The Diary of Lady Murasaki (19 page)

The court gave gifts according to rank. They were given to nobles, senior courtiers, masters, and officials in Her Majesty’s Household. It was just as it had been in the Enchō era. Then Her Majesty gave everyone gifts. The nobles were given women’s robes and either the prince’s clothes or his bedding. I cannot list everything in detail. Senior courtiers also got presents according to rank. Those of Fourth Rank received women’s robes and trousers, those of Fifth Rank only the robes, and those of Sixth only the trousers. Those of Fourth Rank and above were given, in addition, either the Prince’s clothes or his bedding.

Everyone dispersed at midnight. Tonight the moon was full. Retainers also received gifts and Her Majesty gave all the masters a piece of silk.

9.19. At about four in the afternoon Yorisada passed on to me a note from Yorimichi. Tonight there was to be a celebration for Her Majesty and I should be present. Yorimichi was to be in charge. I excused myself on the pretext of being in ritual seclusion. I had been every other evening, but tonight was most inconvenient, so I decided to stay away.

A GUIDE TO FURTHER READING

Murasaki’s magnum opus, the
Genji monogatari
, is available at present in two English translations. Arthur Waley’s version, done between 1924 and 1933, with many subsequent reprintings, has become a classic of English prose and was an astounding achievement by a great scholar working before many modern Japanese aids were available. The translation is fairly free in places, however, and Waley both cut and embellished where he saw fit. A much more accurate representation of the original is now available in Edward Seiden-sticker’s version of 1976. Ten core chapters have also been presented by another prolific translator, Helen Craig McCullough, in her book entitled
Genji & Heike
(Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1994). It is a measure of the sheer range of possibilities the
Genji
offers that yet a third major translation by Royall Tyler is now in progress for Penguin Classics. In German there is Oscar Benl, trans.,
Die Geschichte vom Prinzen Genji
, 2 vols. (Zürich: Manesse Verlag, 1966); in French, René Sieffert, trans.,
Le dit du Genji
, 2 vols. (Paris: Publications Orientalistes de France, 1978–88).

Anyone interested in comparisons between these versions should start with the following articles: E. Cranston, ‘The Seidensticker
Genji
’,
Journal of Japanese Studies
, 4.1 (1978), 1–25; M. Ury, ‘The Imaginary Kingdom and the Translator’s Art: Notes on Re-reading Waley’s
Genji
’,
Journal of Japanese Studies
, 2.2 (1976), 267–94; and M. Ury, ‘The Complete
Genji
’,
Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies
, 37.1 (1977), 183–201.

For guides to the
Genji
and Heian literature in general, consult N. Field,
The Splendor of Longing in the Tale of Genji
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987); H. Shirane,
The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of the Tale of Genji
(Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1987); R. Bowring,
Murasaki Shikibu: The Tale of Genji
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988); and R. Okada,
Figures of Resistance: Language, Poetry and Narrating in
The Tale of Genji
and Other Mid-Heian Texts
(Durham, N. C.: Duke University Press, 1991); all these works have good bibliographies. All the other major works by women of the period have now been translated. E. Seidensticker, trans.,
The Gossamer Years
(Tokyo: Tuttle, 1964); I. Morris, trans.,
The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon
, 2 vols. (London: Oxford University Press, 1967, reissued in one vol. (with cuts) as a Penguin Classic, 1971); E. Cranston, trans.,
The Izumi Shikibu Diary
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1969); I. Morris, trans.,
As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams
(Penguin Classics, 1971).

For the historical background consult G. B. Sansom,
A History of Japan to 1334
, originally published by Cresset Press in 1958 but now available in a reprint from Dawson, Folkestone, 1978; I. Morris,
The World of the Shining Prince
(Kōdansha International, 1994); and J. Hall and J. Mass, eds.,
Medieval Japan, Essays in Institutional History
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974). W. H. and H. C. McCullough, trans.,
A Tale of Flowering Fortunes
, 2 vols. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1980), is a closely annotated translation of the
Eiga monogatari
, an account of court life under the Fujiwara at their height, produced not long after the
Genji
. The introduction, notes and appendices are a veritable mine of information on all aspects of Heian life and customs. Two other works of major importance are in French: Francine Hérail,
Fonctions et fonctionnaires japonais au début du XIe siècle
, 2 vols. (Paris: Publications Orientalistes de France, 1977), and the same author’s translation of Michinaga’s diary,
Notes journalières de Fujiwara no Michinaga
, Hautes études orientales II, 23, 24, 26, Institut des hautes études japonaises, 3 vols. (Genève-Paris: Librarie Droz, 1987–91).

Those interested in the somewhat unusual marriage arrangements that seem to have pertained in the Heian court should consult W. H. McCullough, ‘Japanese Marriage Institutions in the Heian Period’,
Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies
, 27 (1967), 103–67, and the more recent article by P. Nickerson, ‘The Meaning of Matrilocality: Kinship, Property and Politics in Mid-Heian’,
Monumenta Nipponica
, 48.4 (1993), 429–67.

1
On this point see in particular E. Kamens,
The Buddhist Poetry of the Great Kamo Priestess
, Michigan monograph series in Japanese studies: no. 5 (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1990).

2
For this kind of information see W. H. and H. C. McCullough, trans.,
A Tale of Flowering Fortunes
(Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1980), vol. 2, pp. 818–22, and F. Hérail,
Fonctions et fonctionnaires japonais au début du XIe siècle
(Paris: Publications Orientalistes de France, 1977), vol. 2, pp. 172–85, 556–75.

