Final Thoughts

I wanted to write a blog on my final thoughts and or comments. Anyone is welcome to comment or write a blog yourself. In the process of reading Tale of Genji I felt moved in many ways. Trying to find Western connections in an Eastern text was nonetheless very interesting. I enjoyed this project very much. Whether or not Shikibu meant to use 'symbolism' is still up for debate . I am very proud of our project and will look on it very fondly. Some people may think that reading Tale of Genji may be like reading the same chapter over and over (Genji finds a flower, falls in love, leaves, women longs for him etc). I do not think this is so because in each chapter Genji has grown and he himself has blossomed.
I was speaking to Professor Ogden about not finishing the story because Genji had died. I was saying that Genji was magic. When he was gone the magic was gone. What makes Genji himself is the women that surround him; they are what push him and they make him exist. Finally, flowers always continue to bloom year after year and in a way the text keeps on inspiring and 'blooming' even after this course and project is finished.

Chapter 28: The Typhoon (Nowaki)

Chapter 28: The Typhoon (Nowaki)


In chapter 28 the narrator speaks about the changing season and how people who once praised the spring are now turning their attention elsewhere (487). This demonstrates how easily swayed the characters in Genji can be. They only embrace the season that is present in them. Instead of wishing it to be another season the characters enjoy the moment. Her Majesty the Empress (Akikonomu) sat and “watched the flowers continue to grow more beautiful, rather than fade as she feared they soon might” (487). Akikonomu is a perfect example of a person who embraces the season in front of her. She understands that nothing is permanent which ties in with the idea of “mujo.” Mujo is the concept that nothing is forever and everything has an end. In this chapter the narrator goes on to say, “Those who did not much care that the flowers should suffer cried disaster nonetheless,” (487). This suggests that anyone that did not care about the life’s of flower would only lead to disaster. They should care about the flower’s brief beauty because it is not forever. Akikonomu is very moved by the changing season. Also a typhoon is coming very soon and this would definitely stir up the landscape of the flowers which gave the characters even more reason to indulge in the scenery.

In relation to Genji:
- Genji understands that nothing is forever and he enjoys what is in front of him. If he is stirred by a woman he will go for her.
- Genji’s desire to admire the beauty and life of a woman may have been looked down on but admiring the beauty of nature would not have been looked down on. Perhaps Genji views them one in the same. Beauty is beauty and should not be separated (even if they are a person).


Scene of Akikonomu and various flowers and plants that she is admiring with the typhoon coming soon.

(http://webworld.unesco.org/genji/en/part_1/28-112.shtml)

Art of Genji

(http://park.org/Japan/Hitachi/nippon/katsura_e/fig/genji.gif)
Interesting Art History tidbit: The scene is tightly cropped at the top to confine the head to show discomfort when Genji and Reizei are speaking to each other. Both of them are not able to speak of their true bond of parent and child and the diagonal divides them. Also note their body language is very similar. (Tidbit from my sister)

Below is one of the most famous scenes in the Genji series. In this painting it shows Genji looking at his former lover, Suetsumuhana. She hides herself. She has been waiting for him all this time. Note the shabby surroundings and the overgrown plants outside.

(http://w00.middlebury.edu/ID085A/gallery/intro/genji050.jpg)

The Old Man Who Made The Trees Blossom

retold by Alton Chung
(http://www.spiritoftrees.org/folktales/chung/old_man_who_made_trees_blossom.html)

Once upon a time there was a very kind old man and his wife living in a certain village. Next door to them lived a very mean old man and his wife. The kind old couple had a little white dog named Shiro. They loved Shiro very much and always gave him good things to eat. But the mean old man hated dogs, and every time he saw Shiro he threw stones at him.

