Chapter XV: Some things Never Change

For this small chapter, I'd like to return to an idea that I had earlier in this blog: What is the same about Japan, and what is different?

First, when looking at Genji, it is clear the image of this novel has seen various permutations through the years. At times it has been viewed as classic literature, other times it has simply been a soap opera, or perhaps historical record. The point is, like Genji, some things change, while some things remain the same.

I came to this country for the first time in 1989, when I was still a teenager. Back then, everything seemed so modern, so fast and efficient. In fact, everything seemed very "21st Century."

Now, I'm back, and it is the 21st Century. As I walk the streets and talk to the people, I am amazed by some of the things that have changed, and some of the things that have remained the same. For example, despite all modern digital technology, Japan still has a old school "photo booth" in all of the train stations. People take pictures here for ID cards, passports, etc. Seeing one of these reminded me of how much fun we used to have taking pictures in these booths. Of course, I had to do it again, just for the sake of feeling young again.

Technology, it seems, is unpredictable in Japan. On one hand, it would seem that they would be the most advanced in everything; on this trip, however, I have learned that their cell phone technology is far behind ours (having just purchased my own iPhone back in the States.) Japanese digital, 3D, animated movies are also behind America. In fact, only this summer Japan has produced its first main stream, full length digital film (See Japan Times article below), compared, of course, to Pixar, which has been producing digital films now for well over a decade. I'm sure this has something to do with Miyazaki Hayao's (the Japanese 'Walt Disney') insistence on not using the medium. (He continues to draw everything by hand, including the latest movie to be shown in the U.S. "Ponyo.")

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ff20090807a1.html

Still, I think it's funny how some things change, and how some things never do!

Chapter XIV: IIlustrations of Genji @ Gotoh

Today I had the privilege of visiting the beautiful Gotoh museum in Tokyo. A private museum, the Gotoh is only open a few days a week -- and then, only for a few hours -- so I was lucky to get in. Although the museum has a large holding of Genji materials, unfortunately I missed the anniversary show that the museum had last year. Nonetheless, a few of the pieces were on display, and I was amazed by the pictures.

First, each of the pieces (at least in this collection) were only slightly larger than a large postage stamp. (!) We examined them in their glass cases through magnifying glasses, which is very strange, considering that many believed these minature masterpieces were created hundreds of years before this kind of technology was introduced to Japan. Another thing I found interesting was the timing of the illustrations: the holdings at Gotoh, which come from three different schools of art, represent the 1100s, 1300s and 1500s, respectively. Obviously, these come some time after Genji was originally written; and only one of the pictures I observed had any kind of writing. In other words, the original text of Genji probably did not contain any illustrations, and conversely many of the later illustrated versions did not contain the text.

I also found it interesting to learn that Genji was written not as a book, but as a scroll. In the novel itself, many of the characters communicate to one another by writing letters on scrolls, so it is not hard to think that is how Murasaki originally penned her story. Ladies in the Heian court often wrote stories for one another on these scrolls, which they would then put in the square, wooden boxes they used as pillows (see picture above). For this reason, Genji and other stories are known as "pillow books."

Maybe this is why Genji is so full of romance and intrigue. After all, we all enjoy a good story before going to sleep, don't we?

YOUR TASK:

1) Visit a local museum, either for art, nature or history. Record what you did and saw. How were the items displayed? Why do you think they were displayed that way?

Chapter XIII: Locker Room Talk in Genji?

In the woodblock print above, Genji and

his best friend are peaking through a

latticed fence to spy on the women they admire.

It's been a while since we looked into the story of Genji. Last time we were there, he had just been married at age twelve to a daughter of a high ministry official. He had fallen in love, however, with a different woman, Aoi.

Chapter Two places Genji, who is now around 17, in a room with two of his best friends. It is night, an the three are quietly discussing what makes women from different social classes perfect. In many ways, this reminds me of the stereotypical conversations young men are said to have in locker rooms, or in other places where the opposite sex is not around.

That aside, this conversation also brings us to a large theme clearly found in Genji: What makes a perfect man or a perfect woman? And does social class have anything to do with their being perfect? Thinking back on our conversation about beauty, is it necessary for someone to have a beautiful face or body to be perfect? What about money, education, a sense of humor, or personality?

YOUR TASK:

1) Imagine you are Hikaru Genji, it's 2009, and you are placing a personal ad on http://www.matchmaker.com/. What will his personal profile look like? What will he list as his requirements for the perfect partner? (Feel free to use a template from any current matchmaking web site to complete this assignment, but please keep everything Rated PG.)

Chapter XII: Genji in Many Forms

As promised, today's first blog is about the various versions of Genji that are available in Japan. Despite the fact that Genji is written using simple characters, in the original it nonetheless reads like Shakespeare, since the language is old and very stylized. For this reason, it is difficult for many people to pick up and read.

Yesterday we learned in the survey that most people read the manga version (cover and a few pictures posted above). It is interesting to note that even in the modern comic, the images are highly reflective of woodblock prints: often there is a lot of "blank space;" images of nature are always included; charcters faces are also stylized (small hooks for noses and slits for eyes), with little to no expression.

Nonetheless, the comic employs many of the same literary techniques as the original book: there's a distinct, omniscient narrator; dialogue between the charactes (often idle gossip regarding people and their behavior); and of course, the basic plot elements.

But this is where the versions differ. Genji, in its original form, only alludes to sexuality. It is up to the reader to determine how far Genji goes in each of his encounters with the women in his life. The manga version is different in the sense that you go much farther in these scenes than in the book. So, at times, the manga version feels like "soft porn" -- obviously something not appropriate to be taught or studied in school!

