The Cultural Tradition of Japanese Poetry JapanÆs

JapanÆs poetic tradition has always been closely tied to JapanÆs cultural traditions. Perhaps the best example of this is the literary and cultural history of Murasaki ShikibuÆs ôTale of the Genji.ö ôGenjiö 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 ôauthoritativeö text was edited from various versions of the story, and most Japanese artists learned the story through digests. Nonetheless, ôGenjiö represents what Haruo Shinare calls the ôintertextualityö of Japanese literature, which is also evident in contemporary poetry, such as that of Machi Tawara. ôGenjiö stands as the ôauthoritativeö cultural ideal that a continually modernizing Japanese culture has transformed, and sometimes subverted.

ôSoft powerö 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 û monogatari, the category into which ôGenjiö falls û have often been called merely subjective and emotive artforms, based on nineteenth century Romantic literary philosophy (93). This philosophy viewed such ôlyrical expressionö 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 ôauthoritativeö edition was edited from various texts almost a century later. Differing versions existed even as Shikibu was still writing ôGenjiö (Bowring 81). Therefore, almost from its creation, ôGenjiö underwent a series of cultural transformations. The history of the text of ôGenjiö demonstrates ôsoft powerö intersecting with modernization. ôGenjiö began as a relatively elusive poetic document that, nonetheless, by the twelfth century had generated significant scholarly interest (Bowring 84). Bowring noted the aristocracyÆs approval of ôGenji,ö 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 ôGenjiö was already underway. Consider, for example, the transformation in meaning of the words ôwild words and fancy phrases,ö which Teika used to describe ôGenjiö during its editing. Poet Po Chu-I used this phrase in 835 to denigrate his writings while offering them up ôas a hymn of praise to glorify the teachings of Buddha in future agesö (Bowring 89). But Bowring points out that by the time of TeikaÆs use of the phrase, it had come to represent Po Chu-IÆs entire passage, linkin
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Approximate Word count = 1254
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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