Japan_and_the_Tale_of_Genji

Japan and The Tale of Genji In Murasaki Skikibu's book The Tale of Genji, translated and abridged by Edward G. Seidensticker, there are many obvious Chinese influences. The novel illustrated these influences in writing, music, and politics. Many East Asian countries had great influences on each other, but their customs and culture are still extremely different from that of the United States. This can especially be seen in marriage patterns and political systems. Examples of the cultural influences of China on Japan are laced throughout The Tale of Genji, especially in terms of writing and music. When Genji is seven years old, he goes through the the ceremonial reading of the Chinese classics (18). This immediately displays the importance of Chinese literature in Japan, that it is a rite of adolescence marked by ceremony. Chinese poetry in particular was highly esteemed in Japanese society. Genji offers a verse of Chinese poetry and it was "received with high praise" (20). The characters regularly exchange short verses of poetry in order to interact with each other and exchanges of Chinese poetry also occured at major ceremonies (20, 224). It was mentioned that connossieurs of poetry were the ones who were masters of writing Chinese poetry. This attitude of awed respect for Chinese culture extended into the music realm as well. In many scenes of the book, characters play a musical instrument called the Chinese Koto, which comes with seven or thirteen strings (82, 232). At one point, Genji described a player as having a "Chinese elegance in his touch" (292). Throughout The Tale of Genji, it was clear that the Japanese viewed the Chinese as experts in writing and music and tried hard to embody their talent. Chinese influence was also very prevalent in the Japanese government system. As the reader can see in The Tale of Genji, Japan's government is an Imperial Court. All the ranks in Japan were adopted from China. The use of these titles can be seen in the novel. Genji's father is the Emperor, there are ministers, princesses, crown princes, and then the less fortunate. In Heian Japan, a person is born into their status. Titles were passed from parent to child, so members of the Imperial Court had children who would also be members of the Imperial Court. Leaders came to power through blood, not merit. This was a problem when a young child was thrust to power before maturity, as seen in Tale of Genji. In these cases, a older relative would be the child's "backer" and rule in his place. When Genji's father died, the Crown Prince was next in line for power and Genji was extremely worried because he "had no strong backers" and because "the emperor was young, and his maternal grandfather was an impulsive, vindictive sort of man. What would the world be like, asked courtiers high and low, with such a man in control'" (146, 196). This is extremely different from the American system, in which a person must put in long years of hard work before getting power. Even then, the people have control through voting of who is put in office. Even the entire American political system is structured differently. Japan has a hierarchy in which groups of people are put in a set order of power, with the Emperor ruling supreme over them all. In America, while some people do have more power, all people are considered equal. The governor, while having more influence than an average citizen, doesn't have any more rights. Plus, our federal government is an equalized system, not a hierarchy, because we have a system of checks and balances in order to ensure that no one person or small group has complete power. In addition to political system, Japan also differs greats from America in terms of marriage traditions. Men weren't required to live with their spouses. In the novel, it was said that Genji "spent little time at the Sanjo mansion of his bride" (26). Americans almost always live with their spouses, except under extenuating circumstances. Genji also participated in numerous unfulfilling love affairs with other women. In most cases, his advances are rebuffed, his lover dies suddenly during the affair, or he finds his lover to be dull in each instance. In one of the many cases, he sees a beautiful young woman through an open window, enters her room without permission, and proceeds to seduce her. Recognizing him as a man of power, she makes no resistance. He also "struck up relations [with an elderly lady], interested that her wanton ways should be so perdurable" (124). Later on in the novel, Genji he finds a beautiful ten-year-old girl. He is fascinated by this little girl, named Murasaki, kidnaps her, brings her to his own palace, and educates her to be his ideal lady. He calls her "the perfect companion, a toy for him to play with" (106). During this time Genji also secretly meets the Lady Fujitsubo, his stepmom, and she bears his son. Genji freely loves many women when he has a wife and it is well-known by the people of the court, including Genji's wife. While the Japanese didn't necessarily advocate that kind of behavior, nobody made a move to stop it, even Genji's wife. This would be extremely unacceptable in our modern American society. People in America do not stand for infidelity of that magnitude to begin with, but Americans are absolutely disgusted by kidnappings, incest (blood or name), and relations between those of large age differences. Our culture doesn't view that as acceptable behavior. It is quite clear that while great similarities can be seen between Chinese and Japanese culture and customs, America and Japan differ quite drastically. Geography plays a large role in this. Japan and China are both located in East Asia, with China just west of Japan. For centuries the two countries have closely interacted with each other, so it is only natural that they have similar cultural patterns and politics, as seen in The Tale of Genji. On the other hand, Japan and the United States have an entire ocean between them, so there hasn't been as much personal interaction to cause cultural and political influences. Thus the differences in marriage patterns and government systems.