Japanese Literature

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

I finally sat down Sunday and read the selections for Lynne Miyake's seminar this coming Friday. Instead of reading her overview in the binder first, I brought the anthology to the laundromat with me. I had a slight problem with my copy of the book- The "Kamakura Period" section of the book skipped from page 191 to 224, leaving out the Hut story and Uji collection.

Anyway an interesting theme that I made note of while I was reading was that both the Tale of Genji and the Lady Who Loved Insects made reference to women as "toys" or "projects." In the Yugao story, the prince treated the poor mistress under a veil of secrecy and was in awe of her gentle nature. He refered to her a toy. The Insect Lady was looked upon as changeable and a project to be fixed up becuse of her teeth, hair, and clothes. "She'd be so pretty if..."

Because this similar theme was pointed out in both stories, I wondered if, given the number of women writers at the time, that this was some kind of feminist statement- like, "we know this is how women are being treated and we're going to openly discuss it in story form." After thinking about this, I turned to the readings in the binder and was interested in the first article. Studies of women in literature often leave out Japanese writers, making blanket statements about being hard-pressed to find female writers before the 18th century. This first article didn't directly address my question above, but it did make me realize I was thinking about the writing through a Western female lens and through a Western woman's historical viewpoint. European and American women were forced to use male pseudonyms and to hide their social and political commentary in satirical writing. Japanese women didn't seem to face these same literary constraints and so I came to the conclusion that these themes of women as toys and projects should be taken more at face value than as som hidden underground feminist agenda.

Any thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Another reading I thoroughly enjoyed was the PillowBook excerpt in the binder. The writing was witty and engaging. I read it almost as if it was a conversation one would overhear at a coffeeshop between two girlfriends. It reminded me of modern-day blogs. People using a form to express lists of things they like, things that annoy them, griping about the opposite sex, and updating readers about their daily comings and goings.

[Anonymous]

I sometimes find the binder material dense and difficult to absorb compared to the textbook and the anthologies. I think reading the latter before the former helps me to have a better grasp of the subjects that are covered. I think the academic jargon takes a bit' of getting used to -- however, I do find the material engaging.

Professor Miyake's coverage of the Heian culture was interesting--there are still remnants of that time period when you visit Kyoto. In the midst of the high rises, you see hints of old Japan that is nostalgic and contradictory. In fact, Japan is a cultural paradox. For example, you can visit a shrine and get blessed by a priest for the upcoming new year and bump into the same priest at a Starbucks, enjoying a cup of Latte and chatting to his friend on a cell phone. The one constancy, in my opinion, is ambiguity--but I'm only speaking as an outsider.

[Anonymous]

I agree that the binder can be confusing at times and the book(s) are much easier to follow along. Lots of times, I just get confused until I get to class when things are "ah ha! - that's what the reader was saying." I guess I just have to wait until class most of the time.

[Anonymous]

I would like to recommend some Japanese authors for those who are interested in reading:

Haruki Murakami and Natsume Soseki.

I came upon these two authors when I was in Japan and was hooked. If anyone's read any of their literature, share. Thanks.

[Author]

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