Jump to content

The Diary of Lady Murasaki

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Victoriaearle (talk | contribs) at 22:14, 25 September 2011 (→‎Background: & again). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Murasaki Shikibu depicted in c. 1765 ink and color Nishiki-e by Komatsuken.

The Diary of Lady Murasaki (紫式部日記 Murasaki Shikibu Nikki) is a record of the daily life of Heian era lady-in-waiting and writer, Lady Murasaki Shikibu, the author of The Tale of Genji, most likely written between 1008 and 1010. Much of the work consists of descriptive passages about court ceremonies—the birth of Empress Shōshi's (Akiko) children makes up about half of the diary. The rest describes Murasaki's relationships with other ladies-in-waiting and court writers such as Izumi Shikibu, Akazome Emon, and Sei Shōnagon.

In the 13th century (during the Kamakura period), an unknown artist painted the Murasaki Shikibu Nikki Emaki (color, handscroll).

Background

Murasaki Shikibu, depicted by Tosa Mitsuoki, from his illustrations of The Tale of Genji (17th century)

A Japanese script was developed in the 9th century , called kana, and for the first time Japanese prose was written in the vernacular, becoming a popular form of literature by the end of the 9th century. Literary forms such as monogatari gained popularity, as did diaries and journals known as nikki.[1][2][3] Heian culture and court life reached its peak early in the 11th century, during a period when literary pursuits were fashionable and ladies-in-waiting at the Imperial court commonly kept diaries.[4]

Written probably between 1008 and 1010, the short fragmentary diary is vital to an understanding of the author about whom little is known. Most of the biographical details of her life exist in the diary (Murasaki Shikibu nikki) and in her short poetry collection, the Murasaki Shikibu shū Poetic Memoirs, written around 1014.[5]

Murasaki Shikibu became a lady-in-waiting at about 1006. Her real name is unknown. She was born into a minor branch of the Fujiwara clan. Her father, a scholar of Chinese literature, educated both his daughter and son in classical Chinese. Murasaki accompanied her father when he was posted as a provincial governor to Echizen province. She returned to Kyoto a few years later for a brief marriage that lasted from around 998 to 1000 when her husband died. During that period she gave birth to a daughter.[6] A few years later, at the request of Fujiwara no Michinaga, she entered imperial service to his daughter Empress Shōshi.[7]

Her diary was most written after she entered service. Although it includes biographical elements, much of it describes imperial court life.[6]

The diary

Overview

Helen McCullough explains that the genre Murasaki followed, Nikki Bungaku, is closer to an autobiographical memoir than to a diary. The format served to convey information to the readers, which in Murasaki's work includes anecdotes about herself, other ladies-in-waiting, and important ceremonial court occasions, and was a genre that typically included poetry in the form of waka.[8] Unlike a traditional diary, the author of a Heian-era nikki selected what to include, expand, or exclude. Time was treated in a similar manner; instead of many entries for discreet periods of time, a nikki might present long entries for a single event and ignore other events. The nikki was considered literature, often not written by the subject, almost always written in third-person, and sometimes included elements of fiction or history.[8]

Murasaki's diary can be divided in three parts. A large portion is devoted to the birth of Shoshi's eldest son; another portion presents one or more letters in which Murasaki discusses the attributes and characters of ladies-in-waiting at court; and the third piece is a compilation of court anecdotes.[9]

Not much is known about Murasaki's early years and in the diary she reveals few details about her life before entering service at the imperial palace.[10] She writes that she learned Chinese as a child with her brother, Nobunori:

When my brother Nobunori  ... was a boy my father was very anxious to make a good Chinese scholar of him, and often came himself to hear Nobunori read his lessons. On these occasions I was always present, and so quick was I at picking up the language that I was soon able to prompt my brother whenever he got stuck. At this my father used to sigh and say to me: "If only you were a boy how proud and happy I should be." But ... person after person assured me that even boys generally become very unpopular if it is discovered that they are fond of their books. For a girl, of course, it would be even worse; and after this I was careful to conceal the fact that I could write a single Chinese character.[11]