One day Shiro began barking very loudly out in the farmyard. The kind old man went out to see what was the matter. Shiro kept barking and barking and began digging in the ground. "Oh, you want me to help you dig?" asked the kind old man. So he brought out a spade and began digging. Suddenly his spade hit something hard. He kept digging and found a large pot full of many pieces of gold money. Then he thanked Shiro very much for leading him to so much gold, and took the money to his house.

Now the mean old man had been peeping and had seen all of this. He wanted some gold, too. So the next day, he asked the kind old man if he could borrow Shiro for a while. "Why, of course you may borrow Shiro, if he'll be of any help to you," said the kind old man.

The mean old man took Shiro to his house and out into his field. "Now find me some gold, too," he ordered the dog, "or I'll beat you." So Shiro began digging at a certain spot. Then the mean old man tied Shiro up and began digging himself. But all he found in the hole was some terrible smelling garbage-no gold at all. This made him so angry that he hit Shiro over the head with his spade and killed him.

The kind old man and woman were very sad about Shiro. They buried him in their field and planted a little pine tree over his grave. And every day they went to Shiro's grave and watered the pine tree very carefully. The tree began to grow very fast and in only a few years it became very big. The kind old woman said, "Remember how Shiro used to love to eat rice-cakes? Let's cut down that big pine tree and make a mortar. Then with the mortar we'll make some rice-cakes in memory of Shiro."

So the old man cut down the tree and made a mortar out of its trunk. Then they filled it full of steamed rice and began pounding the rice to make rice-cakes. But no sooner did the old man begin pounding than all the rice turned into gold. Now the kind old man and woman were richer than ever.

The mean old man had been peeping through the window and had seen the rice turn to gold. He still wanted some gold for himself very badly. So the next day he came and asked if he could borrow the mortar. "Why, of course you may borrow the mortar," said the kind old man.

The mean old man took the mortar home and filled it full of steaming rice. "Now watch," he said to his wife. "When I begin pounding this rice, it'll turn to gold." But when he began pounding, the rice turned into terrible smelling garbage, and there was no gold at all. This made him so angry that he got his ax and cut the mortar up into small pieces and burned it up in the stove.

When the kind old man went to get his mortar back, it was all burned to ashes. He was very sad, because the mortar had reminded him of Shiro. So he asked for some of the ashes and took them home with him.

It was the middle of winter and all of the trees were bare. He thought he'd scatter some of the ashes around his garden. When he did, all the cherry trees in the garden suddenly began to bloom right in the middle of winter. Everybody came to see this wonderful sight, and the prince who lived in a nearby castle heard about it.

Now this prince had a cherry tree in his garden that he loved very much. He could hardly wait for spring to come so that he could see the beautiful blossoms on this cherry tree. But when spring came he discovered that the tree was dead and he felt very sad. So he sent for the kind old man and asked him to bring the tree back to life. The old man took some of ashes and climbed the tree. Then he threw the ashes up into the dead branches, and almost more quickly than you can think, the tree was covered with the most beautiful blossoms it ever had.

The prince had come on horseback to watch and was very pleased. He gave the kind old man a great deal of gold and many presents. And best of all, he knighted the old man and gave him a new name, "Sir Old-Man-Who-Makes-Trees-Blossom."

Sir Old-Man-Who-Makes-Trees-Blossom and his wife were now very rich, and they lived very happily for many more years.

Here's something I found that was interesting:

Kire: Cutting

A distinctive notion in Japanese aesthetic discourse is that of the “cut” (kire) or, “cut-continuity” (kire-tsuzuki). The “cut” is a basic trope in Rinzai School of Zen Buddhjism, especially as exemplified in the teachings of the Zen master Hakuin (1686-1769). For Hakuin the aim of “seeing into one's own nature” can only be realized if one has “cut off the root of life”: “You must be prepared to let go your hold when hanging from a sheer precipice, to die and return again to life” (Hakuin 1971: 133-35). The cut appears as a fundamental feature in the distinctively Japanese art of flower arrangement called ikebana. The term means literally “making flowers live”—a strange name, on first impression at least, for an art that begins by initiating their death. There is an exquisite essay by Nishitani Keiji on this marvelous art, in which organic life is cut off precisely in order to let the true nature of the flower come to the fore (Nishitani 1995: 23-7). There is something curiously deceptive, from the Buddhist viewpoint of the impermanence of all things, about plants, which, by sinking roots into the earth and lacking locomotion, assume an appearance of being especially “at home” wherever they are. In severing the flowers from their roots, Nishitani suggests, and placing them in an alcove, one is letting them show themselves as they truly are: as absolutely rootless as every other being in this world of radical impermanence.

