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The Genji mongatari or Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu is considered by many to be one of the first classics in the world. It was written during the Heian era, which dates from 794-1180 AD, between the years of 1001 to about 1014. (Ikeda 95) In her tale, Murasaki describes an ancient world that most of us will never know about and that most of us will never get the opportunity to study. Even today, the messages put forth by The Tale of Genji are very moving and serve their purpose. The Tale of Genji is considered by Japan to be one of its greatest works; in fact, The Tale of Genji is required reading in Japanese schools. (Levi 28)
[Comment: All notes and page references refer to the Modern Library Edition of the Waley translation, 1993. The Waley edition is not the full translation; it is abridged in some places. However, I was unaware of this when I started reading and it was the only one that my library had ^_^;; There is another translation in existence by Seidensticker published in 1978. This translation is "more faithful to the wording of the original" (Ikeda 18)]
Before beginning this review/analysis proper, it should be stressed that when reading this book, a very good translation is needed. The Waley translation serves admirably in this role with many footnotes and with a vital list of characters that appear in each section.
The plot of The Tale of Genji is very detailed and requires careful reading to fully comprehend. In general, this novel is the tale of Prince Genji, who is born to the Emperor as the son of the concubine Kiritsubo who dies when Genji is three. The fact that Genji’s mother dies means that Genji does not really know his mother. This affects the rest of his life. The novel deals specifically with Genji’s life and dealings with the members of the court and after his death deals with his supposed son who is actually the grandson of To no Chujo, his best friend.
The plot of Genji is very flowing and enthralling. This is accomplished very well through the excitement and intrigues carried on by Genji throughout the novel. Through Murasaki’s writing, the reader is always concerned with Genji’s well being and later on about Kaoru’s. The plot is also enthralling due to all of the details put in by Murasaki. Murasaki is quite learned and all of the references she makes to other works, such as the Shu-i Shu and the Taketori Monogari (Bamboo-cutter’s Story) to mention a few, serve to gain the reader’s interest and force a more careful examination of the work.
In general, the plot of Genji is divided into three main
sections. The first section deals with Genji’s youth and his
various affairs; this includes his banishment and his eventual
triumphant return. The second deals with his old age (relatively
speaking, of course) while the third section, known as the Uji
chapters, deals with the adventures of Kaoru. It is in the final
section that the intrigue really begins to become powerful; a deep
sympathy for Kaoru is felt after he has lost his two loves (or
three depending on how you look at it) and at how he is being
unofficially cuckolded; it is unofficial because he is not
married to Ukifune. This section was the most enjoyable; however,
the other books are still very good.
Finally, regarding the plot, it is interesting to note how everything blends into one another. The Tale of Genji does not just focus on one particular aspect of life. For example, the text deals not only with Genji’s relationships but also with his political career. This marks a significant difference from other works of Heian literature which generally focused on one area of a person’s life.
One difficulty with the novel is its cast of many. To be able to comprehend what is happening, one of two things is needed. This would be either a guide to the Tale of Genji or a scorecard. Luckily, the Waley translation did an admirable job of keeping the people straight through many footnotes and through the dramatise personae at the beginning of each section.
Much of the novel is character driven and deals with the relationships that occur between various people. This is seen through the fact that many of the major events in the plot occur due to the interaction of various characters. Most notable, in this respect, are Genji and his various loves including Murasaki, Kokiden [his adopted aunt] and Utsuemi to name a very few. A secondary example occurring in the post Genji era is seen with Kaoru and the various daughters of Prince Hachi; this interaction serves as the basis for the _entire_ plot of the last two books.
The detail developed in the characters is almost awe inspiring. After reading this book, it will seem as if Genji, and those involved with him, are very intimate friends. The detail and complexity in Genji’s character is very amazing; Genji is not two dimensional. The main evidence of this statement is seen through Genji’s continual wooing of ladies. Genji, however, does not "love them and leave them" like other literary characters, but rather looks after everyone of them. This indicates a complexity; his caring is partially because of guilt for his actions and due to their similarity towards his dead mother. After all, much of his wooing is due to (according to most critics) his search for the mother he does not know.
Interestingly, this behaviour seems to be quite compulsive. Even after he is unofficially married (the marriage is not official because of Murasaki’s insufficient rank) to the Lady Murasaki, Genji keeps engaging in various affairs. This compulsion serves to give more depth to Genji’s character and also serves to make Murasaki seem more sympathetic. In spite of the various extra-marital affairs, Murasaki’s love becomes all the more stronger which causes Genji’s love for her to increase as well.