The diary describes court life from Murasaki's point of view. She describes the kimonos the women at court wore,[12] the beauty of the clothing and the manner in which food was pleasingly arranged during court banquets. She was deeply affected by nature in which she found beauty, describing the changing seasons and weather. On the other hand, she also describes the ugliness she encountered at court: men who became drunk, behaved badly, and often made advances to the ladies-in-waiting. She admits to being unhappy and lonely, and that she had few friends among the court women.[13] She presents anecdotes about courtly scandals concerning women who, because of either their behavior or their age, were made to leave court; drunken revelries; and her own concerns about aging. Murasaki suggests that the court women with whom she lived were weak-willed, uneducated, and inexperienced with men.[14]

Michinaga no Fujiwara and Empress Shōshi

Fujiwara no Michinaga, shown here in a 13th century illustration of Murasaki Shikibu's diary.
Painting of a standing man facing right
Empress Shōshi and her infant son Atsuhira, with ladies-in-waiting, shown here in a 13th century illustration of Murasaki Shikibu's diary.

Murasaki presents Fujiwara no Michinaga in an unflattering manner, particularly in the sections where he takes charge during the birth of his grandson, Prince Atsuhira overshadowing the Emperor himself (the child's father) and the attending priests. At the time of the birth he took charge, and after the child's birth, Michinaga visited the infant, who would became the emperor, twice daily.[15] Half of the diary is devoted to this single event, and therefore is seen by many scholars as a tribute to Michinaga.[16] Passages in the diary include descriptions of the place of birth, (at Michinaga's mansion), the clothing and wall hangings, (white), and a the ritual of cutting a lock of Shōshi's hair. Michinaga was allowed to visit his daughter and grandson 16 days after the birth, at which time a lavish ceremony was held.[17] Murasaki describes in detail the clothing worn for the occasion: "Saemon no Naishi carried the sword. She was wearing a plain yellow-green jacket, a train shaded darker at the hem, and a sash and waistbands with raised embroidery in orange and white checked silk".[18]

In his 1982 English translation, Richard Bowring speculates that the conflict between Murasaki and Shōshi's mother, Michinaga's first and principal wife, probably arose because she was angered by his flagrant flirtation with Murasaki. Michinaga was arguably the most powerful man at court, and certainly the most powerful male figure in Shōshi's court and that of her mother Rishi; Murasaki describes events in which Michinaga greatly embarrasses his daughter and wife with his drunken antics which they are forced to watch in silence.[19] Keene believes Heian court life, as presented in Murasaki's diary, is the antithesis of court life as presented in her monogatari, The Tale of Genji, and that the "shining prince" Genji in every way appears to contrast to Michinaga's crassness.[20]

Ladies-in-waiting

Sei Shōnagon (author of The Pillow Book) was in service at Empress Teishi's (Sadako) court, rival and co-empress with Shōshi. The two empresses competed for educated women; consequently Shōnagon and Murasaki became rivals. It is possible that Shōnagon had left court when Murasaki arrived at about 1006, five years after Empress Teishi's death. Nevertheless, Murasaki would known Shōnagon, or from Shōshi's court heard her spoken about in a disparaging terms. In the diary her description of Shōnagon is unflattering. In the diary, Murasaki devotes a long unflattering description to Shōnagon:

Sei Shōnagon's most marked characteristic is her extraordinary self-satisfaction. But examine the pretentious compositions in Chinese script which she scatters so liberally over the Court, and you will find them to be a mere patchwork of blunders. Her chief pleasure consists in shocking people; and as each new eccentricity becomes only too painfully familiar, she gets driven on to more and more outrageous methods of attracting notice. She was once a person of great taste and refinement; but now she can no longer restrain herself from indulging, even under the most inappropriate circumstances, in any outburst that the fancy of the moment suggests. She will soon have forfeited all claim to be regarded as a serious character, and what will become of her when she is too old for her present duties I really cannot imagine.[21]

Rival court poet Sei Shōnagon, shown gazing at the snow in an 1872 ukiyo-e print by Utagawa Yoshitora
Painting of a standing man facing right
Lady Murasaki Shikibu shown writing at her desk in an 1867 ukiyo-e by Yoshitoshi

