsuoki (1617--1691).]]''Genji Monogatari'' (源氏物語), frequently translated as ''The Tale of Genji'', is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period. Though it is sometimes called the first novel, this claim is not taken seriously by scholars of Japanese literature, due to the existence of works of a similar nature that predate the tale, in the extended narrative form called ''monogatari''. Despite that, the complexity, psychological tension, and encompassing plot lines of the book could rightly describe it as the first "modern" novel, predating others anywhere by centuries. The first translation of part of ''Genji Monogatari'' into English was by Suematsu Kencho. An almost complete (one chapter is missing) and well-regarded free translation was produced by Arthur Waley, a complete more literal one by Edward Seidensticker, and most recently a new attempt at a literal translation by Royall Tyler (2002). The Diet of Japan Member Marutei Tsurunen also made a translation. == 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. == Stature == The ''Genji'' is widely considered to be one of the greatest works of Japanese literature, and numerous modern authors have cited it as inspiration. It is noted for its internal consistency, psychological depiction, and characterization. The novelist Yasunari Kawabata said in his nobel prize acceptance speech: "The Tale of Genji in particular is the highest pinnacle of Japanese literature. Even down to our day there has not been a piece of fiction to compare with it." == Authorship == The debate over how much of the ''Genji'' was actually written by Murasaki Shikibu has gone on for centuries, and is unlikely to ever be settled unless some major literary 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 famous diary entry about her joy at acquiring a complete copy of the tale. So if other authors besides Murasaki Shikibu did work on the tale, the work was done very near to the time of her writing. Yosano Akiko, the first author to make a modern translation of the ''Genji'', believed that Murasaki Shikibu had only written Chapters One to Thirty-three, and that Chapters Thirty-five to Fifty-four were written by her daughter Daini no Sanmi. Other scholars have doubted the authorship of Chapters Forty-two to Forty-four (particularly Forty-four, which contains rare examples of continuity mistakes), or of Forty-two to Fifty-four. 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. But this discrepancy can also be explained by a change in attitude of the author as she grew older, and the earlier chapters are often thought to have been edited into their present form some time after they were initially written. One of the frequent arguments made against the multiple authorship idea is that the ''Genji'' is a work of such genius that someone of equal or greater genius taking over after Murasaki is implausible. This argument, of course, is a highly subjective one. == The Tale == The work recounts the life of Hikaru no 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. [[Image:ch5_wakamurasaki.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Ilustration of ch.5 -- 若紫 Wakamurasaki ("Young Murasaki").
Credited to Tosa Mitsuoki (1617--1691).]] 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 was the second son of a certain ancient emperor and a low-ranking concubine. His mother dies when Genji is three years old, and the Emperor can't forget her. The Emperor then hears of a woman named Lady Fujitsubo, formerly a princess of the preceding emperor, who resembles his deceased concubine, and later she becomes one of his concubines. 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 to the Lady Fujitsubo and is on bad terms with his wife, Lady Aoi. He also engages in a series of unfulfilling love affairs with other women: his advances are rebuffed, his lover dies suddenly during the affair, or he finds his lover to be dull in each instance. Genji visits Kitayama, the northern rural hilly area of Kyoto, where he finds a beautiful girl. He is fascinated by this little girl, and discovers that she is a niece of the Lady Fujitsubo. Finally he kidnaps her and brings her to his own palace and educates her to be his ideal lady, like the Lady Fujitsubo. During this time Genji also meets the Lady Fujitsubo secretly, and she bears his son. Everyone except the two lovers believes the father of the child is the Emperor. 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 Lady Murasaki, whom he finds and weds in Kitayama. Genji's father the Emperor dies and his political enemy seizes power in the court. Then another of Genji's secret love affairs is exposed: Genji and a concubine of his brother, the Emperor Suzaku, are discovered when they meet in secret. Genji is not punished officially, but flees to the rural Harima province. There a prosperous man named Akashi no Nyūdō (Monk of Akashi) entertains Genji, and Genji has a love affair with Akashi's daughter Lady Akashi, and she gives birth to a daughter. Genji's sole daughter later becomes the Empress. Genji is forgiven by his brother and returns to Kyoto. His son 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 doesn't change, but his love and emotional life is slowly damaged. He marries a new wife, but she betrays him. His new marriage changes the relationship between him and Lady Murasaki, who is his de facto but illegitimate wife. Genji's beloved 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 some time after Genji's passing, and we do not know how he dies. The rest of the work is known as the "Uji Chapters". These chapters follow Niou and Kaoru, who are best friends. Niou 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 chapters involve Kaoru and Niou's rivalry over several daughters (including an illegitimate one) 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. == Is the ''Genji'' complete? == As mentioned in the previous section, the tale ends abruptly, in mid-sentence. Opinions have varied on whether or not the ending was the intended ending of the author. Arthur Waley, who made the first English translation of the ''Genji'', believed that the work as we have it was finished. Ivan Morris, who wrote the very influential book ''The World of the Shining Prince'', believed that it was not complete, but that only a few pages or a chapter at most were "missing" (to use his term). Edward Seidensticker, who made the second translation of the ''Genji'', believed that it was not finished, and that Murasaki Shikibu did not have a planned story structure with an "ending" and would simply have gone on writing as long as she could. == Literary context == [[Image:ch42_nioumiya.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Ilustration of ch.42 %u2013 匂宮 Niō no Miya ("The Perfumed Prince").
