James McMullen (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190654979
- eISBN:
- 9780190655013
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190654979.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
Abstract The Tale of Genji, written by a Murasaki Shikibu, a female courtier commonly celebrated as a genius, is the greatest work of Japanese literature and has fascinated readers for more than a ...
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Abstract The Tale of Genji, written by a Murasaki Shikibu, a female courtier commonly celebrated as a genius, is the greatest work of Japanese literature and has fascinated readers for more than a millennium. It depicts a court life of great sophistication over four generations, concentrating on the ascendancy of a gifted son of an emperor and his relationships with numerous women. Its psychological depth and brilliant narrative technique have astounded critics and general readers alike. Outside Japan, however, little attention has been paid to the philosophical assumptions underpinning this compelling masterpiece. The present volume contains eight essays by scholars of classical Japanese literature, which explore the assumptions and beliefs concerning human experience and its literary presentation that inform the narrative. An introduction sets the historical scene. Successive chapters analyze aspects of the work that are fundamental to its understanding of its own world and, at the same time, resonate with preoccupations of the twenty-first century reading public. The first group of three essays addresses the nature of political power and its relationship with mythology, the concept of time and space and the influence of China, and the construction of moral personhood that enables men to engage in multiple love affairs. Three essays describe the important cultural practices of poetry, calligraphy, and garden- making. Two concluding essays explore the concept of gender that facilitated the creation of the work by a female author in a society which disprivileged women and the pervasive influence of Buddhism on both the work itself and how it has been understood in Japan.Less
Abstract The Tale of Genji, written by a Murasaki Shikibu, a female courtier commonly celebrated as a genius, is the greatest work of Japanese literature and has fascinated readers for more than a millennium. It depicts a court life of great sophistication over four generations, concentrating on the ascendancy of a gifted son of an emperor and his relationships with numerous women. Its psychological depth and brilliant narrative technique have astounded critics and general readers alike. Outside Japan, however, little attention has been paid to the philosophical assumptions underpinning this compelling masterpiece. The present volume contains eight essays by scholars of classical Japanese literature, which explore the assumptions and beliefs concerning human experience and its literary presentation that inform the narrative. An introduction sets the historical scene. Successive chapters analyze aspects of the work that are fundamental to its understanding of its own world and, at the same time, resonate with preoccupations of the twenty-first century reading public. The first group of three essays addresses the nature of political power and its relationship with mythology, the concept of time and space and the influence of China, and the construction of moral personhood that enables men to engage in multiple love affairs. Three essays describe the important cultural practices of poetry, calligraphy, and garden- making. Two concluding essays explore the concept of gender that facilitated the creation of the work by a female author in a society which disprivileged women and the pervasive influence of Buddhism on both the work itself and how it has been understood in Japan.
