Classical Japan
Web Resources related to this topic
-- University of Hawai'i Japanese literature graduate reading list
-- James Madison University bibliography of Japanese literature for children
Annotated Bibliography
of
Heian Era (794-1185) Literature
Lynne
K. Miyake
Pomona College
1) Anthologies
a) Donald Keene, compiled & ed., Anthology of Japanese Literature: From the Earliest Era to the Mid-Nineteenth Century. New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1955.
The oldest of the anthologies on classical Japanese literature, it includes poetry, prose, and dramatic selections from the Nara through the Tokugawa periods. Selections have been made from the standard works from each of the periods. Longer pieces have been excerpted. The Haruo Shirane anthology is slated to be an alternative to the Keene anthology.
b) Haruo Shirane, ed. --forthcoming.
Reported to be a comprehensive alternative to the Keene anthology.
c) Helen McCullough, compiled and ed. Classical Japanese Prose: An Anthology. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1990. A collection of prose works from the Heian through the early Tokugawa periods, almost exclusively translated by the editor., it only includes prose selections and duplicates the Keene anthology somewhat in the Heian works, but the passages selected are different. It also adds excerpts from the historical tales and short tale collections. There is a useful introduction that contextualizes the selections and each selection is provided with a short introduction as well. Two appendices, "Offices, Ranks, and the Imperial Palace" and a concise introduction to the techniques used in classical Japanese poetry, are appended at the end. d) Steven Carter, translated. Traditional Japanese Poetry: An Anthology. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1991. An anthology solely dedicated to poetry, the volume covers the Nara (Ancient Age) through the modern age. Selections for the Heian period center largely on a corpus of poems by a particular poet, but it also includes anonymous poems and a sequence of poems from the Kokinshû, a short selection of poems in Chinese (kanbun), and excerpted poems from a diary. Each entry has a short informative introduction and a selected bibliography of translations and theoretic studies is also provided. Most of the translations have been provided Carter. It also has a very helpful selected bibliography which lists both translations and studies.
2) General Works
a) Donald Keene. Seeds in the Heart: Japanese Literature from Earliest Times to the Late Sixteenth Century. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.
A comprehensive tome of 1265 pages which introduces the writings of the Nara through the late Muromachi period (late 1600). This is the first of three volumes, comprising a complete history of Japanese literature. Categorizing most of the works by genre--"Late Heian Collections of Waka Poetry", "Heian Diaries"--Keene then writes several pages on the works that comprise that genre. For example for the waka collections, he lists the anthologies that follow the Kokinshû, providing a summary of the content, information on the editor (or author for the diaries and tales), the circumstances of its compilation (or writing) and other useful information. It is a very good introduction to the literature of the period from which the reader can move on to more specialized studies.
b) Earl Miner, Hiroko Odagiri, & Robert Morrell. The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985.
Formatted as a handy resource, it is not to be read from cover to cover but to be used to look up authors, their works, information on the history of the period, annual observances, material culture, etc. Most information can be retrieved using the table of contents or the index. A very handy reference book, although with more information than a non-specialist reader may want.
c) Helen McCullough. "Aristocratic Culture." The Cambridge History of Japan; Heian Vol. 2. Donald Shively & William McCullough, eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999, pp. 390-448.
The chapter examines the material and artistic culture of the Heian period, examining the domestic architecture and furnishings, the, textiles and costumes, the aristocratic occupations and pastimes as well as literature, poetry, calligraphy, and art of the period. The opening two paragraphs provide a useful snapshot of the characteristics of the period. One word of caution: we should not automatically consider a tendency toward emotionalism rather than intellectualism or the subordination of the individual in deference to the group as negative--they are simply different from what we encounter in the 20th C western cultures. In the same volume William McCullough provides the historical/political backdrop of "The Heian court, 794-1070" (pp. 20-96) and an account of the capital, its structures, its residences, and its administration ("The Capital and its Society", pp. 97-182).
d) Edwin Cranston. "Heian Literature," Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan. Vol. 5. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1983, pp. 28-41.
Divided into three chronological segments, the article covers Heian literature from its inceptions from 794-905 when Chinese writings were in vogue to "The Birth of Prose Literature (905-1020)" to the post-Genji through the compilation of the eighth imperial poetic anthology, the Shinkokinshû (1020-1205), extending the Heian period a little past its usual 1185 cut-off. Cranston provides more on the two poets, Ono no Komachi and Ariwara no Narihira, whom we studied in the poetry segment (pp. 30-31). He briefly discusses Sei Shônagon on p. 34 and provides a reading of Genji as "one of the most problematic characters in world literature"....[A]ll charm and handsomeness, talent and ardor...[Genji also exhibits] self-centeredness, rashness, [and] insensitivity to the feelings of others" (p. 35). Very helpful in getting an overview of the period but may be more detailed than some would want. e) Helen McCullough. "Introduction." Tales of Ise: Lyrical Episodes from Tenth Century Japan. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1968, pp. 3-65.