Credited to Tosa Mitsuoki (1617%u20131691).]] 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 color 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 behavior 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 ("...gathers no moss") unspoken. As for most Heian literature, the ''Genji'' was probably written mostly (or perhaps 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 discreet when writing in Chinese, confining themselves mostly to pure Japanese words. Outside of vocabulary related to politics and Buddhism, the ''Genji'' contains remarkably few Chinese loan words. This has the effect of giving the story a very even, smooth flow. However, it also introduces confusion because of the relatively restricted vocabulary of pure Japanese. There are a number of words which have many different meanings, and context is not always sufficient to determine which meaning was intended. Murasaki was neither the first nor 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 == ===In Japanese=== [[Image:NonomiyaEma0298.jpg|thumb|right|250px|This ema at Nonomiya Shrine in Kyoto illustrates a scene from the Genji.]] The language of the ''Genji'' is closer to modern Japanese than mediaeval English is to modern English. However, the complexities of the style mentioned in the previous section make it unreadable by the average Japanese person without dedicated study of the language of the tale. Therefore 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 manga version by Waki Yamato, ''Asakiyumemishi'' (''The Tale of Genji (manga)'' in English), is widely read among Japanese youth. Most Japanese high-school students will read a little bit of the ''Genji'' (the original, not a translation) in their Japanese classes. ===English translations=== As mentioned above, there are today four major translations into English: Suematsu Kencho's, Arthur Waley's, Edward Seidensticker's, and Royall Tyler's. Suematsu's was the first translation into English, but is considered of poor quality and is not often read today; in addition, only a few chapters were completed. Waley's and Seidensticker's are the best established. Waley's is usually considered the most beautiful but purists have pointed out many errors and criticize the freedom Waley takes with changes to Murasaki's original. Seidensticker's translation is an attempt to correct Waley's failings without necessarily making his translation obsolete; Seidensticker follows the original more closely, but still takes some liberties (by naming the characters, for instance) in order to be clear. Royall Tyler's translation contains more extensive footnotes than the previous translations, describing the numerious poetical allusions and cultural aspects of the tale, and attempts to mimic the original style in ways that the previous translations have not (by ''not'' using names for most characters, for instance). == 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 45–53: Genji's official and secret descendants, Niou and Kaoru # The Floating Bridge of Dreams, chapter 54: Seems to continue the story from the previous chapters, but has an unusually abstract chapter title. It is the only chapter whose title has no clear reference within the text, but this may be because the chapter is unfinished. (This question is more difficult because we do not know exactly when the chapters acquired their titles.) === List of chapters === The English translations here are taken from the Royall Tyler translation. It is not known for certain when the chapters acquired their titles. Early mentions of the Tale refer to chapter numbers, or contain alternate titles for some of the chapters. This may suggest that the titles were added later. # 桐壺 Kiritsubo ("The Paulownia Pavilion") # 帚木 Hahakigi ("The Broom Tree") # 空蝉 Utsusemi ("The Cicada Shell") # 夕顔 Yūgao ("The Twilight Beauty") # 若紫 Wakamurasaki ''or'' Waka Murasaki ("Young Murasaki") # 末摘花 Suetsumuhana ("Safflower") # 紅葉賀 Momiji no Ga ("Beneath the Autumn Leaves") # 花宴 Hana no En ("Under the Cherry Blossoms") # 葵 Aoi ("Heart-to-Heart") # 榊 Sakaki ("The Green Branch") # 花散里 Hana Chiru Sato ("Falling Flowers") # 須磨 Suma ("Suma"; a place name) # 明石 Akashi ("Akashi"; another place name) # 澪標 Miotsukushi ("The Pilgrimage to Sumiyoshi") # 蓬生 Yomogiu ("A Waste of Weeds") # 関屋 Sekiya ("At The Pass") # 絵合 E Awase ("The Picture Contest") # 松風 Matsukaze ("Wind in the Pines") # 薄雲 Usugumo ("Wisps of Cloud") # 朝顔 Asagao ("The Bluebell") # 乙女 Otome ("The Maidens") # 玉鬘 Tamakazura ("The Tendril Wreath") # 初音 Hatsune ("The Warbler's First Song") # 胡蝶 Kochō("Butterflies") # 螢 Hotaru ("firefly") # 常夏 Tokonatsu ("pink (flower)") # 篝火 Kagaribi ("The Cressets") # 野分 Nowaki ("The Typhoon") # 行幸 Miyuki ("The Imperial Progress") # 藤袴 Fujibakama ("Thoroughwort Flowers") # 真木柱 Makibashira ("The Handsome Pillar") # 梅が枝 Umegae ("The Plum Tree Branch") # 藤のうら葉 Fuji no Uraha ("New Wisteria Leaves") # 若菜 I Wakana: Jo ("Spring Shoots I") # 若菜 II Wakana: Ge ("Spring Shoots II") # 柏木 Kashiwagi ("The Oak Tree") # 横笛 Yokobue ("The Flute") # 鈴虫 Suzumushi ("The Bell Cricket") # 夕霧 Yūgiri("Evening Mist") # 御法 Minori ("The Law") # 幻 Maboroshi ("The Seer") # 匂宮 Niō no Miya ("The Perfumed Prince") # 紅梅 Kōbai("Red Plum Blossoms") # 竹河 Takekawa ("Bamboo River") # 橋姫 Hashihime ("The Maiden of the Bridge") # 椎が本 Shīgamoto ("Beneath the Oak") # 総角 Agemaki ("Trefoil Knots") # 早蕨 Sawarabi ("Bracken Shoots") # 宿り木 Yadorigi ("The Ivy") # 東屋 Azumaya ("The Eastern Cottage") # 浮舟 Ukifune ("A Drifting Boat") # 蜻蛉 Kagerō ("Mayfly") # 手習 Tenarai ("Writing Practice") # 夢の浮橋 Yume no Ukihashi ("The Floating Bridge of Dreams") There is one additional chapter between 41 and 42 in some manuscripts called 雲隠 (Kumogakure) which means "Vanished into the Clouds"—the chapter is a title only, and is probably intended to evoke Genji's death. See also: Japanese literature ==Illustrated scroll== A famous 12th century scroll, the ''Genji Monogatari Emaki'', contains illustrated scenes from the Genji together with handwritten ''sōgana'' text. This scroll is the earliest extant example of a Japanese "picture scroll": collected illustrations and calligraphy of a single work. The original scroll is believed to have comprised 10-20 rolls and covered all 54 chapters. The extant pieces include only 19 illustrations and 65 pages of text, plus nine pages of fragments. This is estimated at roughly 15% of the envisioned original. The Goto Museum in Tokyo and the Tokugawa Museum in Nagoya each hold scrolls (or fragments) which are National Treasure (Japan). An oversize English photoreproduction and translation was printed in limited edition by Kodansha International, ISBN 087011-131-2. ==Film adaptations== ''The Tale of Genji'' has been translated into cinematic form several times. In 1951 by director Kozaburo Yoshimura, in 1966 by director Kon Ichikawa, and in 1987 by director Gisaburo Sugii. The latter is an animation film. ==External links== * [http://www.globusz.com/ebooks/Genji/00000010.htm Online text of complete 1976 Seidensticker translation] without the notes and with numerous typos. (The illustrations included in the Knopf edition of this translation are reproduced at the UNESCO heritage site below.) * [http://webworld.unesco.org/genji/en/index.shtml ''Tale of the Genji'' woodcut illustrations and accompanying excerpts at the UNESCO Global Heritage Pavilion] * [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0295455/ Murasaki Shikibu: Genji monogatari (1987)] * [http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/asian377/studentspring99/asian377e/genji/ Some scans of the ''Genji Monogatari Emaki'' (''Tale of Genji Scroll'')]. Only about half of the images are from the 12th century scroll; they are the darker colored, more faded images. Japanese literature
