One thousand years ago, a young woman of the court composed a narrative about a stunning boy who would grow up to be a great Japanese leader. Along the way, he would encounter dozens of different women, each with her own personality and physical characteristics. Known as Genji Monogatari, or the Tale of Genji, this literary work is considered by many to be the world's first novel. Even today, many believe it to be one of the finest examples of romantic, introspective literature on earth.
With this blog, you will interact with Genji as I interact with it -- during the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of this beloved treasure in Japan.
As Genji has 54 chapters, so will this blog. With it will be 54 "assignments," similar to the one posted in Entry #1. Some tasks will be longer than others, but each is designed to allow you to push your thinking and lead our discussion over the course of studying this remarkable piece of literature.
I hope you enjoy your journey as much as I hope to enjoy mine!
Your Task:
You quickly identified the poem in Chapter One as a haiku. Funny enough, there aren't any haikus, per se, in Genji. There is, however, another form of Japanese poetry that is used extensively in Genji. This type of poem follows a 5 - 7 - 5 - 7 - 7 pattern.
What is the name of this type of poetry? Can you come up with your own poem following the conventions of this type of poetry?
In the next entry, I'm going to give it a try.
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