moyashi
後輩
- 15 Apr 2002
- 1,571
- 18
- 48
Murasaki Shikibu, the first female novelist in the world, wrote about her life in Heian period Japan. Heian period is about 900 AD to 1000 AD (I'm fudgin by a few years both ways).
Now, the interesting thing besides 2 famous translators having a fit over translating into realistic English is that the story itself is shrowded in mystery.
Genji is another way to read the name, Minamoto. During this period the Minamoto clan was at a peak while the famous Fujiwara clan was temporarly out of power.
It is believed that Murasaki Shikibu didn't write the whole story. At the time stories were hand re-written like Bibles were in Europe during the same period. It is also belived that a famous Fujiwara clan member also slightly changed the story along with a mysterious ghost writer(s).
Also, it seems that another story found it's way into Genji Monogatari.
If the story were to reduced to it's original it would possibly be about a quarter of it's current content.
The big shock is that the story isn't really about love BUT a story about a cursed love, as in cursing people who are involved along the vodoo doll type.
Of course, I didn't figure this out on my own but rather watch a show on TV about it but ... I'll plug in my share of thoughts.
The TV show relied on experts to verify the above. But in my opinion, I agree.
The business with cursing women was something of a oh really type of thing when I first read the story, but after going ghost hunting in Japan and hundreds of hours of ghost show TV this started to bug me. Tonights TV show just made what was bugging me clear. The story has to be really about vodoo curses! It just makes sense.
Also, the part about combining stories is interesting because the current Genji Monogatari has a strange flow to it. I've always assigned this to the translation process but Sidenstickler and Wailey both mentioned the fun of translating this story and how it seemed that certain chapters just didn't gist with the whole as being out of place or order! Ah ha! I wonder if they knew that Murasaki wasn't the entire author?
The length has always amazed me since after reading other monogatari of the period I thought it was truly amazing that a women had written close to 10 times of her male conterparts. Heike Monogatari about the Heike clan which was in power right before the Heian period is only like 300 pages max compared to the Genji Monogatari which is about 1,300.
hmmm ... women a ghostly powers is just too scary for me!
Now, the interesting thing besides 2 famous translators having a fit over translating into realistic English is that the story itself is shrowded in mystery.
Genji is another way to read the name, Minamoto. During this period the Minamoto clan was at a peak while the famous Fujiwara clan was temporarly out of power.
It is believed that Murasaki Shikibu didn't write the whole story. At the time stories were hand re-written like Bibles were in Europe during the same period. It is also belived that a famous Fujiwara clan member also slightly changed the story along with a mysterious ghost writer(s).
Also, it seems that another story found it's way into Genji Monogatari.
If the story were to reduced to it's original it would possibly be about a quarter of it's current content.
The big shock is that the story isn't really about love BUT a story about a cursed love, as in cursing people who are involved along the vodoo doll type.
Of course, I didn't figure this out on my own but rather watch a show on TV about it but ... I'll plug in my share of thoughts.
The TV show relied on experts to verify the above. But in my opinion, I agree.
The business with cursing women was something of a oh really type of thing when I first read the story, but after going ghost hunting in Japan and hundreds of hours of ghost show TV this started to bug me. Tonights TV show just made what was bugging me clear. The story has to be really about vodoo curses! It just makes sense.
Also, the part about combining stories is interesting because the current Genji Monogatari has a strange flow to it. I've always assigned this to the translation process but Sidenstickler and Wailey both mentioned the fun of translating this story and how it seemed that certain chapters just didn't gist with the whole as being out of place or order! Ah ha! I wonder if they knew that Murasaki wasn't the entire author?
The length has always amazed me since after reading other monogatari of the period I thought it was truly amazing that a women had written close to 10 times of her male conterparts. Heike Monogatari about the Heike clan which was in power right before the Heian period is only like 300 pages max compared to the Genji Monogatari which is about 1,300.
hmmm ... women a ghostly powers is just too scary for me!