 |
The Tale of Genji (源氏物語 Genji
Monogatari?) is a classic work of Japanese
literature attributed to the Japanese
noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early
eleventh century, around the peak of the
Heian Period. It is sometimes called the
world's first novel, the first modern novel,
the first romance novel, or the first novel
to still be considered a classic. This issue
is a matter of debate. See Stature below.
The first partial translation of Genji
Monogatari into English was by Suematsu
Kencho. A free translation of all but one
chapter was produced by Arthur Waley. Edward
Seidensticker made the first complete
translation into English, using a more
literal method than Waley. The most recent
English translation, by Royall Tyler (2001),
also tries to be faithful to the original
text. Diet member Marutei Tsurunen has also
made a translation in Finnish.
Introduction
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 step and all the family
and feudal relationships are consistent among
all chapters.
One complication for readers and translators
of the Genji is that almost none of the
characters in the original text is given an
explicit name. 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 may
all change 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 character's
name. Modern readers and translators have, to
a greater or lesser extent, used various
nicknames to keep track of the many
characters. See Characters for a listing.
Stature
The Genji is an important fictional work 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.
The Genji is also often referred to as the
first novel, though there is considerable
debate over this - some of the debate
involving whether Genji can even be
considered a novel. Some consider the
psychological insight, complexity, and unity
of the work to qualify it for novel; status
while simultaneously disqualifying earlier
works. Others see these arguments as
subjective and unconvincing. Related claims,
perhaps in an attempt to sidestep these
debates, are that Genji is the first
psychological novel, the first novel still
considered to be a classic, or other more
qualified terms. It is, however, difficult to
claim that it is the world's first novel
without denying the claims of Daphnis and
Chloe and Aethiopica in Greek, which author
Longus and Heliodorus of Emesa respectively
wrote, both around the third century, and in
Latin, Petronius's Satyricon in the first
century and Apuleius's Golden Ass in the
second, as well as Kādambari in Sanskrit
which author Bānabhatta wrote in the seventh
century. (The debate exists in Japanese as
well, with comparison between the terms
monogatari -tale- and shosetsu -novel).
The novel and other works by Lady Murasaki
are standard staple in the curricula of
Japanese schools. The Bank of Japan issued
the 2000 Yen banknote in her honour,
featuring a scene from the novel based on the
12th century illustrated handscroll.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_Genj
i
Ebook:
http://www.globusz.com/ebooks/Genji/00000010.
htm
Full text version:
http://webworld.unesco.org/genji/en/
The world of Genji:
http://www.taleofgenji.org/
Murasaki Shikibu (紫式部; c. 973--c. 1014
or 1025)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murasaki_Shikibu
Images:
http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/asia
n377/studentspring99/asian377e/genji/
Music: "Overture", Isao Tomita
http://www.amazon.com/Genji-Monogatari-Sympho
ny-Isao-Tomita/dp/B00005HP04
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isao_Tomita
Official website:
http://www.isaotomita.com/top.html
Tags : Genji Monogatari Symphony Isao Tomita |
