You're a Badass Book Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Japanese Aesthetics and the Tale of Genji Liya Li Department of English SUNY/Rockland Community College [email protected] T
Japanese Aesthetics and The Tale of Genji Liya Li Department of English SUNY/Rockland Community College [email protected] Table of Contents 1. Themes and Uses 2. Instructor’s Introduction 3. Student Readings 4. Discussion Questions 5. Sample Writing Assignments 6. Further Reading and Resources 1. Themes and Uses Using an excerpt from the chapter “The Sacred Tree,” this unit offers a guide to a close examination of Japanese aesthetics in The Tale of Genji (ca.1010). This two-session lesson plan can be used in World Literature courses or any course that teaches components of Zen Buddhism or Japanese aesthetics (e.g. Introduction to Buddhism, the History of Buddhism, Philosophy, Japanese History, Asian Literature, or World Religion). Specifically, the lesson plan aims at helping students develop a deeper appreciation for both the novel and important concepts of Japanese aesthetics. Over the centuries since its composition, Genji has been read through the lenses of some of the following terms, which are explored in this unit: • miyabi (“courtly elegance”; refers to the aristocracy’s privileging of a refined aesthetic sensibility and an indirectness of expression) • mono no aware (the “poignant beauty of things;” describes a cultivated sensitivity to the ineluctable transience of the world) • wabi-sabi (wabi can be translated as “rustic beauty” and sabi as “desolate beauty;” the qualities usually associated with wabi and sabi are austerity, imperfection, and a palpable sense of the passage of time. • yûgen (an emotion, a sentiment, or a mood so subtle and profoundly elegant that it is beyond what words can describe) For further explanation of these concepts, see the unit “Buddhism and Japanese Aesthetics” (forthcoming on the ExEAS website.) 2. -
A COMPARISON of the MURASAKI SHIKIBU DIARY and the LETTER of ABUTSU Carolina Negri
Rivista degli Studi Orientali 2017.qxp_Impaginato 26/02/18 08:37 Pagina 281 REFERENCE MANUALS FOR YOUNG LADIES-IN-WAITING: A COMPARISON OF THE MURASAKI SHIKIBU DIARY AND THE LETTER OF ABUTSU Carolina Negri The nature of the epistolary genre was revealed to me: a form of writing devoted to another person. Novels, poems, and so on, were texts into which others were free to enter, or not. Letters, on the other hand, did not exist without the other person, and their very mission, their signifcance, was the epiphany of the recipient. Amélie Nothomb, Une forme de vie The paper focuses on the comparison between two works written for women’s educa- tion in ancient Japan: The Murasaki Shikibu nikki (the Murasaki Shikibu Diary, early 11th century) and the Abutsu no fumi (the Letter of Abutsu, 1263). Like many literary docu- ments produced in the Heian (794-1185) and in the Kamakura (1185-1333) periods they describe the hard life in the service of aristocratic fgures and the difculty of managing relationships with other people. Both are intended to show women what positive ef- fects might arise from sharing certain examples of good conduct and at the same time, the inevitable negative consequences on those who rejected them. Keywords: Murasaki Shikibu nikki; Abutsu no fumi; ladies-in.waiting; letters; women’s education 1. “The epistolary part” of the Murasaki Shikibu Diary cholars are in agreement on the division of the contents of Murasaki Shikibu nikki (the Murasaki Shikibu Diary, early 11th century) into four dis- Stinct parts. The frst, in the style of a diary (or an ofcial record), presents events from autumn 1008 to the following New Year, focusing on the birth of the future heir to the throne, Prince Atsuhira (1008-1036). -
Murasaki Shikibu: a Reign of One Thousand Years Christine Cousins
Murasaki Shikibu: A Reign of One Thousand Years Christine Cousins Genji, the Shinning Prince, is a master of painting, music, calligraphy, and poetry, and as such would surely have recognized the mastery in Murasaki Shikibu's writing. The success of Murasaki's fictional Tale of Genji over the next thousand years, as demonstrated by the ten thousand books on the subject by the 1960s, cannot simply be the result of the peculiarity of a woman writer.1 Indeed, the evolution of literature during the Heian time period and its connections to Chinese influences contributed to a phenomenon in which woman were the predominant literary producers.2 A component of Genji's success can be attributed to Murasaki's innovative use of literary form through the previously unknown novel, but even one thousand years later, when the novel is not revolutionary, the work is still part of Japanese culture. Murasaki's execution in writing her work is another necessary component to Genji's success, since her skill in portraying the complex interconnections of the Heian period, as well as her plot and characters, underlie the tale’s merit. People have found value in this work for centuries, but Genji's legacy can be distinctly seen in the significance it has accrued in Murasaki's country during times of increasing modernization and Western influence. Translations of the tale into modern Japanese, including those by Yosano Akiko, preserve a national identity, particularly as it relates to literature and culture. Murasaki utilized the opportunities available to her as a woman in the Heian period to create a master work that would, over the course of a thousand years, influence the very form of culture in Japan. -
