The Cultural Tradition of Japanese Poetry Japan's

The Cultural Tradition of Japanese Poetry

Japan's poetic tradition has always been closely tied to Japan's cultural traditions. Perhaps the best example of this is the literary and cultural history of Murasaki Shikibu's "Tale of the Genji." "Genji" is a text of authority in Japan because it is considered required reading for all aspiring artists. However, there is no actual original text. Rather, the "authoritative" text was edited from various versions of the story, and most Japanese artists learned the story through digests. Nonetheless, "Genji" represents what Haruo Shinare calls the "intertextuality" of Japanese literature, which is also evident in contemporary poetry, such as that of Machi Tawara. "Genji" stands as the "authoritative" cultural ideal that a continually modernizing Japanese culture has transformed, and sometimes subverted.

"Soft power" is evident in artwork when the artist and the viewer understand and respond to the work by applying various internalized values and cultural experiences. For example, Shirane argues that Japanese classical poetry and vernacular romance - monogatari, the category into which "Genji" falls - have often been called merely subjective and emotive artforms, based on nineteenth century Romantic literary philosophy (93). This philosophy viewed such "lyrical expression" as a creative, individual invention that did not refer to or incorporate other artistic or cultural texts or ideas (Shirane 93). Shirane disagrees, however,

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by Shikibu exists. Rather, the "authoritative" edition was edited from various texts almost a century later. Differing versions existed even as Shikibu was still writing "Genji" (Bowring 81). Therefore, almost from its creation, "Genji" underwent a series of cultural transformations. The history of the text of "Genji" demonstrates "soft power" intersecting with modernization. "Genji" began as a relatively elusive poetic document that, nonetheless, by the twelfth century had generated significant scholarly interest (Bowring 84). Bowring noted the aristocracy's approval of "Genji," but he also noted that the work only became required reading for aspiring poets in the twelfth century (84). Still, a cultural shift that would transform readings of "Genji" was already underway. Consider, for example, the transformation in meaning of the words "wild words and fancy phrases," which Teika used to describe "Genji" during its editing. Poet Po Chu-I used this phrase in 835 to denigrate his writings while offering them up "as a hymn of praise to glorify the teachings of Buddha in future ages" (Bowring 89). But Bowring points out that by the time of Teika's use of the phrase, it had come to represent Po Chu-I's entire passage, linkin

Category: Literature - T