Japanese Culture: Identity and Tradition

Tsukuri monogatari (Made Up)
They were fantasy w/ supernatural. Arose from folk law. Arose when literary culture came from China.
"The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter"

Uta monogatari (Poems)
Consist of poems and surrounding prose that is an account of the composition of the poems.
These tend to be realistic descriptions primarily of court life. They tend to be unconnected anecdotes rather than a continuation.

"Ise Monogatari".
The author is one of the good looking, great lover of history. He would usually compose poetry in relation to a particular woman.

These all came together to form the full prose form, the monogatari.

Poetry was vital for communication in Court love and romance.

Supreme masterpiece is the Genji Monogatari.
Single most important literary work.
Influences all literature and following forms of art.
Like Shakespeare in terms of plays, but doesn't convey the importance.

Lady in waiting to the Empress.

One of the great long works of world literature.
Often regarded as the world's first novel.
Psychological realism. You get a detailed picture of the characters.
Rigourously maintained time sequence.
Anticipation or build-up
Repeated imagery. Dreams
Transience or impermanence (Buddhist Influence)
Clever use of sound imagery. Sadness, grief or tragedy with the river.

Given the complexity, it's astounding that the poems were simple and undeveloped. It's a testament to the genius of Murasaki Shikibu.

Life, love, relationships are all fleeting and destined not to last. Impermanence.

Mono no aware

The inevitable awareness of life / love's impermanence. has a sad or poignant theme.

Has the ideas of karma and retribution.

Revolves around the rise of fujiwara power. Genji is not of the fujiwara plan. Relates to how he and others not of the clan come to an unfortunate end.

Diaries
Important in early Japanese literature.
We're looking at those from the Heian period.
Poetic diaries. As opposed to 'fact' diaries that simply relate record or fact, written in Chinese, and were only for men.
They were written in native kana, and reserved mainly for women.
They had considerable artistic licence, since the purpose of the form was to convey the authors emotion or feeling at a particular point in their life. The primary focus is not the factual information.

There can be great gaps between entries. They are dates, however.

They could write a diary covering a love affair. In this way they can have a sense of unity.
Murasaki also wrote her diary which conveys something of what it was like to be a lady of court in that period.

Diaries: Sensitive flows of the author.

Miscellanies
Collection of miscellaneous thoughts on correct behaviour and proper practice. You can get a more direct sense of the authors voice, since there is no intention of artifice.
"Following the meandering of the brush"
The pillow book - written at the same time as Genji. Author is a lady in waiting to another empress. Sei Shounagon.
Consists of lists or catalogues. Anecdotes on life at court, observations on nature, and on other people's behaviour.
Often used as a reference for other writers of poetry. She had lists of beautiful places.
Lists of things that she find awkward.
Things that look pretty but are bad inside.
Things that should not be seen by firelight.
Wit and humour. She has written it for fun, for her own amusement. Which doesn't happen again for ages. Most other authors are concerned with pathos 'aware'.
She engages freely with men in conversation, and doesn't hold back in showing how good she is at it.

"Essays in idleness". Written several centuries later in the Kamakura period.

The Nature of beauty and proper behaviour. Important for aesthetics in pre modern Japan. Things that are beautiful are beautiful because they are showing signs of their impermanence. A scroll fraying at the edges.
He also puts forward irregularity and asymmetry that become bedrock of Japanese aesthetics.
Mood viewing is considered to be most beautiful when it is partially hidden by clouds, or just about to disappear or come out.
Sakura - more beautiful when they are falling, not when they are all in perfect full bloom.
This has been a classic since the 17th century.
It is used in the education of the young right up until now. Dictates how people should behave and what is beautiful.
Influential in plays etc. Many of the not quite understood concepts of beauty in the Japanese can be attributed to this work. It's at the root of that particular response.

Order symmetry balance completion are aesthetics in western culture.