The final character that will be touched on is Kaoru, who as
stated before, plays a considerable role in the last section
through his interaction with Niou, a son of the Emperor and
Empress, and the Hachi sisters. Kaoru is portrayed as a long
suffering figure whose love for Agemaki and later Ukifune remains
strong even after their ‘deaths’. In addition, Kaoru
serves to develop much dramatic tension due to the fact that he is
unaware that Ukifune has not actually died and creates a sense of
pathos towards him through his misinterpretation of Ukifune’s
becoming a nun at the end of the novel. This serves to develop the
theme that love is often cruel and may show the attitude towards
women of the time that women are very untrustworthy. The final idea
is best expressed in the final comment about Kaoru’s
thoughts;
"The story that she’d become a nun and shut herself off
entirely
from the world, he was not so simple as to believe. If she was
indeed living
at Ono, no doubt some lover had secretly installed her there and
was looking
her up from time to time, just as he himself, and too infrequently
had visited
her at Uji." (Murasaki 1327)
The description of the time period, the court life and the ceremonies of the court is quite fascinating to read and absorb. It was fascinating to note the role that poetry and literature played in that society; being able to speak poetry was one of the abilities found desirable in nobles. Poetry in The Tale of Genji plays a very important role in the interaction between people; during Genji’s life, there are several poetry contests where people have to compose a poem on a given theme. Poetry is also one of the major forms of communication; Genji and later Kaoru spend much time writing poems towards their beloved.
The court life of The Tale of Genji is totally different from modern-day society. Today, most people deal with each other face to face while in only in some circumstances use intermediaries. The Tale of Genji serves as a historical record of its time showing that in Heian society, it was common, and expected that all business between nobles were done with intermediaries. Also, the whole concept of screens of state was quite interesting to pay attention to; a noblewoman is not supposed to be seen directly by anyone other than her husband. The screens of state help to further complicate the various efforts by the men to woo ladies. Due to the fact that the men cannot really see what the woman looks like, they become more enchanted and put forward a greater effort to initiate a relationship.
Before anyone begins to think that Heian society was ideal, a few things should be noted. In The Tale of Genji, the setting is idealised very much; it seems perfect and beautiful. However, the society, in general, lived without very much light. At night, often a candle would be all that was used to light an entire room. Secondly, the people of the era lived a rather unglamorous life. There were few luxuries around, most likely many of the nobles were undernourished and living quarters were exposed to the weather giving them a better chance of becoming ill.
One of the more noticeable concepts about how Murasaki writes is that she uses many references to other literature and uses poetry as a major stylistic device. This is one of the major reasons that she had the nickname of "Dame Annals" around her court.
Throughout the novel, there are many references to other Asian works of literature; probably many more than I noticed due to the fact that in translation, some of the references may have been lost. For example, references are made to many obscure poems; one example is seen where "an allusion to the old poem, [is made] ‘Does he know that since he left me my eyes are wet as the coat that the fishers. . .left lying upon the shore.’ " (Murasaki 61) A second example of a reference to another work is seen later on with a reference to a poem by Po Chu-i (Murasaki 128). These references help to show how well-written the novel is and to show the skill of Murasaki.
As stated before, poetry plays an important role in the text as seen most in Genji’s wooing of the various women in his life. The poems are generally seen in tanka form, a relatively uncommon form in any period of literature save the Heian. The "tanka consists of thirty-one syllables arranged in five lines or units according to the syllable pattern 5-7-5-7-7" (Ikeda 15) There are many beautiful and romantic poems in this work and this serves to show the sensitivity of both Murasaki and the period in general.
Thematically, there are three major ideas addressed in this work. They would be that hate kills, the transitory nature of life and the nature of love.
One of the first themes that critics comment on is the idea that hate kills. This did not seem to be one of the major themes of The Tale of Genji but rather just a minor one. However, according to Waley, "That hate kills is a fundamental thesis of the book" (Murasaki 162). This theme seems to be prevalent only in the first section of the novel when ladies are possessed and become incapacitated due to the jealous spirits of spiteful women.
The second theme addressed is that of the transitory/impermanent nature of life. It is very interesting how this theme is developed without ever making direct reference to it. The major way that this is portrayed is through how the women die at a very young age; these range from Yuago at 19 while Murasaki dies at the age 43. A second idea which indirectly shows how life is transitory is seen in all of the tears that are shed. Many tears are shed throughout the novel and a significant number of allusions to tears is also made. The characters understand how short their lives are; therefore, everything moderately significant that happens to them is found to be monumental. (Ikeda 108)
The final theme that will be discussed is the nature of love. Through Genji’s actions, it seems that the ideal of love that Murasaki is portraying is one that is generally pure. Even though most of Genji’s relationships occur as the result of love, Genji cares for each and every one of his lovers. This in turn seems to show the importance of dedication in a relationship. More support of this is seen in Murasaki’s character due to the fact that no matter what Genji does, she still gives him her unconditional love. This in turn is returned by Genji.
I hope you have enjoyed this overview/analysis of the Tale of Genji. As you can well imagine, this barely touches the surface of the novel.In fact, some people have spent their entire lives dedicated to this one book (the 20 + volumes of commentary regarding Genji is one such example).Genji is, in my opinion, one of the books that should be read by everyone at sometime in their life; the second book is the Arabian Nights. I really enjoyed this well written book and due to it, have begun to do a general survey of Heian literature.
Ikeda, Daisaku. On the Japanese Classics. New York: John Weatherhill, Inc., 1979.
Levi, Antonia. Samurai from Outer Space. Chicago: Open Court, 1997.
Murasaki, Shikibu. The Tale of Genji. Trans. Arthur Waley. New York: Random House, 1993.
Copyright ©1998 Stephen Congly
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