Mumyozoshi
[Michelle Marra's translation of Mumyozoshi is spread
over three issues of Monumenta Nipponica's volume 39 (1984):
Issue #2, pp. 115-145 (which includes the introduction and the
opening); Issue #3, pp. 281-305; and Issue #4, pp. 409-434.
Marra's introduction is thorough and her notes are detailed.
The periodical is at many university libraries, so you can get
the pages through interlibrary loan (or if you are at an institution
which subscribes to JSTOR, you can access the three parts of
the translation online):]
Marra, Michele, tr. Mumyozoshi. Monumenta Nipponica,
39: 2-4 (1984), 115-145, 281-305, 409-434.
LC#: DS821.A1 M6; ISSN: 0027-0741
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" I was lying there listening intently."
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[The narrator, an 83-year-old nun who had served at court
for over 40 years, came to an old house with a Buddhist oratory;
she was preparing to read the Lotus Sutra there when she met
some young women who asked her to recite it aloud from memory.
The rest of the work will be her account of what she heard the
women say:]
Raising my voice, I started to chant a passage of the sutra.
"It's unbelievable," the ladies exclaimed, "very
few monks could recite in such a way."
Some older ladies joined the younger ones until seven or eight
persons were sitting in a row. When we all gathered together,
they said, "We'll be your companions in conversation tonight.
Let's stay up all night talking in this way. Look, even the moon
is shining."
After I had finished reading a chapter, I recited the words,
"Extinguish the evil and generate the good," and rubbed
my rosary. "Let us have a rest," I suggested.
But although I lay down, the ladies kept up a desultory conversation,
praising and criticizing the good and bad points of the scripture.
It was most interesting to listen to them expressing their different
opinions also about flowers, momiji, the moon, and snow,
and while I was lying there listening intently, three or four
ladies sitting closest to me continued talking quietly. [p.133]
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"Its origin is surely not of this world."
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[The women began by praising the Buddhist sacred writings.
The Lotus Sutra was particularly important to women because
it offered the possibility that they could achieve salvation
without first being reincarnated as men. However, Genji monogatari
seems to have held an almost equivalent canonical rank. The remark
given here about negative criticism of Murasaki Shikibu may refer
to some Buddhists' belief that she had gone to hell for having
written such a worldly novel. One of the women said:]
"When I consider the relative merits of virtuous things,
I realize that the Lotus Sutra is the most wonderful of all.
However interesting the illustrated romances may be, I become
bored after looking at them two or three times. But each time
I listen to the words of the Lotus Sutra is a new experience
for me and I feel as if I am hearing them for the first time....
"But when I consider that Buddha has granted us the Lotus
Sutra to call to mind our good fortune to have been born as human
beings, I wonder why there does not appear a word of this sutra
in such an excellent work as Genji Monogatari. Perhaps
something has been accidentally deleted from the text? No, surely
everything is there. I think that this is the only weak point
in Genji Monogatari."
After the lady had spoken in this manner, a voice, apparently
that of a young person, spoke to the company: "Didn't Murasaki
Shikibu recite the Lotus Sutra?"
The first lady answered, "Well, it's rather sad that
she has had to put up with such criticism. Even in my own poor
poems I quote the sutra for the sake of my next life...."
Someone replied..., "I can't help being surprised when I
think about the appearance of Genji Monogatari.
However much I think about it, its origin is surely not of this
world. Didn't it spring from the fervent worship of the Buddha?
I believe that all subsequent novels must have been produced
with ease. Perhaps in the future someone will be able to produce
a novel superior to Genji Monogatari in the light of his
knowledge of that work...."
[pp.136-137]
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"Still, there are many places in the novel where we may
wonder...."
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[After varying opinions were given on the most moving chapters
of Genji Monogatari, and on the various women characters:]
One of the ladies asked, "Among the men, who is the most
wonderful?'
A lady answered, "It would be hopeless to try to establish
now whether Minister Genji's behavior was good or bad. There
is no need even to bring it up. Still, there are many places
in the novel where we may wonder whether it would have been better
for Genji to have acted otherwise." [p.142]
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"It is the sort of novel that I would like to write."