Also in Shōshi's employ were Izumi Shikibu and Akazome Emon—Shikibu a poet and Emon the author of a monogatari.[22] Similar to her remarks about Shōnagon, Murasaki was critical when writing about Shikibu: "Izumi Shikibu is an amusing letter-writer; but there is something not very satisfactory about her. She has a gift for dashing off informal compositions in a careless running-hand; but in poetry she needs either an interesting subject or some classic model to imitate. Indeed it does not seem to me that in herself she is really a poet at all."[23]

Murasaki appears to have been unhappy and lonely at court. In particular she disliked the courtiers and princes who drank heavily and behaved in an discourteous manner. In a famous incident, often recounted, the court poet Fujiwara no Kintō joined a group of women at a banquet and asked whether Murasaki was in attendance—an allusion to a character in The Tale of Genji. Murasaki quickly told him that none of Genji's characters were at court, showing her displeasure with the men. She goes on the describe the dinner, "Counsellor Takai...started pulling at Lady Hyōbu's robes and singing dreadful songs, but his Excellency said nothing. I realized that it was bound to be a terribly drunken affair this evening, so...Lady Saishō and I decided to retire."[24] Keene describes the courtiers at the Imperial court as "drunken men who make obscene jokes and paw at women".[25]

Although the women lived in seclusion surrounded by screens, the more powerful men at court had the advantage of broaching a woman's privacy. Murasaki describes an incident when Michinaga enters her room early one morning: "I can see the garden from my room .... The air is misty; the dew is still on the leaves. The Lord Prime Minister is walking there .... He peeps in over my screen! His noble appearance embarrasses us and I am ashamed of my morning (not yet painted and powdered face)."[26][27]

Often unhappy, she became withdrawn and lonely, and was seen as being either stupid, shy or both.[28] She wrote of herself: "Do they really look on me as such a dull thing, I wonder? But I am what I am .... [Shoshi] too has often remarked that she thought I was not the kind of person with whom one could ever relax .... I am perversely stand-offish; if only I can avoid putting off those for whom I have genuine respect."[29] The benefit of her withdrawn personality seems to have been that she had time to write while living at a crowded court.[30]

The diary and Genji

There are few mentions to The Tale of Genji in her diary. She alludes to a reading to the Emperor, and in a few incidences to the colored papers and calligraphers being selected for the manuscript. Another anecdote describes Michinaga removing from her room a copy of the manuscript that he gave to Shoshi's younger sister.[31] Although Murasaki's diary rarely alludes to the work, Genji itself refers to scenes mentioned in the diary. One example is the Emperor Ichijo's visit to Michinaga's mansion in 1008—a splendid imperial procession—which according to Genji scholar Haruo Shirane, "corresponds almost image for image" to an imperial procession in "Chapter 33 (Wisteria Leaves)" of The Tale of Genji.[32]

Style

By the mid to late 10th century, writing in kana became popular among noblewomen and women at court who were insufficiently educated in Chinese to use the Chinese writing system. As a result new genres, such a diaries, appeared. The diaries made use of poetry, others were travel journals, but the most common diaries were concerned with court intrigues and romantic love affairs.[33]

Diarist often wrote to honor court patrons; Murasaki devoted many descriptive passages to court ceremonies such as the birth of Shoshi's son—the grandson of Fujiwara no Michinaga and future Emperor Go-Ichijō. Portions of the diary were written in epistolary style, in which she describes her relationships with other ladies-in-waiting at court, in a letter or series of letters.[34]

Few if any dates are included in the work, and little is written about her working habits, which leads Donald Keene to remark that she failed to write a "writer's notebook". Unlike official accounts of the period, written by historians, Murasaki's diary is important because she recounts events from her point-of-view with her reactions, giving life to events that are presented in a dry style in the official accounts.[35] Keene believes the diary shows her as a perceptive woman with few friends which caused her to become withdrawn. She is unflinching in her criticism of the other ladies-in-waiting, seeing through the superficial facades to their inner core, a quality he believes is beneficial for a novelist, but perhaps not helpful in a closed society.[36] The diary is a repository of knowledge regarding the Heian Imperial court, and even though it exists only as degraded fragments, is considered highly important in Japanese literature.[37]

