Hi everyone, The tale of Genji is considered world’s first
ever novel written exactly a thousand years ago by a female author Shikibu Murasaki.
In this video I will summarise the novel, tell you about the author and its influence
on Japanese literature as well as politics. At the end I will tell you a few interesting things
about the tale, so make sure you watch to the end. First let me talk a little the about authors,. Lady Murasaki (973 or 978 – c. 1014
or 1031)-was born to a Japanese noble family called Fujiwara in the capital city of
Kyoto. She was employed as a lady-in-waiting, which basically means a tutor and personal poet
for a princess at the Heian court, where she was asked to write entertaining tales. As we
can see in the Tale of Genji, it appears it’s primarily written for a female audience. The sex
in the city of the day. Or 50 shades of poetry. Shikibu Murasaki is not her real
name, simple means ceremonial purple. In fact all the characters in the Tale
of Genji are called by their rank, not by name, so it can make the
reading confusing. Even today in Japan, there is a higher level of formality when it
comes to names. Surnames or company names are used more than first names. I sometimes think
why we have names at all? We should just call one another by the colour of clothes. Today
I am purple and tomorrow yellow. So much fun. Without her real name, some people think she
didn't write it, also maybe because she was woman. When you read her description of the
masculine beauty quite obsessively there is no doubt it was written by a woman. At the time,
Japanese women were not allowed to use Chinese, the language of technology and literature,
considered a masculine space. But the irony is that most of the text available today
about the Heian period was written by women. They most wrote in Kana writing system which
today is mostly for children in Japan. Who knows a thousand years from today, they
discover what kids write these days. Japan at the time was distancing itself from
China as the Tang dynasty, the most innovative and advanced empire, had declined. Japan was
becoming more isolated and nationalistic. Japanese art and literature was emerging from
the shadow of the Chinese. This was also a period of peace, as there is no mention of any
wars in the Tale of Genji. Like Basil Fawlty, don't mention the war. Even Genji’s
political exile for two years is voluntary. Now let me summarise the novel. The Tale of Genji has 54 chapters that can
be read separately, perhaps she wrote them in instalment. It tells the story of Hikaru
Genji, a prince and his romantic adventures with women and his quest for meaning in life.
Genji is the son of the emperor and a concubine, therefore he’s not pure blood. With no
royal duties, he chase women and smoke weed like Prince Harry. He is not only beautiful
as his name Hikaru means shining, he is also a poet and a thinker and a very sensitive man,
which women valued at the time. He’s in search of a perfect woman, in doing so he sleeps with a
lot of them, some are his wives and some through secret affairs, some old, young, high rank, low
rank. He even he has a child with his step-mother, behind his father’s back. He doesn't get
everyone he wants though. Some women refuse, some escape and some become Buddhist
nuns to stop all men from pursuing them. Genji lost his mother at a young age,
so he is infatuated with any woman who resembles his mother. Wow, very Freudian.
He kidnaps a 10-year old girl, Murasaki, not the author but a girl who resembles Genji’s
mother, in order to raise her as the perfect lady and sleeps with her when she is only 12. She
becomes a central character throughout the novel and Genji seems to love her the most, but
of course cheats on her a million times and her suffering brings the most anguish for Genji.
Her death seems to be his own end as well. Genji is not just a womaniser
or a playboy, he is nervous, anxious, stressed of secrecy, has bad dreams and
goes through the ups and downs of any romance. Despite all this, he cannot stop. One
could say he was obsessed with women, but never satisfied. Other men go for women
of power and money. But Genji’s motivation seems to be purely romantic or sexual and always
goes for the difficult or unusual relationships. Most women can’t resist him either,
as he seems to have everything, look, brain and access to the royal court. There are no
villains in conventional sense. One can say Genji is the hero and a villain at the same time, as he
causes a lot of miseries on his wives, especially Murasaki. But there is one lady whose spirit
seems to haunt everyone. Lady Rakujo. But even she is not a real villain, so the book seems to
suggest there is no good and evil and we are both. The book covers some 70 years, all
Genji’s romantic and political adventures. After Genji’s death it takes a more
pessimistic tone as it follows his son’s and grandson’s romantic adventures.
