Friday, December 28, 2012

Hyoshaku, "Kiritsubo" 1.1d

Now the way-too-detailed explanation of 更衣.  The characters in that name are literally "change clothes."  This whole section has a lot of quotes from sources that have no commentary or modern translation, so my translations may not be completely accurate.

湖師 これ局(つぼね)にて天子の御衣を召しかふる故、更衣と云ふなり。漢書、灌夫伝の顔師古注に「更ハ改也。凡ソ久シク坐スレバ皆起キテ衣ヲ更フ」といへり。衛皇后の伝にも「帝起キテ衣ヲ更フ。子夫、尚衣ニ侍リ」とあり。本朝の更衣は、「仁明天皇、承和三年、正五位ノ上紀ノ朝臣乙魚ニ従四位ノ下ヲ授ケテ更衣ト為スト」これ初めなり。河に委し。細流[抄]云わく:「便宜の御殿にさぶらふしかるべき。上達部などの娘なり。」

Kogetsusho shisetsu (1673): The term 更衣 is used because they assist the Emperor in changing his clothes in the chambers.  In the Chronicles of Han, in the biography of Guan Fu, an annotation by Yan Shigu says: "更 means 改 [change]. Generally when people sit for a long time they arise and change their clothing." Also in the biography of Empress Wei, it says: "Emperor Wu arose and changed his clothing. Zi Fu assisted him."  In our court, the beginning was during the reign of Emperor Ninmyō, in the third year of the Jōwa era [836].  Ki no Otouwo (紀乙魚) of the fifth rank was raised to the sub-4th rank and made a koui.  The Kakaisho explains this in detail. The Sairyusho says: "They are the daughters
of high-ranking noblemen making them fit to serve in the appropriate chambers."

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The Chronicles of Han is the second of the official Chinese histories, covering 206 BC to 25 AD.  There is no Japanese edition of this work (other than some Edo-period woodblock prints) so I am very tentative about the accuracy of my translation of that part.  The second quotation about the Empress Wei comes from the Shi ji, the first official history of China.  Zi Fu is the real name of Empress Wei.  The third quotation is apparently from the Shoku nihon koki, but the edition of that work I looked at says nyougo rather than koui.  I'm also not 100% sure of my translation of the Sairyusho passage.

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 更衣は今の嬪に当たれり。更衣といふ事は、仁明天皇の御時の紀に見ゆ云々。更衣の字は漢書に云々。また、東方朔伝に「私ニ更衣ヲ置ク」、注に「息所更衣ヲ為ス。之処ニモ亦宮人ヲ置ク」てふより出でたれば、更衣を御息(みやす)所ともいへり。されど、さらぬ女房も御子を産めば、御息所といひ、はた東宮の御妃をも御息(みやす)所と申す事となれり。この文の様、ただにては更衣といふも御子を産める後ぞ、御息所と書きたる。東宮の御息所はもとよりなり。

Shinshaku (1758): Koui are the equivalent of today's hin. The term appears in the chronicle of Emperor Ninmyō, and the kanji are also in the Chronicle of Han (cites omitted). Also in the biography of Dongfang Shuo it says: "A place of rest where they change clothes.  There is also a palace person here."  Therefore koui is also called miyasudokoro. However, a woman who is not a koui is called a miyasudokoro if they bear a Prince, and the Empress of the Crown Prince can be called a miyasudokoro as well. In this work, koui is simply replaced with miyasudokoro after the woman bears a child.  The Crown Prince's Empress is a miyasudokoro from the start.

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The Dongfang Shuo quote is once again from the Chronicles of Han; I'm not even certain of the kundoku, much less the translation.  I've located these passages in the Chronicle and there is a modern Japanese translation, so it's possible I could check that.

The issue of the term miyasudokoro is a long-standing one; the commentators are attempting to reconcile the way the term is used in the Genji with the way it is used in some other texts (like the Eiga monogatari) where it seems to be just a synonym for koui.

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 新釈一本には、「更衣を御息所ともいへり」といふ次に、「凡そ后を大御息所とも申し、東宮の御妃を御休所といひ、また皇子を産み奉りしを御息所といふ例なり。よりて、この文には更衣の御子産みし後に御息所と書きたり。これ皇子を産みまつれるをいふと有りにて、少し後のことなり」と有り。

A different manuscript of the Shinshaku, after "Therefore koui is also called miyasudokoro," says this: "Generally, an Empress can be called oomiyasudokoro, and the Empress of a Crown Prince can be called miyasudokoro, and also someone who has borne a Prince can be called miyasudokoro. In this work, a koui is called miyasudokoro after bearing a Prince."