The notion of cut-continuation is exemplified in the highly stylized gait of the actors in the Nô drama. The actor slides the foot along the floor with the toes raised, and then “cuts” off the movement by quickly lowering the toes to the floor—and beginning at that precise moment the sliding movement along the floor with the other foot. This stylization of the natural human walk draws attention to the episodic nature of life, which is also reflected in the pause between every exhalation of air from the lungs and the next inhalation. Through attending to the breath in zen meditation one becomes aware that the pause between exhalation and inhalation is different—more of a cut—from that between inhalation and exhalation. This reflects the possibility of life's being cut off at any moment: the one exhalation that isn't followed by an inhalation, known as “breathing one's last.”

Cutting also appears in the “cut-syllable” (kireji) in the art of haiku poetry, which cuts off one image from—at the same time as it links it to—the next. There is a famous cut-syllable at the end of the first line of the most famous haiku by Bashô, the most famous haiku poet:

Furuike ya Kawazu tobikomu Mizu no oto.

Ah, an ancient pond— Suddenly a frog jumps in! The sound of water.

In Relation to Genji:
1.Genji cuts flowers found in the wild (his ladies) and brings them to his house to be displayed.
"In severing the flowers from their roots and placing them in an alcove, one is letting them show themselves as they truly are: as absolutely rootless as every other being in this world of radical impermanence".
This is ironic to me because Genji is ill at ease Yugiri's seeming rootlessness in life
2. Might have been the reason Genji was so attratcted to Utsusemi- the Cicada Shell- an insect that eats the roots of plants

Chapter 27: The Cressets (Kagaribi)

Chapter 27: The Cressets (Kagaribi)
In this chapter Genji is still intrigued by Tamakazura while she still does not like him but slowly she “began to little by little to respond” (482). Kagaribi means “cresset” a fire held in an iron cage and used to light outside (479). This chapter is titled “cresset” because of the exchange between Genji and Tamakazura and an involvement with a servant coming in to light the cresset. The servant brought in “branches of a spindle tree that grew beside the deliciously refreshing brook” (482). The spindle tree is also called “Mayumi no ki” which is a “deciduous tree that bears small blue-green flowers and reddens nicely in autumn” (482). After the servants lights the cresset Genji is able to see Tamakazura better and he does not want to leave. The spindle tree suggests the change in season from summer to fall. Despite the changing seasons Tamakazura is still beautiful in Genji’s eyes. The spindle tree that changes colour through time also could suggest Tamakazura’s slow acceptance of Genji. Her countenance was once blue-green and then gradually through time she has reddened in acceptance of Genji.

Chapter 31: The Handsome Pillar (makibashira)

Chapter 31: The Handsome Pillar (makibashira)

Makibashira- it translates as “pillar of fine wood” or “handsome pillar.” In some cases it can be related to a house pillar probably of Japanese cypress (hinoki).

This chapter is named “makibashira” because Higekuro’s daughter leaves behind a poem tucked away in a pillar as she leaves her home. “It upset her to think of leaving the pillar on the east side, against which herself she had leaned so often” this quote demonstrates her attachment to her home (533). The pillar was a place of reliability and strength because she could lean on often. The poem that she leaves behind:

“I am leaving now a home that has long been mine: O handsome pillar,
You whom I have loved so well, please do not forget me yet!”