Can someone fill in the three gradual stages part? There are only two listed and they only cover 54 chapters, while 56 are listed just below. ---- If the book was written in kana, why are kanji used in the chapter headings? - User:Montrealais 03:04, 13 Jun 2004 (UTC) Good point. The original book was in kana with an occasional chinese character, kanjis came later. What is the source of the kanjis? I think they should be last, not first. They are interesting, but most people can't read them. User:Asereje 02:38, 18 Jul 2004 (UTC) Kanji came first, then kana developed from them. The script in use at the time of Genji's writing was sort of an amalgam -- multiple kanji simplifications were used for each kana (some of which are nearly identical to modern kana). No surviving manuscript of the Tale of Genji is written in "all kana", and I think this is more of a legend than actual fact, especially since one of the few things we know about Murasaki Shikibu is that she knew Chinese characters well. (-Chris Kern) :Mursaki wrote in kana because she was a woman writing for women, and Chinese characters was a masculine pursuit. While women could study them and write them, and Murasaki's calligraphy and writing were known to be particularly good, it was deemed feminine to be discreet. Murasaki criticized her literary rival Sei Shonagon on showing off her ability to write Chinese, calling her Chinese poems "garish" or something like that. Jealousy, one wonders. The The earliest known manuscripts for the Genji date from 400 years after Murasaki's death, and would most likely use Chinese characters. :Also the chapters are known by traditional names, but it's uncertain that these were the names Murasaki used, or even that she used any chapter names at all. I could be wrong about this last point, but it is well known that the characters in the Genji are not named. They have names of course but Heian yokibito society deemed it impolite to actually use them. This practice survives today: the emperor is never ever referred to by name (Akihito) nor will he ever. After he passes away, he will be known as the Heisei emperor, as Hirohito is known as the Showa emperor. User:Vfp15 10:32, 17 Sep 2004 (UTC) ::There is a theory that suggests the "standard names" we have now for the characters were in use even during Murasaki's life. This is due to a comment in her diary that refers to Murasaki the character. However, this is not conclusive because the character is actually called "Murasaki no Ue" or "Waka Murasaki" in the tale itself. Commenting on the above discussion made me read the article over again. It was in need of a major rewrite. User:Vfp15 11:59, 17 Sep 2004 (UTC) The division into 56 chapters rather than 54 is strange; I don't believe I've ever seen it divided that way before. The author of the page for some reason divided Yuugiri into two chapters, and Kumogakure was given a number (usually even when it appears in a text of the tale the chapter is not numbered). Perhaps someone should also give the "official" translations of the chapter titles used by Waley, Seidensticker, and Tyler. (The translations appearing in the article are rather odd.) Speaking of that, I guess there should be a section on the English translations as well. - Chris Kern == World's first novel == Currently the article implies Japanese scholars dispute the term "first", but I think the main objection that Japan scholars have is with calling Genji a "novel." The novel is a Western (and quite modern) concept. It implies certain conventions and notions that just don't apply to Genji. The classic examples people raise: :1) in Genji the protagonist dies in the middle of the book (that's if you agree Genji is the "protagonist") :2) it's extremely episodic; there isn't a clear narrative arc :3) it was also read mainly by arisocrats, whereas the Western novel emerged as a popular artform :4) in Genji poetry and prose are perfectly fused, and it was first read mainly for its poetry really I'm sure more knowledgeable people have more nuanced things to say about this, but while I think it's okay to CALL it a novel for lack of a better word, I believe it is important to caution the reader the problems with this. -- Dec 7, 04 Alex I reverted the deletion of the claim that many consider Genji to be the world's first novel. This ''is'' a widely-held belief and it shouldn't be expunged from the article. *[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0394735307/104-8279050-7978322?v=glance Publishers Weekly and Amazon both claim that Genji is the first]. *[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9071039&query=Japanese%20literature Britannica claims that it's first]. *[http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/japan/language/q1.html Web-japan.org, although admittedly not a neutral source, concurs]. *[http://encarta.msn.com/media_461526966/The_Tale_of_Genji.html Encarta doesn't pass judgment but does note that it "has been called" the first]. So if it ain't true, it needs to be explained, at least. - User:Sekicho 14:13, Nov 1, 2004 (UTC) :Sorry, my mistake. We had a discussion of the Genji-is-1st-novel theory elsewhere, not here. Please see Talk:Japanese literature for why it isn't the first novel. User:Vfp15 14:21, 1 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::This still needs to be at least ''mentioned'' in the article. Any student of Japanese literature has heard, at some point in their life, that Genji is the world's first novel. Whether you agree with that assertion or not, it's a very common claim and it needs to be either stated or debunked so that people understand why Genji is important. User:Sekicho 20:40, Nov 1, 2004 (UTC) :::Exactly. When I put in the reference to it being the "first novel," I tried to make it clear that this was a disputed claim, though maybe I didn't put in enough weasel words. The point is that people who take Japanese literature classes "learn" that it is, so the article should at the least have a link to some where that people can here why it is or isn't considered to be the first novel. --User:Carlj7 05:04, 2 Nov 2004 (UTC) :::: False claims do not need to be mentioned. To summarize the long argument in Talk:Japanese Literature: ::::: 1. Genji isn't the world's first novel the same way Shakespeare isn't the first English playright; ::::: 2. Japanese people don't even call it a novel (shosetsu) they call it a monogatari (a tale) and it isn't the first of those. ::::: 3. It might not even be the most influential work of Japanese lit, e.g. few roman-fleuve are published today but thousands of Pillow-Book type essays are published each month in Japan. ::::That your Japanese lit teachers said it was so doesn't make it so. It is an ''opinion'' first published heaven knows when, probably in a 19th century memoir of Japan, and has been parrotted ever since, the same way biology textbooks always mention Lamarck when they introduce Darwin even though it's a now anachronistic and useless comparison. :::: To call it the first novel is a POV opinion that depends on a fuzzy definition of what a novel is, and on a subjective evaluation of whether or not the Genji fits that definition. This doesn't belong in Wikipedia. If it's to be written up at all, it could be placed under the heading "Reading the Genji today". Cheers,User:Vfp15 13:31, 2 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::::: I disagree. Since this is a ''commonly parroted'' "falsehood" it deserve a mention-- if only to debunk it. For example, in an article about human ribs, it would make sense to say, "Males and females have the same number of ribs, although a common wives tale purports otherwise and assigns the difference to God's taking a rib from Adam in the Biblical story of creation." ::::: Do men and women have a different number of ribs? Hell no! Do a lot of people think they do? Sadly, yes. Is it worth mentioning, ''if only to disprove it''? Again, yes. ::::: You yourself admit that a number of Japanese professors continue to parrot some old 19th century book about "Genji" being the first novel. So why not stop the parroting by letting people know that ''it isn't''?--User:Carlj7 16:17, 2 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::::: (PS. I checked Rib: "There is a legend that male humans have one rib fewer than female humans. This is false, and originates from the Bible's description of the creation of Eve (from the rib of Adam." Go, theoretical examples that turn out to be true. :) )--User:Carlj7 :::::: Japanese ''lit'' professors, often white people who haven't been to Japan and speak no Japanese. If a falsehood ''must'' be mentioned at all, it should not be given the prominence it gets when placed in the introductory paragraph.
