From: Dave_Spence.Ebina_PBU@FUJIXEROX.XEROX.COM
Newsgroups: fj.mail-lists.nihongo
Subject: Re: GENJI MONOGATARI
Date: 20 Aug 92 00:12:32 GMT
Distribution: fj

I, like Jim Massey, wasn't sure whether the person asking the question about
the 'value' of reading 'Genji' was referring to the language or any instrinsic?
'value' the story, itself, it might have in 'understanding' the Japanese
people. Was the intent to read it in Japanese or a translation?


If the person asking the question was referring to 'value' as it relates to
understanding the 'character' of modern Japanese people, I disagree that
reading Genji Monogatari has no value in understanding modern Japan. Neither is
it comparable to reading Homer and trying to relate it to modern Greece.  If
the person was referring to the Japanese language, however, and the book is
read in the 'original' language, then reading 'Genji' won't help much in
understanding modern Japanese language.
 I 'assumed' that the person was talking about the value in reading 'Genji' at
all, as it relates to modern Japan.  While Genji  is not necessarily
historically accurate, it must be remembered that  It was, after all, written
as entertainment.  BUT, reading Genji DOES give insight into the way the
Japanese think.  "Modern" Japan didn't happen yesterday and get populated with
"ALL NEW" Japanese people.  Trappings may have changed, but much of the way the
Japanese think and feel about things is right there in Genji Monogatari.
Much has been written about Japan and how Japan has been changed by outside
influences, but, Japan, despite its internationalization, is still, in many
ways, an insulated country. It is STILL an island nation and it STILL has an
island psychology AND it is still, by and large, a homogenous society.  And,
although any given individual at any given time might have thoughts, ideas and
feelings different from the 'mainstream', the Japanese, by and large, think and
react 'similarly'.

Reading Genji is an aid in attempting to UNDERSTAND the Japanese. If one is
satisfied with knowing a bunch of facts, things, about the Japanese, then I
agree, reading Genji won't help much. Genji is about the 'upper' class in Japan
and though the 'upper class' in Japan may not outwardly act the way the 'upper
class' in Genji did, the undercurrents of the Fujiwara period are still there.
Make no mistake about it.

Over the years I have read Genji at least three times, at different periods in
my own life and my familiarity with the Japanese, and have gotten different
things out of it each time.

Another book of the  period that is interesting is "Pillow Talk".  If I
remember the title correctly it is called 'The Pillow Talk of Sei Shonogon'
(it's been years since I read it), a look at the same society throught the eyes
of a woman.  When you read these books you need to go beyond the outer
trappings and look at the character of the people and the society.

I also recommend books by Endo Shusaku, especially his 'period' (jidai)
literature.  His books about the period that the immensely popular, but largely
innacurate, "Shogun" was about, but far more accurate in terms of history and
the description of what the people of Japan were (are?) really like. Clavell
is a Michener 'wanna-be' (sp?).  His research, unlike Michener's, is obviously
shallow and incomplete.

A pet theory of mine is that while a people's view of themselves may not always
be as objective as an outsider's view of them but and sometimes outsiders can
see things we cannot, we are, to a large part, what we think we are, not what
others may THINK we are.  Read Endo.

Japanese literature is not always as 'straightforward' as much Western
literature is, nor as 'easy' to read, and must be read as one would read a
haiku. You need to lose yourself in it and try to 'feel' what the author is
saying. If you read 'Genji' in this light, you will learn a lot about the
Japanese people.

I do not 'believe' everything that I read in the Japanese literature I have
read, nor do I believe that every author is equally perceptive or that the
lieterature is historically 'accurate'.  But, the same can be said for most
Western literature/authors.  I did not take Dumas' books to be treatises on
European culture, nor is Shakespeare, but there is a tremendous value in
reading them.

I have read a fair amount of Japanese literature over the years, unfortunately
most of it in English and only a small amount in Japanese, and have found
insights into the Japanese in most of the books I have read.  I am, by no
means, an 'expert' on Japan or the Japanese, but I have learned at least one
thing; reading Japanese literature is a great way to learn about the Japanese.
One should couple that with reading as much history about Japan as possible.
See Japanese movies (old and new), as many as possible in Japanese (not
dubbed). `Feel' what you read and see.  One cannot really enjoy, for example,
Tanizaki Junichiro unless you 'feel' what he has written.  Read some of the
lesser known works of Mishima Yukio ('kinshoku' is a fabulous book), read Abe
Kobo (he's wild), read Natsume Shoseki, the list goes on and on.  It is
difficult to say which authors are 'best' because it depends on what you are
reading for.  And reading a diversity of authors allows you to 'see' the
Japanese through different people's eyes.
Last, but not least, live in Japan, if you can (holidays don't count).

'Lecture' over.  Sorry, I got carried away.  But, Japanese literature more
often tends to carry 'messages', because of the way it is written and because
of the language, itself, than Western literature and needs to be read that way.

Dave