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E-book The Tale of Matsura : Fujiwara Teika’s Experiment in Fiction

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Penilaian

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atsura no miya monogatari ("The Tale of Matsura," ca. 1190) is a classicalJapanese tale or romance that belongs to the same category of courtly fiction asMurasaki Shikibu's unsurpassed masterpiece, Genji monogatari ("The Tale ofGenji," ca. 1010). When compared with most of the best-known works of itsgenre, however, Matsura no miya monogatari stands out in striking contrast:Whereas the typical monogatari is set in the Heian period (794—1185) and in theJapanese capital of that time, Matsura no miya monogatari is set in the periodbefore Japan's first "permanent" capital was established at present-day Nara in710, and most of its action takes place in China. Whereas the typical monogataricenters almost entirely on affairs of the heart between men and women, nearlyhalf of Matsura no miya monogatari is devoted to politics and government, in-cluding a violent succession struggle with armies marching halfway across Chinaand back. And whereas the typical monogatari is fundamentally realistic, withonly minor intrusions of the supernatural, the progress of Matsura no miya mono-gatari depends on supernatural interventions almost from beginning to end.The work is in three maki ("scrolls" or "books"—in this case the latter),but, for purposes of outlining, the plot may be divided into five parts. Firstcomes a sort of prologue, introducing the protagonist Ujitada as a child and inbrief order taking him past the usual milestones in the early life of an idealizedmonogatari hero: he excels in Chinese poetry at the age of seven, demonstratesprecocious mastery of musical instruments, undergoes a coming-of-age cere-mony at the age of twelve, receives appointment to three highly demandingoffices at the age of sixteen, and then experiences the awakening of first love.Ujitada's hopes in love are stopped short, however, when the mother of the ladywho holds his heart captive accedes to the emperor's wish that she send herdaughter to court. A short time later Ujitada is appointed deputy ambassador ofan embassy scheduled to go to China the following year.The second part tells of Ujitada's early experiences in China, including theimmediate and special favor he receives from the emperor for demonstrating hissuperior talents and great knowledge. On a night away from court, he meets anold man playing the kin, the seven-stringed Chinese koto, or zither,1 and the old man tells him that he is destined to transmit the secrets of the instrument toJapan. Following the old man's instructions, Ujitada goes to Mount Shang, aplace protected by divine sages, to receive the teachings from the beautifulPrincess Hua-yang. Predictably, he falls in love with her, and she returns thesentiment, but this love, too, is destined to be short-lived and unfulfilled. Onenight not long after the transmission of the teachings has been accomplished,the princess reveals that she will soon die, and tells Ujitada that when hereturns to Japan he must go to Hatsuse and conduct a certain series of servicesbefore the image of Kannon there to ensure that they will meet again. Back inher own apartments, she sends her zither flying off into the heavens, then liesdown as the life rapidly ebbs from her body. By morning she is dead.

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

902 LAM t

Penerbit

USA : University of Michigan Press., 2020

Deskripsi Fisik

223 hlm

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

9780472901593

Klasifikasi

902

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

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Subjek

Miscellany of History

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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