|
Lady Fujitsubo
is a fictional character in Murasaki Shikibu's '' The Tale of Genji'' (). Biography Daughter of a previous emperor and thus imperial princess, Fujitsubo enters the service of Kiritsubo Emperor at age 16, mainly because of her resemblance to the deceased Kiritsubo Consort. She soon becomes an imperial favorite, but also Genji's childhood crush and later lifelong obsession. By chapter seven, it becomes obvious that Fujitsubo and Genji are already involved in an illicit love affair (although the author does not describe it, but rather implies the beginning of the relationship), the result of which is the birth of Reizei (the future emperor) whom everyone, except the two lovers, believes to be the son of the Kiritsubo Emperor. Elevated to the rank of Empress and having her son named Heir Apparent (Reizei is supposed to succeed Suzaku), Fujitsubo gradually grows more and more troubled by guilt and the fear of having her secret exposed. Once Genji's advances intensify and, in the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murasaki Shikibu
was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court in the Heian period. She is best known as the author of '' The Tale of Genji,'' widely considered to be one of the world's first novels, written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012. Murasaki Shikibu is a descriptive name; her personal name is unknown, but she may have been , who was mentioned in a 1007 court diary as an imperial lady-in-waiting. Heian women were traditionally excluded from learning Chinese, the written language of government, but Murasaki, raised in her erudite father's household, showed a precocious aptitude for the Chinese classics and managed to acquire fluency. She married in her mid-to late twenties and gave birth to a daughter before her husband died, two years after they were married. It is uncertain when she began to write ''The Tale of Genji'', but it was probably while she was married or shortly after she was widowed. In about 1005, she was invited to serve as a lady-in-wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kiritsubo Consort
is a fictional character in '' The Tale of Genji'' ('' Genji Monogatari''). She is the mother of Genji. The Emperor favored her over all his other ladies, despite her relatively lower rank. He would stay with her longer than was generally considered "proper" and with the court's concern for propriety it was quite scandalous. The other ladies began to harass her and she began to waste away. She died three years after Genji's birth. After her death, Genji constantly sought to fill the void left by this loss by forming relationships with various women, many of whom resembled his mother. The Tale of Genji Fictional emperors and empresses {{lit-char-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hikaru Genji
is the protagonist of Murasaki Shikibu's important Heian-era Japanese novel '' The Tale of Genji''. The story describes him as a superbly handsome man and a genius. Genji is the second son of a Japanese emperor, but he is relegated to civilian life for political reasons and lives as an imperial officer. The first part of the story concentrates on his romantic life, and in the second, his and others' internal agony is depicted. He appears from the first volume "Kiritsubo" to the 40th volume "Illusion". " Genji" is the surname as a noble demoted from royalty. His true given name is never referred to in the story, like most other characters. "Hikaru" means "shining", which is a nickname deriving from his appearance. He is also referred to as , sometimes abbreviated as . He is often called Genji when speaking of the story. It's implied that Hikaru Genji was extremely attractive and talented, easily gaining the favor of those around him at a young age. Describing his superlati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norma Field
Norma M. Field is an author and emeritus professor of East Asian studies at the University of Chicago. She has taught Premodern Japanese Poetry and Prose, Premodern Japanese Language, and Gender Studies as relating to Japanese women. Her areas of expertise include: Japan, Literature: Modern Japanese, Feminism, Translation, Humanities. Field was born in Tokyo, Japan shortly after the end of World War II to an American serviceman father and his Japanese wife. She was raised in Tokyo attending school in the Washington Heights District. At age 10, she transferred to the American School in Japan, where she stayed until she graduated from high school. After graduation, she moved to America, and received a BA from Pitzer College in European Studies. Field has a master's degree from Indiana University and a Ph.D. from Princeton University. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1988. Awards * American Book Award The American Book Award is an American literary award that an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murasaki
''Murasaki'' refers to the heroine of '' The Tale of Genji'' (), after whom the book's author, Murasaki Shikibu, was named by her contemporaries. She was a lady in waiting at the Imperial Court of Japan, around the year 1000. Murasaki Shikibu's given name remains unknown to this day. The word Shikibu is actually no name, but refers to the rank of her father, who was in the Emperor's service as provincial governor. The Name Murasaki The name remained a pseudonym, as due to court manners of the author's time (the Heian period, 794–1185), it was considered unacceptably familiar and vulgar to freely address people by either their personal or family names; within the novel, the character herself, too, is unnamed, as most of the book's characters are never identified by any name, but by their rank and title (in the case of male persons), the rank and title of their male relatives (in the case of female persons), or after the name of their habitation (in the case of the great cou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mumyōzōshi
is an early 13th-century Japanese text. One volume in length, it is the oldest existing Japanese text on prose literary criticism.Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten (1986:1798-1799) The author is unknown, but the leading candidate proposed is Shunzei's Daughter.Marra 1984 : 116. Other candidates who have been proposed include her maternal grandfather Shunzei himself and the monk .Marra 1984 : 115. Composition One manuscript gives the title as , a reference to the name of the era in which it was written. Composition occurred between 1200 and 1202.Kubota (2007:341-342) The author is unknown. Hypotheses include Fujiwara no Shunzei ( -1204); his granddaughter, often called " Shunzei's Daughter" ( - 1252); Jōkaku (1147-1226); and Shikishi Naishinnō (1149-1201); but strongest support is for Shunzei's daughter. Contents The volume is composed of four distinct sections: a preface, literary criticism, poetic criticism, and a discussion on prominent literary women. The preface introduc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work ranges from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle portrayals of the dynamics of family life within the context of the rapid changes in 20th-century Japanese society. Frequently, his stories are narrated in the context of a search for cultural identity in which constructions of the West and Japanese tradition are juxtaposed. He was one of six authors on the final shortlist for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964, the year before his death. Biography Early life Tanizaki was born into a well-to-do merchant class family in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, where his uncle owned a printing press, which had been established by his grandfather. His parents were Kuragorō and Seki Tanizaki. His older brother, Kumakichi, died three days after his birth, which made him the next eldest son of the family. Tan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