Genji’s death is marked by an empty chapter, which is a clever storytelling device. The
English author David Mitchell uses it in his Number9Dream by leaving the last
chapter empty, I’m currently reading a Brazilian novel, which I will make a
video later, also uses a similar device. In those days married couples slept in
different rooms, so this allows frequent affairs to take place. A lot of communication
happens through gestures and poetry. If you’re expecting some hot, steamy sex scenes, you will be
disappointed. You have to read between the lines or read 50 Shades of Grey. The Tale of Genji
is very subtle. The rustle of silken dress, youthful voice, suppressed laughter, these are
all you get, the rest? Your own imagination. Despite not having a clear plot, The tale of
Genji reads like a modern novel as the people and their emotions are portrayed realistically,
despite their archaic mode of communication. Overall it is about love in all
its forms, from the most beautiful, poetic and sublime to the
most ridiculous, tragic and horrible. Romance in all its colours that
even today’s novels find too risky to tackle. Ok, now I am going to share things
that I found interesting in this novel. The main theme of the novel follows the Buddhist
view that life is nothing but suffering. All the affairs result in sorrow and anguish. Very
little triumph. Sorrow is somewhat glorified as beautiful instead of overt happiness. The Japanese
concept mono no aware, which is literally means everything is passing. A fleeting sadness that is
beautiful. The most unique thing the Tale of Genji offers is that for the first time in history we
have an emotional record of a historical period. Women cry a lot. Men define a perfect woman
as loyal, cultured, passive and someone who ignores a man’s shortcomings. Also she doesn't
speaks the masculine, coarse Chinese language, but speaks the feminine Japanese. And she is not
concerned with politics. Interestingly, Japanese people even today don't discuss politics openly.
men and women. A perfect man? Good-looking, with lots of skills, poetic but above all a sensitive
man. Perhaps for the first time we read a woman’s perspective on how they suffered throughout
the history in the hands of men. However, you get the feeling, Murasaki the author wasn't a
big fan of many women, except the young Murasaki, Genji’s beloved wife. The author Murasaki and
Genji’s wife, Murasaki are not the same person. On the surface we might think Genji has a
fantastic life, lots of women, no real job to do, always goes from one ceremony to another, and
lives a luxurious life as a emperor’s son, but most of the time he is in distress, and
unhappy. With every new sexual conquest, he has to suffer with anxiety that comes after.
Which seems like the author is taking revenge on men, but in reality she depicts a real person
and who cannot help it. It appears Lady Murasaki knew men so well that despite what most women
thought of men as terrible for causing women a lot of misery. But the author knows that on
a deeper emotional level men are the losers. At the end Genji acknowledges the suffering of
women in the hands of men. His beloved wife, Murasaki’s selflessness, sacrifices and
silent suffering cause the most pain on Genji. Roance is questioned here. It’s not the
people involved, it is love itself that causes misery. Very similar to Proust. We all desire
things we cannot have. Love and jealousy are inseparable. For as long as we love, we suffer.
So a few women escape this vicious cycle of love, jealousy and hate, by becoming Buddhist nuns. I
suppose it has a buddhist message that in order to be happy, you should really detach yourself
from love, money and power and so forth. Meiji period (1870-1912) Japan adopted western
technology but went for everything Japanese as opposed to Chinese. Shintoism became state
religion, not Buddhism because it had come from China. Nationalism demanded Japanese cultural
identity. So intellectuals and scholars found the Tale of Genji like a sacred text to show Japanese
superiority. For example Shinobu Orikuchi, a Japanese folklorist, asks what is China? He
answers, the people who don't know the Tale of Genji. Another intellectual, Eto Jun suggested
that the West values patriarchy while Japan is very maternal and points at this novel as
evidence. Yamato-dammashi (or the Japanese spirit) was first mentioned in this tale. Yamato
is the name of Ancient Japan, before the contact with China who named it Japan or the land where
the sun rises from and the arrival of Buddhism. Just remember at the Heian period, the Japanese
loved everything about China and especially the Tang Dynasty. Murasaki praises the Japanese
spirit that grows within a Chinese education, but later intellectuals and politicians understood
the whole work as a Japanese and nothing else. But today, most Japanese know the tale taught
in schools, but very few people have read it. I think it was the interest from the West that
prompted the Japanese to value it even more. The funny thing is that most Japanese today
read the Tale of Genji in translation. Why? It was written in court Japanese for the
select few educated courtiers, very formal. It’s taught in schools and with some level of
special skills and dedication a Japanese can understand it. The most accessible
translation of The Tale of Genji into English is The Tyler Genji of 2001 as
it explains everything in the footnotes. It’s not an easy read but it has a few
famous fans. Jorge Luis Borges whom I talked in my Argentine Literature video, was a
huge fan for its depiction of human passion and psychological depth. Virginia Wolf too
loved this novel. It’s true Don Qixote has a more Aristotelian structure of beginning,
middle and end, but there is no doubt about the level of realism and psychological depth in the
Tale Genji to make it the first modern novel. In the next video, I will compare this novel
with the Persian epic of Shahnameh by Ferdowsi. I am on a journey to read books and stories from
every country on earth, so if you want to tag along, please subscribe, share and comment, as it
helps the channel. Thank you and happy reading!