:::::: I read the article again and you'll find that the first novel argument ''is'' mentioned under the "Literary context" heading, at the end. :
::::::: ''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.''
:::::: I think I wrote that a couple of months of ago when I reworked the article. Cheers User:Vfp15 17:40, 2 Nov 2004 (UTC)
:Okay, Vincent, you're outnumbered 2 to 1 so far. If nobody agrees with you within the next day or two, I'm going to add a more clear note stating that "while many people think Genji is the world's first novel, it really isn't" or something to that effect. If we don't explicitly debunk this, people are going to put it in. User:Sekicho 22:03, Nov 2, 2004 (UTC)
::Off topic, but for the record, my Japanese literature professor was Japanese. However, the first time I learned about Genji was in my Japanese Art class, taught by a white man-- in Japan. I can't honestly recall where I first heard Genji called the first novel, but it got stuck in my head at some point. I think this article should make an explicit attempt to dislodge it from the heads of others. How about we have the head of the article say something like, "Though Genji is sometimes called the first novel, this claim is not generally accepted (see "Literary context" for more)." and then a link to the part of the entry where the first novel claim is debunked.--User:Carlj7 05:14, 3 Nov 2004 (UTC)
re: "It might not even be the most influential work of Japanese lit": For just one measure of the influence, look at the number of film adaptations: [http://imdb.com/title/tt0043580/ Genji monogatari (1951) aka "The Tale of Genji"], [http://imdb.com/title/tt0256385/ Shin Genji monogatari (1961)],
[http://imdb.com/title/tt0061062/ Genji monogatari (1966) aka "The Tale of Genji"] (anime), [http://imdb.com/title/tt0295455/ Murasaki Shikibu: Genji monogatari (1987)] (anime), [http://imdb.com/title/tt0316566/combined Sennen no koi - Hikaru Genji monogatari (2002)], [http://imdb.com/title/tt0092875/combined Desejado, O (1988)] [Portuguese / French]. How many movies did I find with any connection to Sei Shōnagon's ''Makura Sōshi''? One. [http://imdb.com/title/tt0114134/combined Pillow Book, The (1996)]
How many recent manga have been based on ''Genji''? At least 5 [http://www.international.ucla.edu/asia/article.asp?parentid=10674]. The number of manga for the ''Pillow Book''? None that I could find. But those are just modern examples. As Donald Keene put it in his ''Seeds in the Heart'', "...it would not be possible to list all the other works of Japanese literature that it has inspired."
''The Tale of Genji'' may not be the "first" anything, but like Shakespeare, Murasaki Shikibu borrowed and adapted what had been written before her time, but ended up writing something that transended them, and not only survived, but thrived for a millenium. Serious students of Japanese Literature might have other favorites (for example, Ihara Saikaku's ''Kōshuku Ichidai Otoku'' (''The Life of an Amorous Man''), but for the average Literature student, or even just the average person in general, ''The Tale of Genji'' may be the only Japanese literature that they know about. It is a shame that somewhere down the line someone felt that they needed to embellish the reputation of ''Genji'' by calling it the "first novel", but since this misconception is so widespread, it is best to deal with it quickly and at the top of the article. User:GK 05:28, 3 Nov 2004 (UTC)
== Greatest work of Japanese literature? ==
Why was my statement in the beginning edited out? The Tale of Genji *is* widely considered to be the greatest work of Japanese literature. Not universally, but it's a widely held opinion.
: Because it is an opinion, hence POV. It's also a very debatable opinion, which I think is wrong, even though Genji is a personal favourite. The best selling translation of a Japanese novel is Yoshikawa's samurai epic "Musashi". The most visible writer is Natsume Soseki because his face is on the 1000 yen bill. More people today write quick personal essays following Sei Shonagon's style, while few write romantic large scale psychological novels. Japanese lit is a rich field and it's a disservice to stick a simplistic superlative label on any one work on any one author. User:Vfp15 11:23, 3 Nov 2004 (UTC)
:: However, something of that nature needs to be said even if qualified as an opinion. Currently there's nothing in the article to suggest Genji's stature in Japan -- it certainly is *one* of the pieces of literature that's commonly mentioned as Japan's greatest work of literature. It occupies a major place in the popular mindset that is different from that enjoyed by other works of literature (almost every person I talk to about it feels like they should read Genji, and no other classic has had so many anime, manga, and modern novel versions of it.) Note that the original note did not say "Genji is the greatest work of Japanese literature". It said "widely considered to be the greatest work". Feel free to reword that if you wish, but acknolwedging Genji's place in the Japanese literature canon is not just classed as "POV". If you think that, then you might want to go edit out the similar statements that are found in the articles on Bach, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Einstein, and others.
:: How about "It is widely considered to be one of the greatest works of Japanese literature"? I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who held the honest and reasoned opinion that Genji is not *one of* the greatest works. I think that something like this needs to be said because it's not obvious, especially to people who are not familiar with Japanese literature. Old does not necessarily mean good, and sometimes a work is considered a "classic" merely because it's the only thing that survives from a certain time period. But one of the remarkable things about the Genji is how even 1000 years later it's still held in such high opinion.