Ordinary Women: Murasaki Shikibu
ActivityORDINARY WOMEN: Sheet MURASAKI SHIKIBU SUMMARY STOPPING POINTS/VIDEO BREAKDOWN “In 10th century Japan, literary prodigy 0:25 Introduction to Murasaki Murasaki Shikibu wrote the first modern 0:45 A cloistered world novel at a time when women’s names 1:00 Literate background were rarely even written down.” 1:30 Tale of Genji “The Tale of Genji is often considered the 1:55 Multifaceted female characters first modern novel because Murasaki 2:30 Issues of fame offered readers not just a chronicle of 2:50 History of women writing events, but deep psychological insight into the characters and their inner lives. Her story made history because it was more than just a story: It was a complex literary portrait of what it means to be human.” DISCUSSION QUESTIONS & THEMES 1. Murasaki Shikibu was born to an aristocratic Japanese family around 970, when aristocratic women were kept hidden from society and “shielded from public view”. Although this practice is not commonplace today, how might we compare contemporary times and phenomena to that of Shikibu’s experience in an “intensely cloistered world”? For example, comparing the still-present and highly problematic societal expectation that women stay at home and give up careers in order to raise a family. 2. Consider her father’s response to Shikibu’s literary talents: “Just my luck. What a pity she was not born a man.” Why would he have reacted this way? How else can we identify a favouring of sons in contemporary cultures throughout the world? 3. Although about a male character, Shikibu’s novel offers valuable insight into what it was like to be a woman in her time through the presence of “multifaceted female characters.” How do novels and other works of art help us begin to understand the experiences of others? 4. -
Introduction to Emaki
Introduction to Emaki The emakimono or emaki is a horizontal illustrated narrative scroll that is distinctly Japanese. Its predecessors originated in India and, along with Buddhism, came to Japan through China. Scrolls were used to depict stories of historical events, provide religious commentary, illustrate works of fiction and poetry, or serve as a form of creative expression for the artist. Scrolls were most often made of paper or occasionally from silk. They were attached to a wooden dowel at the left end and then rolled up for storage on shelves or in boxes. The story or narrative was read by unrolling the scroll a little at a time, from right to left, like Japanese is written. Japanese is traditionally written in vertical lines from right to left so the format of scrolls, with the text alternating with pictures, was a format compatible with Japanese writing conventions. The scenes developed in movie-like fashion, unrolling the narrative for the viewer. After the scroll was viewed, it was rolled up. Pictures were drawn with ink, painted, or stamped. The ink or water-soluble colors were applied with animal-hair brushes. There was no way to correct a mistake or to repaint, as can be done with oil or acrylic paint. Planning ahead was important; because painting was done on the spot, the result was a spontaneity and freshness to the work. Work was intense because a single brush stroke could ruin a scroll. Scrolls were generally 8 to 20 inches in height and could reach up to 60 feet in length. A story could take from one to as many as ten scrolls. -
Dying in Two Dimensions: Genji Emaki and the Wages of Depth Perception
R EGINALD J ACKS ON Dying in Two Dimensions: Genji emaki and the Wages of Depth Perception !e Gotō Museum’s “Yomigaeru Genji monogatari emaki” exhibit of – was an ambitious attempt to “resurrect” (yomigaeru) the museum’s legendary illus- trated handscrolls of !e Tale of Genji (the Genji monogatari emaki) by analyz- ing the flaking, faded twelfth-century scrolls scientifically and having artists paint a series of new, more polished and more vibrant but ostensibly “faithful” copies to be exhibited alongside the originals. In its apparent attempt to make the scrolls more accessible and appealing to modern audiences, the exhibit was nothing less than an attempt to produce a contemporary viewing public in relation to art of the Heian period (–).¹ But such a desire to consoli- date the audience’s impressions of the artwork does away with facets of the scrolls that might endanger the construction of a unified viewership. In par- ticular, the refabrication of the scrolls strategically excludes the narrative cal- ligraphic kotobagaki sections that in fact compose the lion’s share of the extant Genji scrolls, effectively severing an intimate bond between narrative text and narrative image. Even more significantly, the redacted reproduction fails to account for the calligraphic performance of dying that figures so prominently in the climatic deathbed scenes of the Tale of Genji protagonists Kashiwagi and Murasaki no Ue. In this article, I would like to consider some of the potential 150 implications of this omission. My primary goal will be to think through the spatial and temporal dimensions of artistic representations of death in rela- tion to the composition—and decomposition—of the Genji emaki. -
The Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Tale of Genji and a Dream of Red Mansions
Volume 5, No. 2-3 24 The Cross-cultural Comparison of The Tale of Genji and A Dream of Red Mansions Mengmeng ZHOU Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China; Email: [email protected] Abstract: The Tale of Genji, and A Dream of Red Mansions are the classic work of oriental literature. The protagonists Murasaki-no-ue and Daiyu, as the representatives of eastern ideal female images, reflect the similarities and differences between Japanese culture and Chinese culture. It is worthwhile to elaborate and analyze from cross-cultural perspective in four aspects: a) the background of composition; b)the psychological character; c) the cultural aesthetic orientation; and d)value orientation. Key Words: Murasaki-no-ue; Daiyu; cross-cultural study 1. THE BACKGROUND OF COMPOSITION The Tale of Genji, is considered to be finished in its present form between about 1000 and 1008 in Heian-era of Japan. The exact time of final copy is still on doubt. The author Murasaki Shikibu was born in a family of minor nobility and a member the northern branch of the Fujiwara clan. It is argued that her given name might have been Fujiwara Takako. She had been a maid of honor in imperial court. As a custom in imperial court, the maid of honor was given an honorific title by her father or her brother‘s position. ―Shikibu‖ refers to her elder brother‘s position in the Bureau of Ceremony (shikibu-shō).―Murasaki‖ is her nickname, which is called by the readers, after the character Murasaki-no-ue in The Tale of Genji. -
Il Genji Monogatari 源氏物語
IL GENJI MONOGATARI 源氏物語 1008, Murasaki Shikibu 紫式部 STRUTTURA DELL’OPERA Perdita del manoscritto originale, ma circolazione di sezioni dell’opera sin dagli anni di composizione Versione definitiva del testo: Fujiwara no Teika, tardo dodicesimo secolo (codice Aobyōshi ): 54 capitoli, che includono prosa e 795 waka (opera più lunga della storia della narrativa giapponese) • Capitoli 1-41: avventure amorose di Hikaru Genji 光 源氏 (Genji lo splendente) (1-33: giovinezza) • Capitoli 42-54: “eredi” di Genji, Kaoru Chūjō 薫中將 e Niou no miya 匂の宮 (con 3 capitoli di transizione) Non è certo se questi fossero la divisione/ordine originari (n.b.: pratica del “rizoma”) ALTRE PROBLEMATICHE FILOLOGICHE Problema del titolo: • compare come Genji no Monogatari nel Murasaki Shikibu Nikki • testi più tardi riportano anche le varianti Hikaru Genji Monogatari e Murasaki no Monogatari . Esistono varianti anche dei titoli dei capitoli: • Quelli “standard” sono ricavati da elementi chiave del capitolo stesso • È probabile che inizialmente fossero privi di titolo o indicati con un numero STILE Uso e nuova codifica del wabun Base: lingua colloquiale dell’aristocrazia di Heian, trasformata in lingua letteraria e poetica Vocabolario ristretto Commistione con la poesia • Uso di citazioni poetiche in prosa (attraverso parafrasi o allusioni: pratica dello hikiuta 引歌) Modello per la lingua letteraria di tutta la produzione narrativa successiva. Altri elementi stilistici che caratterizzano l’opera (e fanno da modello per la narrativa successiva) Ricchezza di -
Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies English Selection
Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies English Selection 3 | 2014 On The Tale of Genji: Narrative, Poetics, Historical Context From the Kagerō no nikki to the Genji monogatari Du Kagerō no nikki au Genji monogatari Jacqueline Pigeot Electronic version URL: https://journals.openedition.org/cjs/687 DOI: 10.4000/cjs.687 ISSN: 2268-1744 Publisher INALCO Electronic reference Jacqueline Pigeot, “From the Kagerō no nikki to the Genji monogatari”, Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies [Online], 3 | 2014, Online since 12 October 2015, connection on 08 July 2021. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/cjs/687 ; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/cjs.687 This text was automatically generated on 8 July 2021. Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. From the Kagerō no nikki to the Genji monogatari 1 From the Kagerō no nikki to the Genji monogatari Du Kagerō no nikki au Genji monogatari Jacqueline Pigeot EDITOR'S NOTE Original release : Jacqueline PIGEOT, « Du Kagerō no nikki au Genji monogatari », Cipango, Hors-série, 2008, 69-87. Jacqueline PIGEOT, « Du Kagerō no nikki au Genji monogatari », Cipango [En ligne], Hors- série | 2008, mis en ligne le 24 février 2012. URL : http://cipango.revues.org/592 ; DOI : 10.4000/cipango.592 1 The scholarly community now concurs that the Genji monogatari is indebted to the Kagerō no nikki 蜻蛉日記 (The Kagerō Diary), the first extant work in Japanese prose written by a woman.1 2 The Kagerō author, known only as “the mother of Fujiwara no Michitsuna” 藤原道綱母, and Murasaki Shikibu are separated by a generation or two: the former was born in 936 and the latter around 970. -
The Wakan Dialectic As Polemic