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[Among other tales, the women discussed the two attributed
to Sugawara no musume: Yowa /Yoru
no Nezame and Hamamatsu Chunagon monogatari. The third
tale they mention, Sagoromo monogatari, is usually attributed
to a woman, Baishi Naishinno no Senji (d.1092); it is extant
but no English translation has yet been published:]
"When we consider Yoru no Nezame, we have to admit
that it possesses no impressive features. Although there are
no scenes that might be judged admirable, from the very beginning
the novel relates the story of one person in a moving way and
never loses sight of the plot. The story was written from the
heart, and we can see what a striking and curious work it is."
[p.295]
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"It is true that... Hamamatsu does not enjoy the
same reputation as Nezame or Sagoromo, but still,
as regards its diction and content, the novel is quite out of
the ordinary, both moving and impressive. I think it is the sort
of novel that I would like to write. The plan of the novel is
original, the poems are good, and the Middle Counselor's appearance
and character are ideal." [p.302]
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"The Emperor would have noticed it and would have scolded
them."
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[Near the end of the work, the speakers moved on from monogatari
to poetry anthologies, most of which were compiled at the order
of an emperor:]
One of the ladies inquired, "Among the old and new anthologies
of poems,which is the best?"
"We all admit that old poems are refined, but the ones
in Man'yoshu [c.760] are particularly wonderful. I would
hesitate to judge whether any particular poem of this collection
is good or bad. I suppose that if the compilers had inserted
a mediocre poem by mistake, the Emperor would have noticed it
and would have scolded them."
[p.419]
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"...if the compiler chose poems without any regard to the
poets' status."
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[Speaking of more recent anthologies, an appeal is made
that poems (and poets) be judged on merit rather than on "status";
the "Lay Priest of the Third Rank" was the author's
grandfather, Fujiwara Shunzei:]
"If only I were given the chance to be like the Lay Priest
of the Third Rank and to assemble an anthology!
"Senzaishu [c.1188] was assembled by him and as
a result it is a most refined work. Still, he included many somewhat
inferior poems, but that may have been out of respect towards
the poets who composed them.... What a wonderful collection would
emerge if the compiler chose poems without any regard to the
poets' status." [p.421]
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"No woman has been chosen.... This is really a great shame."
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[The author's uncle and grandfather had several times been
chosen by the emperor to compile anthologies; she of course had
not:]
"There is nothing more deplorable than the fate of being
a woman. From olden times there have been many of us who have
loved emotion and studied the arts, but no woman has been chosen
to compile a collection of poetry. This is really a great shame."
To this another lady said, "Well, surely compiling an
anthology is not all that wonderful. Starting with Murasaki Shikibu,
who wrote Genji, and Sei Shonagon, the author of Makura
no Soshi, weren't most of the novels we've just been talking
about written by women? And so it is difficult for anyone to
underestimate women.
"Why don't I possess the talent to write a work that
would last into posterity? For princesses and principal wives
who live secluded from the world, it's another story; but for
persons like me who have served at court and are well known,
not to excel in the art of fiction and to die without having
their names recorded for future generations is really sad."
[pp.421-22]
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"...that a woman's poems can be like these."
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[On women writers; the speakers seem more surprised at
successful women poets than at successful women novelists. First,
on Ono no Komachi:]
"From time immemorial there have been many people who
have written poems and loved emotions, but I think that everything
about Ono no Komachi --- her appearance, character, and behavior
--- is quite wonderful."
[And after quoting three of Ono's poems:]
"I feel deeply impressed when I think that a woman's
poems can be like these." [p.423]
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"...though a woman, Izumi Shikibu composed so many excellent
poems."
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[And on Izumi Shikibu:]
"It's hard to believe that, though a woman, Izumi Shikibu
composed so many excellent poems. It may be due to some karma
she acquired from a previous life, for I can't imagine such talent
springing from the present world." [p.425]
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"It is so vivid that it is rather alarming."
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[Then on other women writers, here on Sei Shonagon:]
One of the ladies remarked, "One seldom comes across
the case of people who dedicate themselves to one ideal throughout
their entire lives....
"Makura no Soshi reveals her mental attitude and
is most interesting. There are several scenes that are quite
charming, moving, impressive, and wonderful. Among them is her
description of the splendor of the Empress. It is so vivid that
it is rather alarming."
