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This book provides an easy-to-understand explanation of the cultural and historical background of the Heian period leading up to the creation of The Tale of Genji, the life of its author Murasaki Shikibu, and the contents of The Tale of Genji.
 
The Tale of Genji wasn't born spontaneously. After a period when characters were written in kanji, kana characters were created in the early Heian period. Waka poems and stories written in kana characters became literary forms accessible to women, but the early creators were still mainly men. Long fictional stories such as The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter and The Tale of Utsuho, as well as The Tales of Ise, a collection of episodes related to Ariwara no Narihira's waka poetry, were probably produced as a form of entertainment by politically dissatisfied male aristocrats, and the names of their authors are unknown.
 
After going through this period, women gradually began to take up writing. Kagero Diary was written by a woman who was one of the wives of Fujiwara no Kaneie, a powerful man of the time. This diary is not a dreamy tale, but rather a detailed account of a woman's real-life experiences. The creation of such writings that delved deeply into the inner lives of women led to the long story known as "The Tale of Genji" being written by a woman.
 
The Tale of Genji is full of patterns found in previous stories, such as the tale of a stepchild and the tale of a wanderer. Some parts of this story are based on Japanese historical events that had occurred several decades prior to or some that occurred at the time of writing. Furthermore, this story features several excellent elements, such as the sophisticated expression of waka poetry and an ideology based on Chinese literature. The achievement of The Tale of Genji was possibly based on the maturity of literary history that preceded it, and it can therefore be considered a product of its times. On the other hand, of course, it was also a great achievement accomplished by Murasaki Shikibu, who was well-educated in classical Chinese and showed outstanding literary talent and unique sensibilities.
 
Chapter 1 of this book explains the social and cultural situation of the time, including kana writing, fear of the dead, political struggles during the Heian period, and current theories on polygamy. Chapter 2 explains the first half of Murasaki Shikibu's life, about which there are many unknowns, mainly using the Murasaki Shikibu Collection as a source. Chapter 3 follows Murasaki Shikibu after the death of her husband, tracing the latter half of her life as she served Fujiwara no Michinaga's daughter, Shoshi, the Empress of Emperor Ichijo. The Diary of Murasaki Shikibu records the events leading up to and after Shoshi gave birth to Emperor Ichijo's son, Prince Atsuhira. However, it also contains information about the circumstances surrounding the creation of The Tale of Genji and Murasaki Shikibu's lectures on Chinese classics to Syoshi. There is a strong sense of self-esteem that is contrary to her outward appearance of humility. We also get a glimpse of Murasaki Shikibu's strong desire to pass on traces of her story-making to future generations. Chapters 4 and 5 introduce the plot of The Tale of Genji itself and provide a detailed and interesting explanation of its contents.
 
This book will give you a rough understanding of ??the history of Heian literature, Murasaki Shikibu, and The Tale of Genji. I hope you enjoy reading it.
 

(Written by TAKAGI Kazuko, Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology / 2024)