::: Then put under the heading "Reading the Genji today", at the beginning perhaps. It would certainly explain ''why'' we're reading the Genji 1000 years after it was written. Although, I would get rit of both "It is considered" and "the greatest". The latter is POV and the former is only pseudo-NPOV. I'd go more for something like this under "Genji today":
:::: ''The Genji is still widely read in Japan and is one of the best known works of the period. Nearly all Japanese school children study the original, at least in part, and modern adaptations and reworkings are regularly published in a variety of media including film. The Genji first became popular outside Japan with Arthur Waley's translation of the 1920's and has been translated several times since.''
::: Cheers, User:Vfp15 07:52, 4 Nov 2004 (UTC)
:::: Your definition of NPOV doesn't agree with Wikipedia's, to quote from the NPOV article:
::::: ''Providing an overview of the common interpretations of a creative work, preferably with citations or references to notable individuals holding that interpretation, is appropriate. For instance, that Shakespeare is one of the greatest authors of the English language is a bit of knowledge that one should learn from an encyclopedia. Notice, determining how some artist or work has been received publicly or critically might require research; but that reception, unlike the idiosyncratic opinion of the Wikipedia article writer, is an opinion that really matters.''
:::: Seriously, how many (informed) people are there who don't believe that Genji is one of the greatest works of Japanese literature? I do think it's a good idea to qualify it with some specific quotes, for instance Yasunari Kawabata's statement in his Nobel Prize speech that "Genji in particular is the highest pinnacle of Japanese literature. Even down to our day there has not been a piece of fiction to compare with it.", or Fujiwara no Shunzei's statement that study of it was indispensable for anyone who wanted to compose poetry.
::::: OK, OK, I admit it. I hate the word "greatest" and the person who wrote the Wikipedia definition of NPOV doesn't hate it. But still, I'm right ;) (Maybe. I think. I'm sure. I think. Perhaps. Somewhat. Definitely maybe. Obviously, if you think about it. A long time. Probably. Certainly. Almost. Unless I'm wrong, which I doubt. Most of the time, anyway.) So how about in the intro paragraph, adding ''... and is one of the most important works within Japanese literature.''? ''One of the most important'' is factual and refers to a fact (we can measure the Genji's impact on Jpn lit) while "considered one of the greatest" is factual but refers to an opinion (''I feel'' it's the greatest).
::::: Anyway, I'm taking this entry off my watchlist. I need a rest from it. Have fun. Cheers. User:Vfp15 16:20, 4 Nov 2004 (UTC)
----
I added two sections on debates of authorship and completeness, and I also revised the Uji section of the summary.
==Free translation==
Free is the right word in this case because a "free translation" is one that puts the emphasis on readability and understanding rather than literalness. User_talk:GK">User:GK|gK User talk:GK 14:24, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)
==Illustrations==
Hello everyone, I have added some illustrations from the Burke albuns. Please let me know if you think some more illustrations can be added or not, or maybe we can try to look for other styles (earlier period and closer to Murasaki Shikibu's time). User:Askewmind 20:24, Feb 17, 2005 (UTC)
:I like your added illustrations. I changed the caption format though. For additional illustration it would be nice to link to a wikisource page of all the illustrations we can muster. I think this is worth the time and server space. --User:Chinasaur 22:48, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC)
Well, there are several works containing illustrations based on The Tale of Genji, I just happen to have the print of one from the 17th century known as the Burke Album. I could scan all the images (which is going to take some time). User:Askewmind 23:35, Feb 17, 2005 (UTC)
:I have access to a few interesting sets of illustrations as well, but like you not a lot of free time at the moment. Might it be good enough to use a digital camera? That would save time; I'll give it a try. I didn't mean for you to go it alone though. It was more a suggestion to the community behind this article that a wikisource entry with illustrations from this would be a good project. We could coordinate with japanese WP too I'm sure. --User:Chinasaur 00:43, 18 Feb 2005 (UTC)
:That would be fantastic! I'm new to wikipedia (only a few weeks old but I'm starting to get well into it). I dont have a prob with scanning the 52 images from the Burke Album but like I said a) it could take me a few weeks and b) not sure about the ''public domain'' status. Also... how does wikisource work? User:Askewmind 21:20, Feb 20, 2005 (UTC)
#REDIRECT The Tale of Genji
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with The_Tale_of_Genji:
The_Tale_of_Genji
The_Tale_of_Genji
The_tale_of_Genji
The_Tale_of_Genji_(manga)
The_Tale_of_Genji_(manga)
The Tale of Genji
[[Image:ch20_asago.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Ilustration of ch.20 -- 朝顔 Asagao ("The Bluebell").
Credited to Tosa Mitsuoki (1617--1691).]]''Genji Monogatari'' (源氏物語), frequently translated as ''The Tale of Genji'', is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period. Though it is sometimes called the first novel, this claim is not taken seriously by scholars of Japanese literature, due to the existence of works of a similar nature that predate the tale, in the extended narrative form called ''monogatari''. Despite that, the complexity, psychological tension, and encompassing plot lines of the book could rightly describe it as the first "modern" novel, predating others anywhere by centuries. The first translation of part of ''Genji Monogatari'' into English was by Suematsu Kencho. An almost complete (one chapter is missing) and well-regarded free translation was produced by Arthur Waley, a complete more literal one by Edward Seidensticker, and most recently a new attempt at a literal translation by Royall Tyler (2002). The Diet of Japan Member Marutei Tsurunen also made a translation. == 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. == Stature == The ''Genji'' is widely considered to be one of the greatest works of Japanese literature, and numerous modern authors have cited it as inspiration. It is noted for its internal consistency, psychological depiction, and characterization. The novelist Yasunari Kawabata said in his nobel prize acceptance speech: "The Tale of Genji in particular is the highest pinnacle of Japanese literature. Even down to our day there has not been a piece of fiction to compare with it." == Authorship == The debate over how much of the ''Genji'' was actually written by Murasaki Shikibu has gone on for centuries, and is unlikely to ever be settled unless some major literary 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 famous diary entry about her joy at acquiring a complete copy of the tale. So if other authors besides Murasaki Shikibu did work on the tale, the work was done very near to the time of her writing. Yosano Akiko, the first author to make a modern translation of the ''Genji'', believed that Murasaki Shikibu had only written Chapters One to Thirty-three, and that Chapters Thirty-five to Fifty-four were written by her daughter Daini no Sanmi. Other scholars have doubted the authorship of Chapters Forty-two to Forty-four (particularly Forty-four, which contains rare examples of continuity mistakes), or of Forty-two to Fifty-four. 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. But this discrepancy can also be explained by a change in attitude of the author as she grew older, and the earlier chapters are often thought to have been edited into their present form some time after they were initially written. One of the frequent arguments made against the multiple authorship idea is that the ''Genji'' is a work of such genius that someone of equal or greater genius taking over after Murasaki is implausible. This argument, of course, is a highly subjective one. == The Tale == The work recounts the life of Hikaru no 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. [[Image:ch5_wakamurasaki.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Ilustration of ch.5 -- 若紫 Wakamurasaki ("Young Murasaki").