In addition to providing a backdrop of the tale, the introduction discusses the influence of Chinese poetic and cultural influences in the early Heian period, the rhetorical devices used in waka, and Ariwara no Narihira, the otoko (a[certain] man/[courtier) protagonist of the tale. However, what might be of greatest interest are the sections on Ono no Komachi (pp. 39-41) and Narihira (pp. 41-55) as well as a short passage ("The Confucian Ideal," pp. 14-17), explaining why poetry was considered central in the cultural, social, and political life of the period. Following the T'ang ideal, the ideal man was to "'cultivate his person' for the good of the state" (p. 16). This meant acquiring skill in calligraphy, painting, music, and poetry--for "poetry was a useful adjunct to the government because it improved the quality of the ruling class" (p. 17).
f) Sonja Arntzen, "Introduction" The Kagerô Diary: A Woman's Autobiographical Text from Tenth-Century Japan. Michigan: Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 1997, pp. 1-50.
Specifically written as an introduction to The Kagerô Diary, and early Heian work, it still has very useful information on the period, especially in terms of situating women. It also has very accessible sections on the language, orthography, and poetic devices.
g) Edith Sarra. Fictions of Femininity: Literary Inventions of Gender in Japanese Court Women's Memoirs. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1999.
A very interesting study of four of the central works written by Heian women. The chapter on Sei Shônagon and The Pillow Book may be of greatest interest. Sarra concludes that Shônagon deliberately provides the most successful alternative to the socially and culturally sanctioned model of ideal wifely and poetic behavior by constructing herself in the very unfeminine pose of voyeur and cultural arbiter, thereby not internalizing the male gaze but shattering it.
h) Victoria Vernon. "Revising the Legacy". Daughters of the Moon: Wish, Will, and Social Constraint in Fiction by Modern Japanese Women. Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley Center for Japanese Studies, 1988, 17-32.
Vernon's text deals exclusively with modern women writers but her second chapter does an excellent job of contextualizing women's writing within the double- edge legacy of Heian women writers. On the one hand, modern women writers had an easier time in breaking back into the public arena because 900 years ago women proved that they could write, but, on the other, their powerful legacy limited the kinds of topics modern women could write about. For our purposes, Vernon does an excellent job of examining how and why women were able to write during the Heian period.
i) H. Richard Okada. Figures of Resistance: Language, Poetry, and Narrating in "The Tale of Genji" and Other Mid-Heian Texts. Durham: Duke University Press, 1991.
A much more technical study, Figures of Resistance examines three Heian texts, one of which is The Tale of Genji. "Situating the 'Feminine Hand'" looks at the role of women , especially in their capacity as producers and consumers of literature. One word of caution is that he accords too much prominence to women, suggesting that they were literarily more dominant . However, poetry was still the central art form of the period and it was the men who compiled the most prestigious anthologies and who were represented in them.
j) Carole Cavanaugh. "Text and Textile: Unweaving the Female Subject in Heian Writing." Positions 4:3 (Winter 1996), pp. 595-636.
A very innovative article which examines the economy of clothing and textiles in the Heian period as a means of currency and a measure of social worth. It was clear that the men folk of the period "owned" the silk cloth, but Cavanaugh very persuasively argues that by being the creators and the storehouses of the cloth the women played a very crucial and effective role at court. The last third of the article deals with the displacement of the female figure by the clothing she wears--a case of the clothes making the woman perhaps--which, due to the limitation of space, was not as convincingly argued as the first section of the article. A very densely written piece, the article is hard to read for those not schooled in Marxist, poststructuralist discourse.
k) Thomas LaMarre. Uncovering Heian Japan: An Archeology of Sensation and Inscription. Durham: Duke University Press, 2000.
For the truly adventurous, this study attempts to bring back into the discussion the central role that Chinese poetry and orthography played even in the poetic tradition at the height of the Heian period which many Japanese literary historians consider "purely Japanese". A very innovative and exciting study, although technical and a bit of a tough read.
l) Tomiko Yoda. Inscribing Divisions: Gender, Discourse, and Subject in Heian Vernacular Narrative. Ph.D. diss. Stanford University, 1996.
In this unpublished dissertation, Yoda examines the narrative strategies utilized in four texts from the Heian period. At times it is extremely technical in its discussions of the linguistic bases Yoda uses for her analysis, but Ch. 4 on Genji, especially its discussion of how the different uses of poetry by men and women protagonists might be of special interest.
3) Works on Genji
a) Richard Bowring. Murasaki Shikibu: The Tale of Genji.. Landmarks of World Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
This is a very handy resource which not only gives a summary of all 54 chapters but provides historical, social, and cultural context of the period. My one concern is that he ascribes a rather passive and sterile role to the women which is countered by Field's book.
b) Norma Field. The Splendor of Longing in The Tale of Genji. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987.
This study focuses on the women in the tale and brings to the fore the complexity of not just the women but of then narrative structure as well. It provides a balance to Bowring's study. Her reading of the spirit possession scenes of both Yûgao and Aoi (Genji's principle wife whose section we did not read), found on pages 45-51, is especially noteworthy as is the entire section on Rokujô (pp. 45-63).
c) Haruo Shirane. The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of The Tale of Genji. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1987.
