A Modern Novelist: Murasaki Shikibu - Research Paper Example

?Murasaki Shikibu Number] [04/12 Murisaka was a prominent and was considered to be a modern novelist. Her prominent works include the Tale of Genji, The Diary of Lady Murasaki and Poetic Memoirs. The Tale of Genji became the first novel in Japanese history and was also skilfully and innovatively written. Murisaka was portrayed as Genji, a heroic figure while the heroic attributes were inspired from Michigana. The Diary of Lady Murasaki was written while Murasaki served in court, and the journal held the record of events related to Michigana, elite women who came to court and Mursiaka’s personal feelings about being in court. Introduction This research paper aims to explore Murasaki Shikibu work, especially her poetry and novels. Murasaki Shikibu was a distinguished writer, who was native Japanese and belonged to the Heian period. She is also considered as the first modern novelist. She was the daughter of a governor, who was also a recognized scholar. Murasaki was more intelligent than her brother and she made her father proud because of her intelligence. In the Heian period, females were not allowed to study, and when Murasaki’s father gave her Chinese classics to learn, it was considered as an improper act. Murasaki got married, gave birth to a daughter and was widowed after some time. She was intelligent and was a talented writer, so she was given the opportunity to sit in court with her family. Murasaki kept records of her experience in court in a journal, for two years. She hid her knowledge of Chinese language, fearing that she would be criticized as it was unladylike to be reading Chinese (Hazell, 6). Murasaki Shikibu distinct style and passion of writing is free of fantasy and based on realism, which made her different from all the other writers and poets of her time The research paper is going to study in-depth about the different pieces produced by Murasaki Shikibu, her style of writing and the message that she intended to deliver through her writings. Murasaki’s famous work includes The Tale of Genji, The Diary of Lady Murasaki and Poetic Memoirs, which was a total collection of 128 poems. The Tale of Genji The Tale of Genji was written by Murasaki when she was serving the court after her husband's death. The Tale of Genji is written magnificently, in a lyrical and poetic style. It narrates the story of Genji, who is the son of an Emperor, he loses his mother when he is only three years old. Genji then comes across a woman, Lady Fujitsibo, who resembles his deceased mother. Genji initially loves her as his stepmother, but then falls in love with her romantically. Genji feels frustrated because he is forbidden to love her, and that affects Genji's relationship with his wife, Aoi no Ue. Genji has many affairs with other women, but most of his lovers die or he grows tired of them. Genji visits a rural area of Kyoto, where he finds a ten year old girl. Here, Murasaki names the young girl after herself. Genji fascinated with Murasaki finds out that she is the daughter of Lady Fujitsubo. Kidnaps her, and educates her to be Genji's ideal lady. Genji also has a son with Lady Fujitsubo, who becomes the crown prince (Prusinski, pg25) The two lovers swear to keep their secret hidden. Genji then marries Murasaki, after his first wife dies. When one of Genji's love affairs is exposed, he is exiled by his brother and Genji finds shelter in Akashi Novice's home, where he has an affair with Akashi's daughter. After Genji was pardoned by his ill brother, Genji’s son from Lady Fujitsubo becomes the Emperor and raises Ganji’s rank to the highest, because he knows that Genji is his real father. Genji remarries at the age of forty, which changes his relationship with Murasaki and she then becomes a nun. The story is divided into three main parts; the rise and fall of Genji, which includes his affair, success and failures. The second part is about Genji's death, and the last part is about his descendants (Prusinski, 30). In the Tale of Genji, Murasaki has reflected beauty through flowers, trees and nature. She wrote a unique piece by eliminating fantasies and fairy tales, which were present in the other piece of Japanese literature. The main theme of Murasaki’s modern writing is the sorrow of human existence and fragility of human life. Murasaki’s imaginary character of Genji informed the readers about the Heian period, and how women were involved in love and affairs, but were behind curtains and screens; not visible to everyone. Murasaki was an intelligent writer who conveyed the message, through her Tale of Genji that, in love, happiness does not prevail forever. The world is full of sorrows, where individuals should be more sympathetic to each other and understand each other’s feelings. Genji is considered heroic because he recognizes the inner beauty of his lovers and the fragility of their life. Another important theme of Tale of Genji are the seasons in the novel, which change from time to time and Murasaki uses the passing seasons to show that everything is short lived, like happiness in love (Prusinski, 32). The Diary of Lady Murasaki When Murasaki was spending time at the imperial court of Japan after her husband’s death, she kept a diary, which held records of her interaction with elite and nobles. She was curious about the attitude elite females, the type of clothing that they wore and their appearances. Murasaki discusses about her interactions with elite females, as well as her own perspective of the culture, customs, rivalries, art and beauty. Her writings are so real that the reader feels that he is present in the court in which Murasaki served. There are three main parts of the diary; first is about the events that surrounded the birth of the eldest son of Shoshi, second is about the characteristics of the ladies, and the third part holds amusing and compelling stories of the court (Shikibu, 44). Murasaki tells about Michinaga, who was a powerful figure in the imperial court as well as the Shoshi court (Michinaga’s character resembles Genji’s character in the Tale of Genji). She recalls how Michinaga drinks and embarrasses both his wife and daughter, because of his behavior. Murasaki claims in her diary that Michigana flirted with her occasionally, which led to further embarrassment for his wife (Shikibu, 56). Murisaka wrote about the ladies who came to the court, specifically Sei Shonogan. Murisaka wrote that Sei used to make women writers fight between each other, and compel them to compete with other educated women. Mursiaka was not happy about being in court because she felt lonely and was disturbed by the eminent behavior of drunken courtiers and princes. The courtiers used to make fun about the women who were at court and pulled their robes. The aim of the diary was to conveying the dayd to day occurrence of court ceremonies. Murasaki felt that keeping a diary was crucial because it held all of her events, along with her perceptions. Chronicles of events, self-reflective analysis, and verse style, is what defines Murisaka’s dairy (Shikibu, 78). Murisaka was a prominent figure in Japanese literature and was a unique modern novelist. Her passion towards writing made her stories unique, which were not fantasies or fairy tales unlike others, but were events which happened in real life. The Tale of Genji showed that happiness does not lasts in love and thus, it’s a real fact of life. Her diary recorded events such as male domination in courts and their rude and inappropriate behavior towards ladies, which still happens in the real world. Murisaka’s writing held significance in the time as they showed the readers how a reality differs from fantasy (Shikibu, 90). Work Cited Prusinski, Lauren. "Wabi-Sabi, Mono no Aware, and Ma: Tracing Traditional Japanese Aesthetics through Japanese History." Studies on Asia 2.1 (2012): 25-49. Print. Top of Form Hazell, Rebecca. Women Writers. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 2002. Print. Bottom of Form Shikibu, Murasaki. The Diary of Murasaki. Penguin Books Limited, 1996. 10-177. Print. Read More