Credited to Tosa Mitsuoki (1617--1691).]] 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 was the second son of a certain ancient emperor and a low-ranking concubine. His mother dies when Genji is three years old, and the Emperor can't forget her. The Emperor then hears of a woman named Lady Fujitsubo, formerly a princess of the preceding emperor, who resembles his deceased concubine, and later she becomes one of his concubines. 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 to the Lady Fujitsubo and is on bad terms with his wife, Lady Aoi. He also engages in a series of unfulfilling love affairs with other women: his advances are rebuffed, his lover dies suddenly during the affair, or he finds his lover to be dull in each instance. Genji visits Kitayama, the northern rural hilly area of Kyoto, where he finds a beautiful girl. He is fascinated by this little girl, and discovers that she is a niece of the Lady Fujitsubo. Finally he kidnaps her and brings her to his own palace and educates her to be his ideal lady, like the Lady Fujitsubo. During this time Genji also meets the Lady Fujitsubo secretly, and she bears his son. Everyone except the two lovers believes the father of the child is the Emperor. 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 Lady Murasaki, whom he finds and weds in Kitayama. Genji's father the Emperor dies and his political enemy seizes power in the court. Then another of Genji's secret love affairs is exposed: Genji and a concubine of his brother, the Emperor Suzaku, are discovered when they meet in secret. Genji is not punished officially, but flees to the rural Harima province. There a prosperous man named Akashi no Nyūdō (Monk of Akashi) entertains Genji, and Genji has a love affair with Akashi's daughter Lady Akashi, and she gives birth to a daughter. Genji's sole daughter later becomes the Empress. Genji is forgiven by his brother and returns to Kyoto. His son 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 doesn't change, but his love and emotional life is slowly damaged. He marries a new wife, but she betrays him. His new marriage changes the relationship between him and Lady Murasaki, who is his de facto but illegitimate wife. Genji's beloved 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 some time after Genji's passing, and we do not know how he dies. The rest of the work is known as the "Uji Chapters". These chapters follow Niou and Kaoru, who are best friends. Niou 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 chapters involve Kaoru and Niou's rivalry over several daughters (including an illegitimate one) 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. == Is the ''Genji'' complete? == As mentioned in the previous section, the tale ends abruptly, in mid-sentence. Opinions have varied on whether or not the ending was the intended ending of the author. Arthur Waley, who made the first English translation of the ''Genji'', believed that the work as we have it was finished. Ivan Morris, who wrote the very influential book ''The World of the Shining Prince'', believed that it was not complete, but that only a few pages or a chapter at most were "missing" (to use his term). Edward Seidensticker, who made the second translation of the ''Genji'', believed that it was not finished, and that Murasaki Shikibu did not have a planned story structure with an "ending" and would simply have gone on writing as long as she could. == Literary context == [[Image:ch42_nioumiya.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Ilustration of ch.42 %u2013 匂宮 Niō no Miya ("The Perfumed Prince").
Credited to Tosa Mitsuoki (1617%u20131691).]] 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 color 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 behavior 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 ("...gathers no moss") unspoken. As for most Heian literature, the ''Genji'' was probably written mostly (or perhaps 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 discreet when writing in Chinese, confining themselves mostly to pure Japanese words. Outside of vocabulary related to politics and Buddhism, the ''Genji'' contains remarkably few Chinese loan words. This has the effect of giving the story a very even, smooth flow. However, it also introduces confusion because of the relatively restricted vocabulary of pure Japanese. There are a number of words which have many different meanings, and context is not always sufficient to determine which meaning was intended. Murasaki was neither the first nor 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 == ===In Japanese=== [[Image:NonomiyaEma0298.jpg|thumb|right|250px|This ema at Nonomiya Shrine in Kyoto illustrates a scene from the Genji.]] The language of the ''Genji'' is closer to modern Japanese than mediaeval English is to modern English. However, the complexities of the style mentioned in the previous section make it unreadable by the average Japanese person without dedicated study of the language of the tale. Therefore 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 manga version by Waki Yamato, ''Asakiyumemishi'' (''The Tale of Genji (manga)'' in English), is widely read among Japanese youth. Most Japanese high-school students will read a little bit of the ''Genji'' (the original, not a translation) in their Japanese classes. ===English translations=== As mentioned above, there are today four major translations into English: Suematsu Kencho's, Arthur Waley's, Edward Seidensticker's, and Royall Tyler's. Suematsu's was the first translation into English, but is considered of poor quality and is not often read today; in addition, only a few chapters were completed. Waley's and Seidensticker's are the best established. Waley's is usually considered the most beautiful but purists have pointed out many errors and criticize the freedom Waley takes with changes to Murasaki's original. Seidensticker's translation is an attempt to correct Waley's failings without necessarily making his translation obsolete; Seidensticker follows the original more closely, but still takes some liberties (by naming the characters, for instance) in order to be clear. Royall Tyler's translation contains more extensive footnotes than the previous translations, describing the numerious poetical allusions and cultural aspects of the tale, and attempts to mimic the original style in ways that the previous translations have not (by ''not'' using names for most characters, for instance). == 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 45–53: Genji's official and secret descendants, Niou and Kaoru # The Floating Bridge of Dreams, chapter 54: Seems to continue the story from the previous chapters, but has an unusually abstract chapter title. It is the only chapter whose title has no clear