“The handsome pillar my still recall your love, but what then? I ask:
what is it I leave behind that could ever make me stay?”
(533-34)

The daughter speaks to the pillar of wood as if it were a person because she does not want her home to forget her. She is leaving her home and may never return and she has not known any other place to be home. This source of strength and reliability is taken away from her and she will not forget her love for her home.

Image of Higekuro's daughter tucking her poem into the pillar that she often leaned against.

http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/inpaku/story/31makibashira_e/31arasuji_e.htm

Nitobe Gardens

Took a lot of photos today, thought I'd post a few for the people who couldn't make it, or just want to experience it again. Its a moving slideshow thing, hopefully you're all using newer browsers. Just click on the moving image for a larger one. Let me know if there's anything else you want to see and I'll see if I have a photo of it.

I also took photos from the masks exhibit, I can post those if anyone is interested. Our tour guide did a great job of explaining everything right down to the details, but she also said a buddhist monk had once told her not to explain anything and just to have people enjoy it as it is.. So I won't post anything more on the garden but most of the main points if you're interested, can be found on their website here: http://www.nitobe.org/scholar.php
See you all next class!

Genji and his women in the garden

The Japanese Way: Reflection

On Hidden Flowers: The Safflower
These quotes are taken from chapter two where all the men are discussing different types of women. Upon reflection it seems as though they were distinctly discussing some of the women Genji gets with. One of them being the Safflower.

"the really facinating girl is the one of whom no one has ever heard, the strangly appealing one who lives by herself, hidden away in some ruinous overgrown old house..." (24)(Genji and To no Chujo have never heard of the princess and she is living in a ruiness house)

"her brothers face is non too prepossessing either, and there she is in the womans quarters, far at the back, where you expect nothing unusual;proud spirted, and giving a touch of distinction to everything that she does"(24)(her brother the monk)

"Compared to someone truly flawless, she of course falls short, but for what she is, she is hard to let go" (24)(compared to Murasaki ,whom he finds before he hears of the safflower, she falls short)

"Oh come now, Genji thought, it is rare to find anyone like that among the highborn"

Asagao - Ch. 9 & 20

Picture Source:
http://www.lcv.ne.jp/~komd1/asagao.htm

Although Tyler gives us the translation as "The Bluebell", searching for that does not give the same flower as the "Asagao". Asagao are actually morning glories, which are very similar to the moonflower (yugao), except that they open only in the morning and have a blue colour. I am not sure why Tyler went with bluebells, anyone have any ideas? Moon flowers and morning glories are both poisonous. The Japanese morning glory is originally from China, and it can not grow in the shade. The flowers are hermaphrodite.

In Relation to Genji:

The naming of Yugao and Asagao may be no coincidence. Even though they are similar in appearance, they are polar opposites. One opens in the day, the other, during the night. As we know, Asagao does not give in to Genji's advances. In chapter 9:

"News of all this confirmed the lady of the bluebells in her resolve that nothing of the kind should happen to her, and she rarely gave him the simplest reply. Still, he often thought how unusual it was of her, and how like her, too, not to dismiss him outright" (166).

The text's description of Asagao's decision seems very carefully worded. It is not quite a refusal. It leaves room for reflection of her intentions, it seems deliberately ambiguous because one could easily make the argument that she may have feelings for him but are hiding them because of A) Her status as a princess and/or B) Genji's recent "bad press" after his affair with Oborozukiyo. It is more elaborated upon in Chapter 20 that Genji's flirtatious behaviour is thought of by Asagao as unbecoming for his station, " ..His attitude was somewhat kinder and more tactful than in the past, but despite all his years of life since then, it remained unworthy of his rank"(367). Asagao, a princess, does not fall prey to his charms as much other ladies, "...she felt that to show him sympathy would be to range herself in his eyes beside those other women who made so much of him and to betray her own lack of character as well..."(372). She places her dignity above all, and follows a path of strict propriety. The only way in which she gives in to Genji is through the reluctant exchange of poems. Yugao bloomed for Genji during that one night, but Asagao only receives him during the day, which alludes to the Asagao flower opening only in the morning and the Yugao flower at night.

