Victoria P Neal Essays - Japanese Literature, The Tale Of Genji

Victoria P Neal Professor Bollinger EH 207 4 November 2017 Option # 1 Cultural Values in Genji Murasaki Shikibu wrote The Tale of Genji in the Heian period or a Renaissance time in Japan. The people of that time were very focused on art, poetry, and nature. Before The Tale of Genji, most literature was in the form of poetry so the story really intrigued the peers of Shikibu. The story consists of fifty-four chapters, therefore it is extremely long. The complicated tale has so many characters and was the first novel ever written so the story was a big deal, and it was written by a woman. It can be considered controversial if the reader does not understand the audience that the story was written for and what the culture was like in Japan at the time. Women were the intended audience, but even today, the tale captivates the readers of all ages and gender. The Tale of Genji has been around since 1000 A.D. and is still appreciated and read daily around the world. Shikibu wrote about Japanese society, relationships, and religion in The Tale of Genji and created a man fo r every woman in Japan to lust after. Aristocrats make up a lot of the characters in the tale. They never appeared to be doing much work, but they seem to have more leisure time than anything. The emperor was the center of focus for all of the aristocrats. Genji was the son of the Emperor Kiritsubo, but Genji would never be an emperor because of his mother's lower rank. Genji had a lot of time to have a wife, have consorts, and write beautiful poetry for all of them. His focus was rank and bearing children, but they were also very poetic when it came to art, beauty, love, and nature. Poetry, music, calligraphy, and fashion was important in every-day life to thrive in this society. Genji kidnapped the Lady Murasaki when she was a little girl and taught her all the things she needed to know to succeed like writing and poetry. The women and men were equal at this time, and women had jobs, land, and freedom. Lady Fujitsubo even though she was the Emperor's wife decided to become a nun because she had the option. The soc iety was very different from others at the time with women having so many rights, and it is very visible in The Tale of Genji. When men went to visit women to attract them, the woman would be behind a curtain and he might see her brightly colored sleeve and her long thick hair. They would pass poetry back and forth and maybe play music with each other. When determining who to allow to stay the night with you, this visit was very important. Appearance was not as important as how cultured the woman or man was. Genji tried to attract Princess Hitachi, but she was very shy because of her big nose so he eventually gave up because not only would she not talk to him but she was also not attractive. With appearance not being very important in the culture, Genji was portrayed as irresistible and the most attractive of the time period. He probably would have stayed the night with her if she would have communicated with him. Men were allowed many wives and consorts. Ladies-in-waiting were allowed to pursue men of the court, but most women were not only sleeping with their husband but whoever they pleased. Women wo uld wear many layers of robes with specifically chosen colors and they could all be taken off with one pull of a tie, and their hair was usually longer than they were tall. In this society, your rank and your ability to write beautiful poetry and calligraphy would affect whether the man or woman would come around the screen separating the two. Religion played a big role in the upper class, as Buddhism became a new religion. Many believed Genji practiced the Shinto religion. People can also argue about which religion played a part in The Tale of Genji , but I believe that Buddhism plays a big part in the tale. Buddhist believe in Karma