Purple Displaces Crimson: The Wakan Dialectic as Polemic The cultural phenomenon known as wakan, the creative juxtaposition of Japanese (wa)and Chinese (kan) elements, can be difficult to articulate given the ambiguity involved in defining the boundaries of what makes something Chinese or Japanese, especially over time, or according to the unique perspectives of any given individual. Even at the seemingly irreducible level oflanguage, the apposition oflogographs expressing Chinese poems (kanshi), for example, and syllabic kana script expressing Japanese waka poems are not without nuances that render them fluid, interdependent, and aesthetically unified. Consider a 1682rendition of the Wakan roeishu (FIG.1), the famous eleventh-century anthology of Chinese and Japanese poetry, in which four columns of darkly inked logo graphs render fragments of Chinese poems nearly twice the size of the attenuated columns of kana to the left.' While the powerful Chinese graphs brushed in an assertive running script may at first seem clearly distinct and visually dominant, a closer look reveals an underlying merging of wa and kan in the work through, among other things, the paper decoration. Images of Chinese-style dragons contained within horizontal lines studded with golden dots roil across the upper register of the paper, breathing life into the design suggestive of a variety of associations, from Chinese emperors to serpentine kings beneath the sea. On the other hand, forms reminis cent ofblue clouds, invoking Japanese methods of paper manufacture, encroach toward the center, spilling over and neutralizing the visual force of the dragons, whose golden hue harmonizes with golden hills below. Beneath the calligraphy gold designs ofJapanese bush clover create a local setting for this synesthetic theater of poetic performance. -
The Tale of Genji” and Its Selected Adaptations
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Jagiellonian Univeristy Repository Anna Kuchta Instytut Filozo!i, Uniwersytet Jagielloński Joanna Malita Instytut Religioznawstwa, Uniwersytet Jagielloński Spirit possession and emotional suffering in „The Tale of Genji” and its selected adaptations. A study of love triangle between Prince Genji, Lady Aoi and Lady Rokujō Considered a fundamental work of Japanese literature – even the whole Japanese culture – !e Tale of Genji, written a thousand years ago by lady Murasaki Shikibu (a lady-in-waiting at the Imperial Court of the empress Shōshi1 in Heian Japan2), continues to awe the readers and inspire the artists up to the 21st century. %e amount of adaptations of the story, including more traditional arts (like Nō theatre) and modern versions (here !lms, manga and anime can be mentioned) only proves the timeless value and importance of the tale. %e academics have always regarded !e Tale of Genji as a very abundant source, too, as numerous analyses and studies have been produced hitherto. %is article intends to add to the perception of spiri- tual possession in the novel itself, as well as in selected adaptations. From poems to scents, from courtly romance to political intrigues: Shikibu covers the life of aristocrats so thoroughly that it became one of the main sour- ces of knowledge about Heian music3. Murasaki’s novel depicts the perfect male, 1 For the transcript of the Japanese words and names, the Hepburn romanisation system is used. %e Japanese names are given in the Japanese order (with family name !rst and personal name second). -
1.12.13 EALL 271 Syllabus 1
East Asian Languages and Literatures 271 (Spring 2014) Japanese Literature in Translation--Traditional (WI) Instructor: Saeko Shibayama Office: Moore 388 Email: [email protected] Phone: 956-2071 Office Hours: Wed. 2:30-3PM and by appointment Class Hours: MWF 11:30-12:20 in Moore 112 Course Description: This course is a survey of pre-1868 (pre-Meiji/premodern) Japanese literature, in which some 30 major literary works from the eighth through the late-eighteenth century are introduced. The majority of works are excerpted, and students are not expected to conduct their own research to fill in the lacunae. Rather, through the method of close reading, students are expected to acquire and demonstrate firsthand knowledge of selected canonical texts of Japanese literature. Although the instructor will provide background information on the socio-cultural and intellectual history of Japan as it relates to the production of each text, you will not succeed in this course without actively reading all the assigned primary texts, and assessing them critically. Designated as “writing intensive,” the course is both “reading intensive” and “writing intensive.” Over the course of the semester, you will write six short papers (3 pages each, except for the last one, which is 4 pages long). Writing is a holistic process; first, you must propose your own paper topic and consult with the instructor each time, either in person or by email. Second, you must develop your own original ideas and express them in accordance with the stylistic rules and conventions of academic writing. Third, you will receive written feedback (not necessarily micro-editing) from the instructor, and will have an opportunity to revise your paper.