Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji: Philosophical Perspectives (Oxford Studies in Philosophy and Lit)

Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji is variously read as a work of feminist protest, the world's first psychological novel and even as a post-modern masterpiece. Commonly seen as Japan's greatest literary work, its literary, cultural, and historical significance has been thoroughly acknowledged. As a work focused on the complexities of Japanese court life in the Heian period, however, the The Tale of Genji has never before been the subject of philosophical investigation. The essays in this volume address this oversight, arguing that the work contains much that lends itself to philosophical analysis. The authors of this volume demonstrate that The Tale of Genji confronts universal themes such as the nature and exercise of political power, freedom, individual autonomy and agency, renunciation, gender, and self-expression; it raises deep concerns about aesthetics and the role of art, causality, the relation of man to nature, memory, and death itself. Although Murasaki Shikibu may not express these themes in the text as explicitly philosophical problems, the complex psychological tensions she describes and her observations about human conduct reveal an underlying framework of philosophical assumptions about the world of the novel that have implications for how we understand these concerns beyond the world of Genji. Each essay in this collection reveals a part of this framework, situating individual themes within larger philosophical and historical contexts. In doing so, the essays both challenge prevailing views of the novel and each other, offering a range of philosophical interpretations of the text and emphasizing the The Tale of Genji 's place as a masterful work of literature with broad philosophical significance. Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji is variously read as a work of feminist protest, the world's first psychological novel and even as a post-modern masterpiece. Commonly seen as Japan's greatest literary work, its literary, cultural, and historical significance has been thoroughly acknowledged. As a work focused on the complexities of Japanese court life in the Heian period, however, the The Tale of Genji has never before been the subject of philosophical investigation. The essays in this volume address this oversight, arguing that the work contains much that lends itself to philosophical analysis. 0The authors of this volume demonstrate that The Tale of Genji confronts universal themes such as the nature and exercise of political power, freedom, individual autonomy and agency, renunciation, gender, and self-expression; it raises deep concerns about aesthetics and the role of art, causality, the relation of man to nature, memory, and death itself. Although Murasaki Shikibu may not express these themes in the text as explicitly philosophical problems, the complex psychological0tensions she describes and her observations about human conduct reveal an underlying framework of philosophical assumptions about the world of the novel that have implications for how we understand these concerns beyond the world of Genji. Each essay in this collection reveals a part of this framework, situating individual themes within larger philosophical and historical contexts. In doing so, the essays both challenge prevailing views of the novel and each other, offering a range of philosophical interpretations of the text and emphasizing the The Tale of Genji's place as a masterful work of literature with broad philosophical significance "The Tale of Genji, written by a Murasaki Shikibu, a female courtier commonly celebrated as a genius, is the greatest work of Japanese literature and has fascinated readers for more than a millennium. It depicts a court life of great sophistication over four generations, concentrating on the ascendancy of a gifted son of an emperor and his relationships with numerous women. Its psychological depth and brilliant narrative technique have astounded critics and general readers alike. Outside Japan, however, little attention has been paid to the philosophical assumptions underpinning this compelling masterpiece. The present volume contains eight essays by scholars of classical Japanese literature, which explore the assumptions and beliefs concerning human experience and its literary presentation that inform the narrative. An introduction sets the historical scene. Successive chapters analyze aspects of the work that are fundamental to its understanding of its own world and, at the same time, resonate with preoccupations of the twenty-first century reading public. The first group of three essays addresses the nature of political power and its relationship with mythology, the concept of time and space and the influence of China, and the construction of moral personhood that enables men to engage in multiple love affairs. Three essays describe the important cultural practices of poetry, calligraphy, and garden- making. Two concluding essays explore the concept of gender that facilitated the creation of the work by a female author in a society which disprivileged women and the pervasive influence of Buddhism on both the work itself and how it has been understood in Japan." -- Oxford Scholarship Online Abstract __The Tale of Genji__, written by a Murasaki Shikibu, a female courtier commonly celebrated as a genius, is the greatest work of Japanese literature and has fascinated readers for more than a millennium. It depicts a court life of great sophistication over four generations, concentrating on the ascendancy of a gifted son of an emperor and his relationships with numerous women. Its psychological depth and brilliant narrative technique have astounded critics and general readers alike. Outside Japan, however, little attention has been paid to the philosophical assumptions underpinning this compelling masterpiece. The present volume contains eight essays by scholars of classical Japanese literature, which explore the assumptions and beliefs concerning human experience and its literary presentation that inform the narrative. An introduction sets the historical scene. Successive chapters analyze aspects of the work that are fundamental to its understanding of its own world and, at the same time, resonate with preoccupations of the twenty-first century reading public. The first group of three essays addresses the nature of political power and its relationship with mythology, the concept of time and space and the influence of China, and the construction of moral personhood that enables men to engage in multiple love affairs. Three essays describe the important cultural practices of poetry, calligraphy, and garden- making. Two concluding essays explore the concept of gender that facilitated the creation of the work by a female author in a society which disprivileged women and the pervasive influence of Buddhism on both the work itself and how it has been understood in Japan. The essays in this collection engage with Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale Genji as a work of philosophical significance, analyzing the text from a wide range of perspectives. The essays touch on almost all branches of philosophy and engage with topics such as the exercise of power, the concept of space, construction of personhood, cultural and artistic practices, and gender.