[p.424]
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Selections from Mumyozoshi
If you can't find the 1984 Monumenta Nipponica, you
can see excerpts from the Mumyozoshi in the following
two works:
[In his history, Donald Keene frequently quotes from the
Mumyozoshi when he discusses the works it comments on;
see the index under "Story without a name." Also, his
chapter "The Age of the Shin Kokinshu" discusses
the period in which Mumyozoshi was written. (See
the book's table of contents online.):]
Keene, Donald. Seeds in the heart: Japanese literature from
earliest times to the late sixteenth century. New York: Henry
Holt & Co., 1993. (xiv, 1265 p.)
LC#:: PL726.115 .K44 1993; ISBN: 0805019995
Includes bibliographical references and index.
--------------------
[Thomas H. Rohlich translates the Mumyozoshi passages
on Sugawara Takasue no musume's Hamamatsu Chunagon monogatari
in the introduction to his translation of that novel:]
A tale of eleventh century Japan: Hamamatsu Chunagon monogatari
/ introduction and translation by Thomas H. Rohlich (Princeton
library of Asian translations). Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University
Press, 1983. (247 p.)
LC#: PL789.S8 H313 1983; ISBN: 0691053774.
Includes bibliography and index
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Shin Kokinshu
[Thirty-two of Shunzei kyo no musume's poems are included
in H.H. Honda's translation of Shin Kokinshu, which was compiled
in the early 1200s; the poems in the imperially commissioned
anthology were arranged by topic. See in the index "Fujiwarano
Toshinari, Daughter of":]
The shin kokinshu: the 13th-century anthology edited by Imperial
edict / Translated by H. H. Honda. [Tokyo] Hokuseido Press, Eirinsha
Press, 1970. (iii, 563 p. port. 19 cm)
LC#:PL758.29 .E5 H6
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"I take joy in the moon."
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[From the section on winter:]
I take joy in the moon
reflected on the frozen pond,
and find her also shining
on my sleeves so wet with tears. [#640;
p.172]
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"...where the dew has vanished."
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[On her mother, just buried at Sagano:]
How I yearn
after Saga
the field
where the dew has vanished. [#787;
p.215]
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"No message comes...."
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[From the section on travel:]
No message comes except an autumn wind
from the direction of the capital
rustling the bamboo thicket
I pass now at nightfall. [#957;
p.266]
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"I am not yet used to the lover's subterfuge."
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[And three from the section on love:]
I am not yet used
to the lover's subterfuge,
and wait for him to come
o'er the untrodden grass. [#1285;
p.352]
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Withered is the grass
he used to tread,
and frost is laid upon the path,
erasing all his tracks. [#1335;
p.365]
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Was it all a dream
I dreamed,
though I remember
his face, his vow? [#1390;
p.380]
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Secondary sources
[Edith Sarra's essay analyzes the structure of Mumyozoshi
and the issues discussed by its fictional characters, seeing
its purpose as not only to defend women writers but also to participate
in the definition of the developing canon of Japanese literature.
Sarra gives her own translation of all quoted passages. (See
the book's table of contents online.):]
Sarra, Edith. Women, readerly response, and the problem of
imitation: Mumyozoshi and the vexed beginnings of the
monogatari. Canonicity and Canon Formation in Japanese Literary
Studies: Proceedings of the Association for Japanese Literary
Studies: PAJLS, 1 (2000), 447-69.
LC#: PL700 .P76: ISSN: 1531-5533
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[This article by Thomas H. Rohlich provides a detailed
analysis of the puzzling opening section of Mumyozoshi. Rohlich
sees the opening as the author's defense of secular literature
against those Buddhists who condemned it. (See
the issue's table of contents online.):]
Rohlich, Thomas H. In search of critical space: The path to
monogatari criticism in the Mumyozoshi. Harvard Journal of
Asiatic Studies, 57:1 (June 1997), 179-204.
LC#: DS501 .H3; ISSN: 0073-0548
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Updated 09-21-08
Return to the index of "Other Women's
Voices."
Shunzei kyo no
musume /Shunzeikyo (c.1171-aft.1252)