HIST&126

Lady murasaki, heian novelistWomen produced much of the best Heian literature. Beginning around 1008, a lady-in-waiting, Lady Murasaki (Murasaki Shibiku), wrote the greatest book, The Tale of Genji, the first psychological novel and perhaps even the first novel written by a woman anywhere in the world. Murasaki worked as the maid to Empress Akiko, the emperor’s consort and daughter of a political leader. We know only a little of Murasaki’s life, much of it from a diary she kept. She was born around 978 into a leading aristocratic family steeped in litera-ture, her grandfather being a famed poet and her father a provincial governor who, apparently lamenting she was not a boy, allowed her to study. Murasaki’s writing showed familiarity with Chinese history, lit-erature, and poetry. Indeed, she criticized young people who expected good jobs without undergoing appropriate training.Perhaps because she avidly pursued learning, Murasaki was married late, at age twenty, but her much older husband died only a few years later from illness. She had at least two children, including a daugh-ter who later became a well-known writer. Murasaki probably died sometime between 1025 and 1031, perhaps after several years as a Buddhist nun. Her self-description in her diary suggests an introverted woman:Pretty yet shy, unsociable, fond of old tales, con-ceited, so wrapped up in poetry that other people hardly exist, spitefully looking down on the whole world—such is the unpleasant opinion that people have of me. Yet when they come to know me they say that I am strangely gentle, quite unlike what they had been led to believe.Combining prose with short poems, The Tale of Genjiis much more sophisticated in language and thoughtful in sensibility than earlier Japanese literature. In Genji Murasaki made contemporary language rather than formal Chinese writing style an artistic medium. Even today words and phrases from Genji are common in Japanese language. She also had other goals, claiming that the novel should always have “a definite and serious purpose.” In focusing on her characters’ emotional and psychological interplay, her writ-ing betrays a strongly feminine perspective. A treasure-trove on social history, Genji reveals much about the times. But it is also steeped in mystery. Scholars debate whether it is really about Prince Genji, its male hero, or chiefly about the women in his life and their struggles for love, status, and security.The engaging story chronicles the life and amorous adventures of handsome Prince Genji, an emperor’s son and model for the qualities of taste and refinement admired by the Kyoto aristocracy. Genji is an accomplished poet, painter, dancer, musician, and athlete. But his supreme gift is the art most prized: “pillowing” (lovemaking). Genji and his friends, devoting little time to their government jobs, spend their days largely searching for pleasure, attending countless ceremonial functions, reciting poetry endlessly, and moving from one romantic affair to another. The novel’s mood is subdued melancholy and nostalgia for the pass-ing of lovely things. Both men and women freely express their emotions. Hence, Genji shows a keen sensitivity to nature: “I hope that I shall have a little time left for things which I really enjoy—flowers, autumn leaves, the sky, all those day-to-day changes and wonders that a single year brings forth; that is what I look forward to.” The novel ends with Genji making plans to give up his posts and retire to a mountain village, perhaps to continue with his poetry, music, and painting while focusing more on religious knowl-edge. Writing fiction stories was considered frivolous and even immoral in Heian Japan, but the greatness of her work led to acceptance and acclaim. Murasaki’s writing is still very popular today in Japan and with literature fans around the world.