Translations

In 1920, Annie Shepley Omori and Kochi Doi combined a translation of Murasaki's diary with that of Izumi Shikibu (The Izumi Shikibu nikki) and the Sarashima nikki under the title Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan. Their translation had an introduction by Amy Lowell. A more recent English translation was published by Richard Bowring in 1982.[38]

References

  1. ^ Kodansha International (2004), 475, 120
  2. ^ Shirane (2008b), 2, 113–114
  3. ^ Frédéric (2005), 594
  4. ^ Henshall (1999), 24–25
  5. ^ Shirane (1987), 215
  6. ^ a b Tyler, Royall. "Murasaki Shikibu: Brief Life of a Legendary Novelist: c. 973 – c. 1014". (May, 2002) Harvard Magazine. Retrieved August 21, 2011
  7. ^ Shirane (2008b), 293
  8. ^ a b McCullough (1990), 15–16
  9. ^ Keene (1999), 40–41
  10. ^ Keene (1999), 40–41
  11. ^ Waley, vii
  12. ^ Keene (1999), 41
  13. ^ Keene (1999), 44
  14. ^ Ury (2003), 175–188
  15. ^ Keene (1999), 42–44
  16. ^ Shirane (1987), 215
  17. ^ Mulhern (1991), 86
  18. ^ qtd in Mulhern (1991), 86
  19. ^ Ury (2003), 175–188
  20. ^ Keene (1999), 42–44
  21. ^ Waley (1960), xiii
  22. ^ Mulhern (1994), 156
  23. ^ Waley (1960), xii
  24. ^ qtd in Keene (1999), 45
  25. ^ Keene (1999), 44–45
  26. ^ Shikibu, 127
  27. ^ Waley, 10
  28. ^ Keene (1999), 46
  29. ^ qtd. in Keene (1999), 46
  30. ^ Keene (1999), 46
  31. ^ Keene (1999), 46–47
  32. ^ Shirane (1987), 221
  33. ^ Reischauer (1990), 29
  34. ^ Shirane (2008b), 448–449
  35. ^ Keene (1999), 41–42
  36. ^ Keene (1999), 45
  37. ^ Keene (1999), 42–44
  38. ^ Ury (1983), 175

Sources

  • Frédéric, Louis. Japan Encyclopedia. (2005). Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP. ISBN 06-7401-753-6
  • Henshall, Kenneth G. A History of Japan. (1999). New York: St. Martin's. ISBN 0-312-21986-5
  • Keene, Donald. Travelers of a Hundred Ages: The Japanese as revealed through 1000 years of diaries. (1999). New York: Columbia UP. ISBN 0-231-11437-0
  • Lowell, Amy. "Introduction". in Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan. Translated by Kochi Doi and Annie Sheley Omori. (1920) Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
  • McCullough, Helen. Classical Japanese Prose: An Anthology. (1990). Stanford CA: Stanford UP. ISBN 0-8047-1960-8
  • Mulhern, Chieko Irie. Heroic with Grace: Legendary Women of Japan. (1991). Armonk NY: M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 0-87332-527-3
  • Reschauer, Edwin. Japan: The Story of a Nation. (1999). New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-557074-2
  • Shikibu, Murasaki. "Pages from Murasaki Shikbu's Diary". in The Life of Ancient Japan. Singer, Kurt (ed). (2002). Japan Library. ISBN 1-903350-01-8
  • Shirane, Haruo. The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of "The Tale of Genji". (1987). Stanford CA: Stanford UP. ISBN 0-8047-1719-2
  • Shirane, Haruo. Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600. (2008b). New York: Columbia UP. ISBN 978-0-2311-3697-6
  • The Japan Book: A Comprehensive Pocket Guide. (2004). New York: Kodansha International. ISBN 978-4-7700-2847-1
  • Ury, Marian. The Real Murasaki. Monumenta Nipponica. (Summer 1983). Vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 175–189.
  • Waley, Arthur. "Introduction". in Shikibu, Murasaki, The Tale of Genji: A Novel in Six Parts. translated by Arthur Waley. (1960). New York: Modern Library.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Diary_of_Lady_Murasaki&oldid=452424657"