Shirane does an excellent job of situating the tale within its political, social, and religious contexts. Translated into Japanese, it was well received by the Japanese scholarly community, Sections on Yûgao (pp. 66-71), the Rokujô Lady (pp. 113- 116), and on the author (pp. 215-223) might be of special interest.
d) Edward Kamens, ed. Approaches to Teaching Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 1993.
The Tale of Genji was the first non-western work to be included in the Modern Language Association series on the teaching of the great "masterpieces" of literature. Many of the essays focus on specific courses within which the tale is taught. Some provide more general information. For example, Bruce Coat's "Buildings and Gardens in The Tale of Genji" discusses the layout of the aristocractic buildings and the grounds and, although Yûgao's abode does not fit into that setting, the deserted mansion where Genji takes Yûgao does. H. Mack Horton talks about the role that ladies-in-waiting play in the tale in "They Also Serve: Ladies-in-Waiting in The Tale of Genji," while Ellen Peel in "Mediation and Mediators: Letters, Screens, and Other Go-Betweens in The Tale Genji" discusses the different mediating mechanisms in play in aristocratic life. Finally, Lynne Miyake's article ("The Narrative Triad in The Tale of Genji: Narrator, Reader, and Text") attempts to situate readers vis-à-vis the characters and the narrators in the reading of the tale.
e) Royall Tyler. "Introduction." The Tale of Genji. New York: Viking, 2001, pp. xi-xxix.
It provides an accessible introduction to the tale, providing information on the author, the world of the tale, poetry, the language. Of special interest is pp. xix-xxi where Tyler talks about the euphemisms used in the tale (e.g., "seeing" a woman indicating a sexual liaison or "our world" signaling a relationship between a particular man and woman).
f) Doris Bargen. A Woman's Weapon: Spirit Possession in The Tale of Genji. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1997.
Bargen first presents three theories which are the usual explanations of who or what possesses Yûgao and causes her to die. The first makes Rokujô's living spirit the culprit; the second marks the spirit of the deserted villa; while a third claims that it is a composite of "Rokujô's shadow on Genji's conscience" and the evil spirit of the villa. Bargen counters these theories and argues that the mono no ke spirit is best understood as "the deadly discrepancy between Yûgao and the selves that others forced her to be" (p. 58). In other words, in keeping with her thesis that mono no ke possessions were women's weapons "to counter male strategies of empowerment," Bargen suggests that it is Yûgao's way of getting back at Genji for his treatment of her. There is no doubt some aspect of that present, but perhaps Bargen overstates her case by assuming that women like Yûgao gained nothing from a liaison with Genji and that the issue was so cut and dried. Nonetheless, Bargen's chapter on Yûgao provides helpful information in filling in the cultural and social gaps in the text.
g) Fujitsu. The Tale of Genji: An Interactive Exploration of the World's First Novel. Vols. 1 & 2.
Both contain options for Japanese/English conversion, bookmarking, and "detailing". Volume 1 consists of a narration of Chapters 1-33 of the tale, original text from famous scenes, and a virtual tour of Rokujô-in, the dream mansion Genji builds to house his ladies later on in the book. It, nonetheless typifies what a Heian court dwelling looked like and is extremely useful, especially in reading other parts of the Genji. A section on the life of the nobility provides useful information on clothing, diet, transportation, the color combination used in the layering of kimonos, games and amusements, architecture, and furnishings. The CD is rounded out by a picture scroll of the tale, providing a sense of the material culture of the period, and a dictionary which has an introduction of the characters, Genji's genealogy, and a chronology of Genji's life.
Volume 2 contains narration of Chapters 34-54, original text from famous scenes, a dictionary, and a picture scroll in a similar format. It adds sections on ceremonies and festivals, the life of the author Murasaki Shikibu, and notable locations in the Genji.
h) Web sites--recommendations pending
4) Poetry
a) Laurel Rodd. "Introduction." Kokinshû: A Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern Poems. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984, pp. 3-34.
Rodd's introduction provides a helpful summary of the poetic milieu in which the anthology was complied as well as explanations of the aesthetics, the rules of composition, and the arrangement of the anthology. The volume also contains a translation of the entire Kokinshû.
b) Helen McCullough. Brocade by Night: 'Kokin Wakashû' and the Court Style in Japanese Classical Poetry. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1985.
--- Kokin Wakashû: The First Imperial Anthology of Japanese Poetry With 'Tosa Nikki' and 'Shinsen Waka.' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1985.
The first is a comprehensive scholarly study of the Kokinshû and its poetic legacy. It begins with an examination of the Chinese heritage of classical Japanese poetry covers pre-Heian poetry thorough the compilation of the Kokinshû and its aftermath. The second is a translation of the Kokinshû, a diary, and another anthology.
c) Robert Brower. "Waka." Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan. Vol. 8. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1983, 201-217.
A very accessible introduction to waka poetry written by one of the pioneers in the field.
f) Robert Brower & Earl Miner. Japanese Court Poetry. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1961.
Still the most comprehensive study on classical Japanese poetry from 550-1350. The translation of the poems are longer and more inclusive than most, thus giving a sense that the poems are longer than they really are.
The Teaching about Japan website is
edited by Clayton Dube.
He welcomes your comments and suggestions.