#taleofgenji

Fireflies/Hotaru - the nominal fireflies reveal themselves during Genji’s creepy matchmaking scene

Sorry I’ve been a bit slow as of late! My job called me back in so now i’ve been working long days inside a closed bookstore lol apparently, we’re essential! 

Anyway...

I wanna point out how jealous the first paragraph of this chapter made me. “All those that relied on him (Genji) had also settled into ideal circumstances, living as they wished with no anxieties, pleasantly passing the time.” Like, ugh, once again conflicted about my desire to live in Genji’s palace!

Of course, we are swiftly reminded of the downside to living in Genji’s Palace of Pleasure by Tamakazura’s plight. Genji is being a hella creep to her and she feels like she has no one to turn to. It really sucks. She still has some a bunch of suitors writing to her, and she feels stuck between a bunch of shitty situations tbh. 

Prince Sochinoiya is one such suitor who actually manages to get a reply out of Tamakazura. Well, it’s not really a reply, but one that is ghost written by one of the handmaidens, but still. It’s more replies than anyone else has gotten. So, the Prince just shows up to check out his potential bride-to-be. Tamakazura is super not into this but allows herself to be in a dark room behind a screen with the Prince after much cajoling on Genji’s part. Then, Genji as an idea. He randomly unleashes a bunch of fireflies into the room so that when they flash, the Prince can get a glimpse of Tamakazura. It has the desired effect, and the Prince is driven mad with desire. 

Later, it is the Sweet Flag Festival, and Genji holds a celebration, cuz of course he does. I swear, there’s a festival for every day of the year and there’s always a hot event going down in Genji’s palace. A bunch of people come over to watch the festivities, which include riding and various games. Genji spends the night with Hanachirusato and the two discuss various matters of gossip, but end up sleeping in different beds (seems to be happening a lot to Genji lately 👀)

Meanwhile, it’s rainy season, and all the ladies have been stuck inside for a while, and so, the ladies begin to entertain themselves by telling stories and creating artwork to go along with them. Tamakazura is especially interested, because it seems the poor girl is in dire need of some good ole escapism. Genji is a bit critical about this habit for whatever reason, and Tamakazura actually challenges Genji a few times about this (good for you, girl!).

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (MOMA) is hosting an exhibit of over 120 pieces of art inspired by “The Tale of Genji” - considered the first novel every written:

“The epic tale written by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady-in-waiting in the early 11th-century Imperial court, depicts the romantic life of a son of an emperor, and is generally considered to be the world’s first novel.”

I've read an interview, some excerpts, and a(n earlier?) version of an essay from this book, but never had a chance to read the full thing till recently (thanks to @torontolibrary 😍 !). I really got a kick out of it, and I think anyone into Tale of Genji, Japanese/world lit, translation or fandom studies would find it intriguing as well. (Extra interesting if you're also into evolution of printing/publishing and media studies.)

Emmerich maps the not-so-clear-cut journey of how Genji Monogatari came to be considered a classic of world literature... by being replaced through translation/other incarnations or imaginings. I especially loved the chapters devoted to Inaka Genji, basically explaining how this masterful illustrated AU fanfic from the Edo period is what reignited interest in something practically no one was reading... before getting swallowed up in Genji's shadow again partly as a result of its own success. His analysis of the use of images and text in Inaka Genji is so well done and particularly fascinating to me as an artist/writer, and there are so many interesting side stories throughout, not to mention academic snark lol. Anecdotes and quotes of things like historical foreign commentators writing about Murasaki Shikibu's classic and being shocked that an elegant court lady wrote a bloody civil war epic (because they confused it with the Heike Monogatari) cracked me up.

Also I would like to eat some Genji Monogatari Millennial Anniversary Matcha Baumkuchen lmao.