That said, there are other versions that are not as sketchy. Take, for example, the Takarazuka version above. Takarazuka is a highly stylized form of modern Japanese theater. Originally from Kobe, Takarazuka now has a large theater in several cities in Japan, including, of course, Tokyo. Here the performers are all women (a counteract to Kabuki, where all professional actors (even today) are men).

Only running two hours, Takarazuka's version of Genji was a reduction of the original, and it did spend most of its time focusing on the human relationships rather than the drama which is also fully present in the novel. Still, it was a highly refined, lavish show, full of subtle colors that reflected seasons, emotions and elements of high society. I was very lucky to see it.

Today I'm off to two museums -- Gotoh and Tokugawa Reimeikai Foundation -- to see original illustrations of Genji from as far back as the 1100s. This will be the perfect way to further my understanding of the visualization of Genji before I leave Tokyo and head into the western countryside tomorrow.

YOUR TASK:

1) Take a favorite book, movie, or comic book and describe its evolution in a timeline. What version came first? What came after? Why do you think stories like this go from one genre to the next? What happens in the process?

Chapter XI: Surveying Genji

For the past two days I've had the opportunity to experience Genji in a variety of ways. First, I met two professors from Josai International University to discuss how Genji is used in contemporary Japanese literature classes. Next, I had the privilege of going to a Japanese home (the friend of a friend) discussed the book with a young high school student who recently read Genji in her Japanese literature class; she also mentioned how frequently the book appeared in her literature exams at school. Finally, with the help of a Japanese friend, I did a very quick and simple survey on the streets of Tokyo, asking people about their impressions of the book.

Some of the survey findings are:

1) 10 out of 10 Japanese people correctly identified Genji as being a major work of Japanese literature

2) 8 out of 10 Japanese people correctly identified the era the novel was written

3) 5 out of 10 Japanese people could, without help, identify 5 or more major characters in the novel

4) 3 out of 10 Japanese people recognized that this is the 1,000 anniversary of the novel (which came as a surprise)

5) 0 out of 10 Japanese people claimed to have read the entire work in the original language

When we learned that so few people had read the work in the original language, we asked them how they had knowledge of the book. Many of the people surveyed claimed to have see movie versions or read the manga (comic book) version, which are ubiquitous in Japan.

Upon hearing this, I went immediately to a bookstore to see if I could find the comic. Fortunately, it was right there on the shelf. In my next post, I'll talk a little bit more about the various versions of Genji that can be found around Japan today. In the meantime, consider the following:

YOUR TASK:

1) Find a favorite book or movie. Create questions concerning different aspects of the book or movie. Ask those questions to 10 people you know. Record and analyze the results.

2) What interesting things did you learn about the book from your survey?

Chapter X: Living the Language

Today, after meeting with two Japanese professors to discuss Genji, I ran across a young man writing poetry for extra money on the street. After explaining to him the purpose of my trip and the purpose of this blog, he enscribed the following proverb (seen upclose in the lower right picture above): Work hard every day, progress every day, be thankful every day." In a lot of ways, it was exactly what this trip has meant to me. With any luck, every day will continue to represent hard work, progress and gratitude.

In the meantime, now that I'm more aware of how hiragana, katakana and kanji are used, I'm thrilled to observe the way written Japanese is used around me every day.

To see more photos from my trip, many of which have a language focus, go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/41681491@N07/

YOUR TASK:

1) Find a web site in Japanese. (Make sure the content of the web site is something you're familiar with. For example, if you like Nike shoes, you may want to click on the Japanese version of the Nike web page at http://www.nike.jp/nikeosaka/index.html, or if you like computers try http://www.apple.com/jp/startpage/.)

2) Once you are there, see if you can spot the different "alphabets" in Japanese. You should look for characters that are simple and complex, or those written in a "cursive" rather than a block print. What feelings to do you think accompany these different scripts? Why do you think the Japanese people use them?

Chapter IX: Language and Genji

Examples of hiragana, katakana, and kanji in Japanese

This conversation in the previous chapter was a precursor to the next point I'd like to make about Genji: the way the book was written.

The Japanese language currently uses four "alphabets" known as hiragana, katakana, kanji and roomaji. While this might seem strange to someone who comes from a language like English, think about this: G, g, g and g are all the same letter with the same sound, right? Perhaps the function of the letters change depending on the context, but the basic significance remains the same, despite the multiple ways we have to write them.

For centuries, people in Japan used Chinese characters (kanji) to write Japanese. Genji, however, is one of the first major documents to be produced in hiragana, the simple Japanese letters that flow together like cursive writing in English.

Hiragana was developing in Japan around the same time Genji was being written, the Heian era (794 - 1185). During this time, Japan attempted to create its own identity by moving away from the things it had borrowed from China. (Kanji are the Chinese characters that are still used in Japanese today; hiragana symbols find their origins in kanji, but they are similar and only refer to sounds in Japanese.)

The biggest problem with writting everything in kanji was that when finished, it looked too formal to be enjoyable to read. Since Murasaki Shikibu used kana to write Genji, her novel appeared more relaxed. She used venacular language that felt like everyday thoughts and speech. This way of writing also helped Murasaki communicate intangible thoughts, ideas, and feelings of her characters. Because of this, it's considered the world's first "introspective novel."

YOUR TASK:

1) Find evidence of three different ways of writing that either you or others use every day. To do this, you might want to check things such as email, text messages, essays from school, on-line or hardcopy newspapers.
2) How does the writing change according to where the document comes from? It is possible for language to change its effect on the reader depending on how it is written? For example, how does it make you feel when I SUDDENLY START WRITING EVERYTHING IN CAPITAL LETTERS?