reference within the text, but this may be because the chapter is unfinished. (This question is more difficult because we do not know exactly when the chapters acquired their titles.) === List of chapters === The English translations here are taken from the Royall Tyler translation. It is not known for certain when the chapters acquired their titles. Early mentions of the Tale refer to chapter numbers, or contain alternate titles for some of the chapters. This may suggest that the titles were added later. # 桐壺 Kiritsubo ("The Paulownia Pavilion") # 帚木 Hahakigi ("The Broom Tree") # 空蝉 Utsusemi ("The Cicada Shell") # 夕顔 Yūgao ("The Twilight Beauty") # 若紫 Wakamurasaki ''or'' Waka Murasaki ("Young Murasaki") # 末摘花 Suetsumuhana ("Safflower") # 紅葉賀 Momiji no Ga ("Beneath the Autumn Leaves") # 花宴 Hana no En ("Under the Cherry Blossoms") # 葵 Aoi ("Heart-to-Heart") # 榊 Sakaki ("The Green Branch") # 花散里 Hana Chiru Sato ("Falling Flowers") # 須磨 Suma ("Suma"; a place name) # 明石 Akashi ("Akashi"; another place name) # 澪標 Miotsukushi ("The Pilgrimage to Sumiyoshi") # 蓬生 Yomogiu ("A Waste of Weeds") # 関屋 Sekiya ("At The Pass") # 絵合 E Awase ("The Picture Contest") # 松風 Matsukaze ("Wind in the Pines") # 薄雲 Usugumo ("Wisps of Cloud") # 朝顔 Asagao ("The Bluebell") # 乙女 Otome ("The Maidens") # 玉鬘 Tamakazura ("The Tendril Wreath") # 初音 Hatsune ("The Warbler's First Song") # 胡蝶 Kochō("Butterflies") # 螢 Hotaru ("firefly") # 常夏 Tokonatsu ("pink (flower)") # 篝火 Kagaribi ("The Cressets") # 野分 Nowaki ("The Typhoon") # 行幸 Miyuki ("The Imperial Progress") # 藤袴 Fujibakama ("Thoroughwort Flowers") # 真木柱 Makibashira ("The Handsome Pillar") # 梅が枝 Umegae ("The Plum Tree Branch") # 藤のうら葉 Fuji no Uraha ("New Wisteria Leaves") # 若菜 I Wakana: Jo ("Spring Shoots I") # 若菜 II Wakana: Ge ("Spring Shoots II") # 柏木 Kashiwagi ("The Oak Tree") # 横笛 Yokobue ("The Flute") # 鈴虫 Suzumushi ("The Bell Cricket") # 夕霧 Yūgiri("Evening Mist") # 御法 Minori ("The Law") # 幻 Maboroshi ("The Seer") # 匂宮 Niō no Miya ("The Perfumed Prince") # 紅梅 Kōbai("Red Plum Blossoms") # 竹河 Takekawa ("Bamboo River") # 橋姫 Hashihime ("The Maiden of the Bridge") # 椎が本 Shīgamoto ("Beneath the Oak") # 総角 Agemaki ("Trefoil Knots") # 早蕨 Sawarabi ("Bracken Shoots") # 宿り木 Yadorigi ("The Ivy") # 東屋 Azumaya ("The Eastern Cottage") # 浮舟 Ukifune ("A Drifting Boat") # 蜻蛉 Kagerō ("Mayfly") # 手習 Tenarai ("Writing Practice") # 夢の浮橋 Yume no Ukihashi ("The Floating Bridge of Dreams") There is one additional chapter between 41 and 42 in some manuscripts called 雲隠 (Kumogakure) which means "Vanished into the Clouds"—the chapter is a title only, and is probably intended to evoke Genji's death. See also: Japanese literature ==Illustrated scroll== A famous 12th century scroll, the ''Genji Monogatari Emaki'', contains illustrated scenes from the Genji together with handwritten ''sōgana'' text. This scroll is the earliest extant example of a Japanese "picture scroll": collected illustrations and calligraphy of a single work. The original scroll is believed to have comprised 10-20 rolls and covered all 54 chapters. The extant pieces include only 19 illustrations and 65 pages of text, plus nine pages of fragments. This is estimated at roughly 15% of the envisioned original. The Goto Museum in Tokyo and the Tokugawa Museum in Nagoya each hold scrolls (or fragments) which are National Treasure (Japan). An oversize English photoreproduction and translation was printed in limited edition by Kodansha International, ISBN 087011-131-2. ==Film adaptations== ''The Tale of Genji'' has been translated into cinematic form several times. In 1951 by director Kozaburo Yoshimura, in 1966 by director Kon Ichikawa, and in 1987 by director Gisaburo Sugii. The latter is an animation film. ==External links== * [http://www.globusz.com/ebooks/Genji/00000010.htm Online text of complete 1976 Seidensticker translation] without the notes and with numerous typos. (The illustrations included in the Knopf edition of this translation are reproduced at the UNESCO heritage site below.) * [http://webworld.unesco.org/genji/en/index.shtml ''Tale of the Genji'' woodcut illustrations and accompanying excerpts at the UNESCO Global Heritage Pavilion] * [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0295455/ Murasaki Shikibu: Genji monogatari (1987)] * [http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/asian377/studentspring99/asian377e/genji/ Some scans of the ''Genji Monogatari Emaki'' (''Tale of Genji Scroll'')]. Only about half of the images are from the 12th century scroll; they are the darker colored, more faded images. Japanese literature
The Tale of Genji
Can someone fill in the three gradual stages part? There are only two listed and they only cover 54 chapters, while 56 are listed just below. ---- If the book was written in kana, why are kanji used in the chapter headings? - User:Montrealais 03:04, 13 Jun 2004 (UTC) Good point. The original book was in kana with an occasional chinese character, kanjis came later. What is the source of the kanjis? I think they should be last, not first. They are interesting, but most people can't read them. User:Asereje 02:38, 18 Jul 2004 (UTC) Kanji came first, then kana developed from them. The script in use at the time of Genji's writing was sort of an amalgam -- multiple kanji simplifications were used for each kana (some of which are nearly identical to modern kana). No surviving manuscript of the Tale of Genji is written in "all kana", and I think this is more of a legend than actual fact, especially since one of the few things we know about Murasaki Shikibu is that she knew Chinese characters well. (-Chris Kern) :Mursaki wrote in kana because she was a woman writing for women, and Chinese characters was a masculine pursuit. While women could study them and write them, and Murasaki's calligraphy and writing were known to be particularly good, it was deemed feminine to be discreet. Murasaki criticized her literary rival Sei Shonagon on showing off her ability to write Chinese, calling her Chinese poems "garish" or something like that. Jealousy, one wonders. The The earliest known manuscripts for the Genji date from 400 years after Murasaki's death, and would most likely use Chinese characters. :Also the chapters are known by traditional names, but it's uncertain that these were the names Murasaki used, or even that she used any chapter names at all. I could be wrong about this last point, but it is well known that the characters in the Genji are not named. They have names of course but Heian yokibito society deemed it impolite to actually use them. This practice survives today: the emperor is never ever referred to by name (Akihito) nor will he ever. After he passes away, he will be known as the Heisei emperor, as Hirohito is known as the Showa emperor. User:Vfp15 10:32, 17 Sep 2004 (UTC) ::There is a theory that suggests the "standard names" we have now for the characters were in use even during Murasaki's life. This is due to a comment in her diary that refers to Murasaki the character. However, this is not conclusive because the character is actually called "Murasaki no Ue" or "Waka Murasaki" in the tale itself. Commenting on the above discussion made me read the article over again. It was in need of a major rewrite. User:Vfp15 11:59, 17 Sep 2004 (UTC) The division into 56 chapters rather than 54 is strange; I don't believe I've ever seen it divided that way before. The author of the page for some reason divided Yuugiri into two chapters, and Kumogakure was given a number (usually even when it appears in a text of the tale the chapter is not numbered). Perhaps someone should also give the "official" translations of the chapter titles used by Waley, Seidensticker, and Tyler. (The translations appearing in the article are rather odd.) Speaking of that, I guess there should be a section on the English translations as well. - Chris Kern == World's first novel == Currently the article implies Japanese scholars dispute the term "first", but I think the main objection that Japan scholars have is with calling Genji a "novel." The novel is a Western (and quite modern) concept. It implies certain conventions and notions that just don't apply to Genji. The classic examples people raise: :1) in Genji the protagonist dies in the middle of the book (that's if you agree Genji is the "protagonist") :2) it's extremely episodic; there isn't a clear narrative arc :3) it was also read mainly by arisocrats, whereas the Western novel emerged as a popular artform :4) in Genji poetry and prose are perfectly fused, and it was first read mainly for its poetry really I'm sure more knowledgeable people have more nuanced things to say about this, but while I think it's okay to CALL it a novel for lack of a better word, I believe it is important to caution the reader the problems with this. -- Dec 7, 04 Alex I reverted the deletion of the claim that many consider Genji to be the world's first novel. This ''is'' a widely-held belief and it shouldn't be expunged from the article. *[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0394735307/104-8279050-7978322?v=glance Publishers Weekly and Amazon both claim that Genji is the first]. *[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9071039&query=Japanese%20literature Britannica claims that it's first]. *[http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/japan/language/q1.html Web-japan.org, although admittedly not a neutral source, concurs]. *[http://encarta.msn.com/media_461526966/The_Tale_of_Genji.html Encarta doesn't pass judgment but does note that it "has been called" the first]. So if it ain't true, it needs to be explained, at least. - User:Sekicho 14:13, Nov 1, 2004 (UTC) :Sorry, my mistake. We had a discussion of the Genji-is-1st-novel theory elsewhere, not here. Please see Talk:Japanese literature for why it isn't the first novel. User:Vfp15 14:21, 1 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::This still needs to be at least ''mentioned'' in the article. Any student of Japanese literature has heard, at some point in their life, that Genji is the world's first novel. Whether you agree with that assertion or not, it's a very common claim and it needs to be either stated or debunked so that people understand why Genji is important. User:Sekicho 20:40, Nov 1, 2004 (UTC) :::Exactly. When I put in the reference to it being the "first novel," I tried to make it clear that this was a disputed claim, though maybe I didn't put in enough weasel words. The point is that people who take Japanese literature classes "learn" that it is, so the article should at the least have a link to some where that people can here why it is or isn't considered to be the first novel. --User:Carlj7 05:04, 2 Nov 2004 (UTC) :::: False claims do not need to be mentioned. To summarize the long argument in Talk:Japanese Literature: ::::: 1. Genji isn't the world's first novel the same way Shakespeare isn't the first English playright; ::::: 2. Japanese people don't even call it a novel (shosetsu) they call it a monogatari (a tale) and it isn't the first of those. ::::: 3. It might not even be the most influential work of Japanese lit, e.g. few roman-fleuve are published today but thousands of Pillow-Book type essays are published each month in Japan. ::::That your Japanese lit teachers said it was so doesn't make it so. It is an ''opinion'' first published heaven knows when, probably in a 19th century memoir of Japan, and has been parrotted ever since, the same way biology textbooks always mention Lamarck when they introduce Darwin even though it's a now anachronistic and useless comparison. :::: To call it the first novel is a POV opinion that depends on a fuzzy definition of what a novel is, and on a subjective evaluation of whether or not the Genji fits that definition. This doesn't belong in Wikipedia. If it's to be written up at all, it could be placed under the heading "Reading the Genji today". Cheers,User:Vfp15 13:31, 2 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::::: I disagree. Since this is a ''commonly parroted'' "falsehood" it deserve a mention-- if only to debunk it. For example, in an article about human ribs, it would make sense to say, "Males and females have the same number of ribs, although a common wives tale purports otherwise and assigns the difference to God's taking a rib from Adam in the Biblical story of creation." ::::: Do men and women have a different number of ribs? Hell no! Do a lot of people think they do? Sadly, yes. Is it worth mentioning, ''if only to disprove it''? Again, yes. ::::: You yourself admit that a number of Japanese professors continue to parrot some old 19th century book about "Genji" being the first novel. So why not stop the parroting by letting people know that ''it isn't''?--User:Carlj7 16:17, 2 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::::: (PS. I checked Rib: "There is a legend that male humans have one rib fewer than female humans. This is false, and originates from the Bible's description of the creation of Eve (from the rib of Adam." Go, theoretical examples that turn out to be true. :) )--User:Carlj7 ::::::
The tale of Genji
#REDIRECT The Tale of Genji
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
T
TA | TB | TC | TD | TE | TF | TG | TH | TI | TJ | TK | TL | TŁ | TM | TN | TO | TP | TR | TS | TU | TW | TX | TY | TZ |Words begining with The_Tale_of_Genji:
The_Tale_of_Genji
The_Tale_of_Genji
The_tale_of_Genji
The_Tale_of_Genji_(manga)
The_Tale_of_Genji_(manga)
These materials are based on Wikipedia and licensed under the GNU FDL
YouTube.com videos better site than Turbo Tax 2007
