November 8 - Miyake - Japanese Literature

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Hello everyone,

Please share your thoughts about our November 8 morning session with Professor Lynne Miyake on "Japanese Literature" by replying to this post.

-Miranda

[Anonymous]

Professor Lynne Miyake asked me to share with you links to the 1987 animated version of "The Tale of Genji" that she discussed during her presentation on Japanese literature.

It is available on YouTube, divided into eleven segments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYwJaO88mm4

Or as a single file at this website:
http://www.crunchyroll.com/media-291798/Murasaki-Shikibu-Genji-Monogatari-Movie-Complete.html

[Anonymous]

Scholar Liza Dalby's website features information on geisha and includes a section on Lady Murasaki Shikibu, author of "The Tale of Genji."

http://www.lizadalby.com/home.html

[Anonymous]

Professor Lynne Miyake was very geniune. I was very impressed that she had taken time to remember our names along with the subjects we taught in our schools. I was also thankful for the praise we received for being teachers. Both Lynne and Morgan praised our efforts and that was very nice to hear. I also appreciated all the visual materials (books, magazines, etc) that Professor Miyake had brought in to share with us. I felt that she wanted to present all of her information in avery relaxed manor and I had no idea there were so many different literary versions of the classic "Tale of Genji". I highly enjoyed Professor Miyake.

[Anonymous]

Do you have a crunchyland avatar? Well it is time to get one and be part of the Anime fantasy of crunchyland. Well, crunchyroll, offers the Anime feature Genji Monogatari by Murashi Shikib. It is a good version of the feature. It offers better quality settings based on your computers' ability. There is a HD setting and High Quality feature. It is better than the you tube version because it is not split up and allows for a non-interrupted experience. The Anime also shows examples of the kimono dress and some traditional fashion. Check it out crunchy crunch!

[Anonymous]

Lynne Miyake's presentation was very engaging. She obviously enjoys what she does. I liked the way she personalized the presentation by telling us a bit about how she was treated by her mother as a young girl. That made all these stories we have been learning and reading about more real. I was so inspired by the 'Tale of Genji' that I went home and started thinking about writing down some of the tales I learned about in my culture as a little girl.

[Anonymous]

I did not know anything at all about Japanese literature prior to Lynne Miyake's presentation. To be honest, I had not even ever heard of "Tale of Genji".
It seems to have been a truly romantic tale. Several lines strike me as, "Nothing has changed even though we are now living in a differnt place and in a different time."

Specifically,
"How often have I visited her without even a word?"
I believe that we have all done this in our lives. Sometimes the thoughts are painful.

"It is a strain to be with her because of her haughtiness..."
Don't we all know people like this? I can assume that this is not a new problem!

"Day by day, his visits grew less frequent".
Today it would be, "his emails, text messages, and cellphone calls grew less requent" but it is the same hurt feelings of rejection and pain that are so ever-present in our lives.

"I am too lowly to have a name".
Self esteem???! It is ever-present and truly governs who we are and what we do with our lives.

My conclusion: Not much has changed since "The Tale of Genji" was written. We are in another country and in another timespan, but the thoughts and themes are one and the same. To me, this is what makes literature so fascinating.

[Anonymous]

It was so nice that Professor Miyake walked around the room and introduced herself to us before the class began. It was such a nice touch. She is so knowledgeable about her subject and she loves to share her knowledge. The various magazines she shared with us shined a light upon what people in Japan are dealing with these days and how ordinary concerns of the people living there are essentially similar to what Americans are concerned with now. Issues like retirement, inflation, and company loyalty are some of those issues.

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed Professor Miyake and her pleasant way of interacting with our class. She is a great teacher and so friendly and encouraging I wish I had her for my teacher all the time. I have been to Japan and seen firsthand how lovely the culture of that country really is. Regarding the “Tale of Genji”, I appreciate the fact the animated story is available online for me to share with my Special Education students. They will appreciate seeing it and it will enhance their ability to understand the story. Great class!

[Anonymous]

Professor Miyake made a real effort to reach each of us personally. As a librarian, I was fascinated by the different versions of the Tale of Genjii. I teach a unit on folktales with my 5th graders where they have to take a well-known story and retell it in their own way. The "humorous" retelling of this classic Japanese story is one I want to explore in more detail.

I would have enjoyed hearing more about some of the illustrated folktales that Professor Miyake brought with her. I especially liked her version of the "Little One Inch" story with the beautiful illustrations and the song. One of my favorite stories is "Urashima and the Turtle." It is one of the stories I tell to my 2nd graders. They made a puppet show of the story. An interesting site with Japanese stories for children is http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/folk/index.html

I also enjoyed the section on poetry. I didn't realize that so much of the early poetry was written by women. It explains the delicate images and themes that are found there.

Susan Dubin

[Anonymous]

The illustrations in this video are very beautiful, but the translation is very stilted. I would almost rather watch it without the subtitles. This seems like a perfect story for a "soap opera." Was it ever produced like that in Japan?
Susan Dubin

[Anonymous]

I love this site! The information about Japanese customs during the Heian period listed under "Themes" could constitute a whole year's course in itself. I also enjoyed the section on characters where Dalby looks at historical characters and gives their background and then discussions about her fictional characters as well. It looks like Dalby's book would make a wonderful movie. Has It been done?
Susan Dubin

[Anonymous]

Never have I been in a class where the professor knows me before we have even begun. It was amazing to meet such an amazing and knowledgeable person. I too had never heard of "The Tale of Genji", but what a story. I can't wait to watch the videos and look at some of the many book versions. This is a tale in which my students could enjoy and learn from. I also enjoyed "The Pillow Book" with its lists, poems, and honest truth of the times. I will be looking for copies of some of the books suggested for our students, for example: "The Inch Boy", which is like Tom Thumb, and "the Girl who Loved Caterpillars".

[Anonymous]

I too loved the Japanese literature lecture. It was great being able to read "The Tale of the Genji" in advance to comprehend all that the professor was discussing. Personally, I found it intriguing, but I had no idea how interrelated it was to the culture and how prominent the story is to this very day.

In addition, the variety of additional texts that Prof. Miyake supplied made this a pleasant sensory overload.

Before this lecture I had understood little of Japanese literature. Now I am discussing with my partner a way to include the tale in our teachings.
Plus, much of what we discussed seemed to be the perfect prelude to the afternoon talk.

[Anonymous]

What an invaluable website. I sometimes wish I did not have grading to do and could continue to explore.
Thank you Prof. Miyake and Miranda for sharing this info with us.

[Author]

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