3
Imai Gen’e,
Murasaki Shikibu
, Jinbutsu sōsho 131 (Tōkyō: Yoshikawa Kōbunkan, 1966); Shimizu Yoshiko,
Murasaki Shikibu
, Iwanami shinsho 854 (Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, 1973).

4
Tametoki had four poems included in imperial anthologies (
Goshūishū
poems 147, 639, 835 and
Shinkokinshū
poem 1499), one Chinese preface and thirteen Chinese poems in
Honchō reisō
, five Chinese poems in
Ruiju kudaishō
, and one Chinese poem in
Shinsen rōeishū
.

5
See I. Morris,
The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon
(London: Oxford University Press, 1967), vol. 1, pp. 124–5. This passage has been omitted from the shortened 1971 Penguin version.

6
See W. H. and H. C. McCullough, op.cit., vol. 1, pp. 53–63.

7
ibid., p. 267.

1
The ritual took place in the east wing of the mansion and involved a row of five altars behind each of which was placed a statue of one of the five great deities (
Vidyārāja
): Fudō (
Acalanātha
), Gōzanze (
Trailokyavijaya
), Gundari Yasha (
KunŃdŃalī
), Daiitoku (
Yamāntaka
) and Kongō Yāasha (
VajrayaksŃa
), who symbolized the wrathful energies of the Five Buddhas of Esoteric Buddhism. In this case the object of the ritual is to pray for a safe birth and to bless certain objects that belonged to the mother-to-be. See ground-plan
2
(Appendix 1).

2
See ground-plan
2
(Appendix 1). Murasaki’s room was probably in the back corridor or gallery that ran between the main building and the east wing. These galleries were often partitioned with sliding screens, panels and curtains about four feet high so as to form small rooms. Not much privacy could be expected with such an arrangement.

3
A typical exchange of short poems with a premium placed on wit and the ability to improvise. It is common to find personal feelings expressed by oblique reference to objects in this way. His Excellency’s reply thereby manages to be equivocal: is there blame or praise here?

4
His Excellency’s son Yorimichi is here quoting from a poem by Ono no Yoshiki, which can be found in the first imperial collection, the
Kokinshū
(‘A Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern’,
c
. 905):
If I tarry in this field so full of maiden-flowers, I am in danger of gaining a bad reputation
. The change of tense in the translation is deliberate, for it is at this point that the descriptions become more specific in time and place. This is also where we encounter the first use of the auxiliary verb
haberi
, which suggests a certain distance in the narration, occurring as it does in passages where Murasaki is clearly commenting on something that she has written, or that has happened, much earlier.

5
Elaborate trays were made, often with miniature land- or seascapes in them, to act as the centrepiece at competitions and banquets. In this case we have a beach scene and the poem has been written on the silver ‘water’ that represents the sea. The game itself was probably a form of jackstones rather than the modern game of
go
, and the poem plays on the ‘stones’. The idea that pebbles would eventually grow into rocks was a common conceit and often linked to felicitations for a long reign. Through its phrasing, the poem alludes to another poem produced on a similar but rather more formal occasion that was held some thirty-five years previously in 973. It is this allusion that explains the enigmatic statement about fans that follows, because the record of the 973 event (a record that still remains) specifically refers to the exquisite fans that had been given out as prizes. ‘On that occasion’ therefore refers to 973 rather than 1008. Murasaki is quietly showing just how erudite she can be, and in the process gives us an example of the way memory can move in unpredictable fashion.

6
Incense was carefully mixed and put into containers, which were then buried in the ground, preferably in a sunny area near water, for a number of days. In this case they were allowed to cure for twelve days and were tested on the ninth of the following month. The testing would take the form of a competition.

7
The ninth of the ninth month was the day of the Chrysanthemum Festival. It was believed that to wipe one’s face with material that had been left out on chrysanthemums overnight to protect the flowers and soak in the dew would bring rejuvenation. There may be more to this little episode than meets the eye, but if there is ironic intent on the part of Her Excellency and sarcasm in Murasaki’s reply, it is difficult to recover with any certainty.

8
See ground-plan
3
(Appendix 1) for the layout at this point. The dais itself was about a foot high, covered with mats and cushions, and surrounded by a series of curtains hung from a standing frame. As we find out later on, the usual dais was not dismantled but simply pushed into another part of the main room.

9
One of the five guardian deities mentioned in note 1, Fudō (
Acalanātha
or the Immovable One) was of particularly ferocious mien. He was equipped with a rope in his left hand, a demon-quelling sword in the right, sported two large fangs, and had flames springing from his back.

10
This move was presumably dictated by the soothsayers. There seems to have been no veranda at the back of the building, so this was as far north as Her Majesty could be moved. See ground-plan
3
(Appendix 1).

11
This little interjection, using the colloquial particle
yo
, occurs more than once in the diary. It is one of a number of signs that the text is layered: such remarks seem to have been added at a later date, perhaps during the process of copying.

12
The rice is being thrown in the air as part of the rituals to keep all evil influences at bay.

13
Since at least some of these women have already just been described as serving close by Her Majesty, it is doubtful whether they themselves were acting as mediums. It is more likely that, as high-ranking ladies-in-waiting, each of them was made responsible for an enclosure and that the gruelling work of being a medium had been entrusted to professional substitutes. An exorcist has been assigned to each medium, but in some cases further help was obviously necessary.