Can Asagao be seen as the "worst" kind of flawed woman portrayed in The Broom Tree chapter?

"As long as a girl has looks and youth enough, she avoids anything that might soil her name. Even when composing a letter, she takes her time to choose her words and writes in ink faint enough to leave your bemused and longing for something clearer; then when at least you get near enough to catch her faint voice, she speaks under her breathe, says next to nothing, and proves to be an expert at keeping herself hidden away..." (25).

Asagao is very self-aware of her position in the world, and does nothing to endanger her reputation. She keeps herself hidden away, by conversing with Genji only through her gentlewomen. She replies to Genji out of politeness, but the replies alone stimulate Genji into trying harder to earn her affections. Interestingly, her resistance of him only earns disapproval from the people around her, because to everyone else she appears coy. Genji is so widely admired, that I think the common belief is why wouldn't you want to submit to him? An example of this is the Akashi Novice and wife, who are very eager to give their daughter to Genji despite the knowledge that he has a very roving eye - it is that roving eye which brought him to exile in the first place. It seems that Genji's beauty is such that one can do no wrong by falling in love with him. Such is why in chapter 20, the gentlewomen and other staff all sympathizes with Genji and wonder at her cool treatment of him. The courtship is a contest of wills between Asagao and Genji. Genji's skill is such that he can play the earnest suitor easily. Burning passion is not a pre-requisite, "Genji did not exactly burn for her, but her coolness maddened him, and he hated to admit defeat" (372). Even though Genji has resolved his wanton ways, it appears he can not help himself. His attempts at Asagao do not earn him her affections, and by the end of chapter 20 he only damages his relationship with Murasaki who is upset by all of it. Is the blame upon Genji, for his stubborn pursuit of Asagao, and for perhaps taking her polite replies as possible interest? Or is it Asagao's, for refusing him despite the emptiness of her residence? Certainly, the people around Asagao see Genji as a charming prince and Asagao as a cruel, unyielding princess, because she never completely rejects him. They are quick to sympathize with Genji instead of their mistress. Although he clearly does not burn for Asagao, he sheds tears in front of her and recites beautiful poetry. Genji’s skill in the manipulation of poetry, elevates his charm and appeal. His engagement in the aesthetic is what wins over Asagao’s staff, but not Asagao herself.

Genji’s attraction to the hidden flower is played out through this passage: “…Genji naturally lay wake, deep in thought. He had the shutters raised early and gazed at the morning mist. Bluebells bloomed forlornly here and there among the dying flowers, and he picked a particularly one…” (367). Indeed, Genji perceives Asagao’s lifestyle in her increasingly deserted home as much like the pretty bluebell among the dying flowers. Genji takes it upon himself to “pick” her and to continue his habit of never ending a courtship once it has begun. Asagao’s response is that she is not a blooming flower, but a withering one. Instead of giving up, Genji multiplies his efforts. Within the text, Asagao’s cold treatment of Genji is thought of as extremely uncomfortable. This reminds me our last Thursday class with our wonderful guest speaker when we discussed the freedom of Heiian women to reject a courtship. Although Asagao exercises that freedom, she is not treated better for it. Throughout the text, there are many allusions to Genji as a shining force, like the sun. If we consider this, the withdrawal of his presence from her life has the effect of the lack of sunlight for a flower – she is the pretty flower who will wither away amongst the dying flowers.

Sources:

http://www.nbrp.jp/report/reportProject.jsp?project=morningGlory
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/53231/index.html
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Ipomoea+nil

The Akashi Lady – Chapter 12 & Chapter 13

Picture source: http://www.taleofgenji.org/akashi.html

The Novice’s daughter – She is the love interest who will give birth to the future Empress.
The Akashi lady is first mentioned in the Suma chapter.

