Here’s the skinny on the Heian Era in case you didn’t watch the video (which you should): The Heian period spanned from 794-1185 CE and is sometimes called Japan’s “Classical Age” – meaning that it was a period of great cultural achievements that helped lay the groundwork for later Japanese culture. As John Green mentions in the video, it was not a period with a super strong political or economic system, but it was stable enough for the elites to have ample leisure time to take the culture of the Tang Dynasty (remember them from last week?) and run with it until they came up with something thoroughly Japanese.
Notably, for my purposes, elite women of the Heian Era left behind louder voices than many other women of pre-modern times in part because elite Heian women could write, meaning they left behind diaries, as well as sentimental works of literature. While it would be a mistake to say that Heian women were powerful, or even equal to men, it is true that elite women in Heian Japan were more valued and had more rights than their contemporaries elsewhere. They’d had even better position prior to the Heian Era, but the arrival of Chinese culture eroded their status. (A similar process took place amongst the once powerful elite women of Vietnam.)
Murasaki Shikibu and Her Novel
In earlier periods of history, poetry was the only serious literary pursuit and novels were pretty much relegated to “cheap trash.” Early novels were something of a “women’s” genre – a way that literate elite women kept themselves entertained. The Tale of Genji is one such example of women telling stories to entertain themselves.
Murasaki Shikibu is a nom de plume or nickname: we don’t know her real name, as it was not considered important to record the name of a daughter. We also don’t know terribly much about her life despite the portions of a diary and the vivid novel that she left behind. We do know that she lived in the late Heian Period (c. 978-1014) and that she was a member of the ruling Fujiwara clan. She was married, and had a daughter, but she was widowed after only two years of marriage.
After the death of her husband, Murasaki Shikibu was summoned to court. The reason is not known for sure, but historians speculate that her literary talents made her an ideal Lady in Waiting for the Empress and her job was probably to keep the Empress and other ladies entertained with her stories.
It is unknown how long it took Murasaki Shikibu to write her 54-chapter epic, chronicling the courtly intrigues and love affairs of Prince Genji. Her story has endured not only as an entertaining piece of literature, but also as a peek inside the minds of the Heian Elite. Although Genji’s adventures are fictional, the narrative shows us the social milieu of the late Heian Court, while also demonstrating the important aesthetic principles of the time.
Tune in next week for another Heian Babe: Sei Shonogan and her Pillowbook.
Heian
Japan: An Introductory Essay. This
is a great intro to the Heian Period. Unfortunately, sometimes the server gets
cranky and it won’t load.
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