“His daughter had no remarkable looks, but she was attractively elegant and had wit enough to rival any great lady. Knowing full well that her station left much to be desired, she took it for granted that no great lord would deign to notice her…” (269).

The Akashi lady has the qualities discussed by the Chief Equerry in The Broom Tree chapter (25). She is not particularly pretty and is not high-born, but she definitely possesses the wit and grace of the ideal lady that the Chief Equerry describes.

Furthermore, we learn that she is an accomplished koto player, that skill alone makes her more attractive (women playing the koto are considered more refined), and she earns her way into Genji’s heart with her music. Like poetry, music is a highly valued form of expression but moreover, it is purely emotional because it forges a direct connection to the audience. With poetry, there is a process of encoding by the writer, and decoding by the receiver. As a result, messages may get misunderstood, such as with the Cicada Shell Lady and Genji’s poem about her “smelly” robe. For the Akashi lady, music is her weapon, her lure- and this is what captures Genji even while he longs for Murasaki.

Throughout the text up until that point, Genji rarely truly concerns himself with what his ladies may think of his affairs with other ladies. This is not the case at Suma. During his exile at Suma, he puts off meeting with the Akashi lady because of his status of disgrace, but also because of his feelings for Murasaki:

“Genji suffered and smarted that his lady at Nijo might somehow catch wind of all this and be hurt to imagine his heart straying, even in a flight of folly; which no doubt gave the measure of his extravagant love” (270).

Genji calls his affairs a “silly amusement” (270), and that is exactly what the Akashi lady is to him until he hears her play her koto. After she plays, she becomes someone more than a companion to his loneliness in exile. He makes promises that he will come back for her, and gives her his own koto.

Another interesting section comes at the end of the Suma chapter, which connects the Akashi lady with the Dragon King, or the “supernatural”. I do not mean supernatural like ghosts and such, because it seems that the Dragon King is not so much a paranormal being, but a deity who resides in nature itself.

“He woke up and understood that the Dragon King of the sea, a great lover of beauty, must have his eye on him” (253).
Tyler notes that: “Early commentaries observe that the Dragon King, whose daughter is famous in myth, desires a beautiful son-in-law”(253).

Significance to Genji: Could this “daughter” be a reference to the Akashi lady? Immediately after the storm, the Novice arrives miraculously unharmed through the violent waves. He arrives with the hope of forging an alliance with Genji so he can present his daughter to him. The Novice tells Genji that he had a dream on the thirteenth wherein he was instructed to prepare a boat and sail to Suma. Genji had prayed to the Dragon King for protection from the storm, and perhaps in return he is hoping Genji to form a liaison with the Akashi lady. When The Novice returns to Akashi, it seems that the Dragon King itself is helping The Novice through the waves, “The same wind blew…So short a journey took hardly any time, but one could only marvel at the will of the wind” (260).

It seems that the text suggests that there are other forces at work here, as the Novice is able to travel back and forth with ease, despite the difficult waves. Also to consider, is that the Akashi Novice may be more attuned to the land through his studies and practices of Buddhism, which stresses harmony with nature. He is described as being very devoted to his practises, with the only real worry being that of his un-wedded daughter. He even tells his daughter that should he die before she weds – she should drown herself in the sea. But why would he give this order? Perhaps the drowning in the sea is not only death, but also a spiritual return to the Dragon King. According to the ancient Japanese myth, the Dragon King does have a daughter named “Otohime”, but more significantly, the human she marries is a prince (Prince Hoori). Although the Akashi lady does not give birth to a boy, her daughter does achieve the rank of Empress, which seems an accomplishment considering that she does not have a significant rank herself.

Sources:

http://www.dragonorama.com/famous/r/ryujin.html (myth)