「后を大御息所と申し」云々といはれたるはいかがあらん。これは伊勢物語、またこの物語の六条御息所などのことを思ひていはれたり、とおぼしけれど、強説(しいごと)に似たり。御息所のことは小櫛の説よろし。

This seems doubtful. Perhaps this is based of off the Ise monogatari or the Rokujo Haven from this work, but it seems like a forced theory. The Tama no ogushi's theory is good.

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The theory in the TO occurs later, when the word miyasudokoro occurs in the tale -- in short, Norinaga says that any woman, regardless of rank, who bears a child to an Emperor or Crown Prince is called miyasudokoro.

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さて、玉勝間に云はく、「続後紀に『承和九年正月丙申朔戊戌云々、是ノ日詔シメ従五位ノ下、秋篠ノ朝臣、康子ニ正五位ノ下無位山田ノ宿禰近子ニ従五位ノ上ヲ授ケテ、並(ミナ)太上天皇ノ更衣也』と見ゆ。この更衣といふものは、いづれの御代のころより有りそめけむ。物に見えたることは、これ初めなり。そもそも後宮職員令には、「妃二員、右四品以上、夫人三員、右三位以上、嬪四員、右五位以上宮人」とあるを、中昔よりこなたは、これらの号は絶えて、おおかた妃、夫人にあたるほどなるをば女御とし、嬪にあたるほどなるをば更衣とせらる。三代実録六の巻に、「光孝天皇ノ更衣」といふことも見え、また仁和三年には「勅シメ更衣従五位ノ上藤原ノ朝臣元善ヲ以ッテ女御ト為ス。中納言従三位山陰之女也」とも見えたり。

Well then, the Tamagatsuma says: "The Shoku nihon kouki says: 'In the 9th year of the Jōwa period [842], the first month, hinoe saru tsuchinoe inu: On this day, an imperial order was given to raise Asashino Takako from the sub-5th rank to the 5th rank, and Yamato no Sukune Chikako was given the sub 5th rank. They are both koui of the Retired Emperor." In what reign did the koui begin?  This seems to be the first recorded instance of the term. Originally the Offices of the Palace Women says: "Two hi, who are above the 4th rank. Three fujin, who are above the third rank. Four hin, who are above the 5th rank." But after this, those terms fell out of use and generally nyougo were the older hi and fujin, and koui were the older hin. In the Sandai jitsuroku it mentions the "koui of Emperor Kōkō", and in the 3rd year of the Jōwa period [836], "An imperial decree made the koui Fujiwara Motoyoshi, fifth rank, into a nyougo. She was the daughter of the Middle Counselor sub-3rd rank Yamakage."

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I'm not up to finding out how "hinoe saru tsuchinoe inu" translates into an actual date, sorry.  The Offices (令) is a number of texts that describe a basically Nara-period system heavily influenced by Chinese example.  The Shin nihon kouki and the Sandai jitsuroku are the 4th and 6th official national histories, respectively.

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清涼殿記に、「更衣 (其ノ員十二人以下其ノ数ニ満タズ) 尚侍、諸司ニ宣下シメ、禁色ヲ着ス」などいふことも見えたり。

Also, The Seiryōden Chronicle says: "Koui (there can be fewer than twelve) following a decree from the Mistress of Staff, can wear the forbidden colors."

 延喜ノ御代ノ后宮:女御五人、更衣十九人、中宮以下都合二十七人なり。桐壺帝ノ后宮実名露顕の分:女御三人 承香殿(四宮ノ母) 麗景殿(花散里ノ姉) 一人(八宮ノ母) 更衣二人 桐壺 後涼殿 后二人 大后(弘徽殿) 女院(藤壺) この物語に書のする所七人なり。

Kakaisho (1360's): The palace women in Emperor Daigo's court: 5 nyougo  and 19 koui, a total of 27 women below the Empress. Women in the Kiritsubo Emperor's court whose names are given: Three nyougo (Jōkyōden, mother of the Fourth Princess; Reikeiden, Hanachirusato's older sister; and the mother of the Eighth Prince). Two koui (Kiritsubo and Kōryōden). Two Empresses: the Empress Mother (Kokiden), and the Empress (Fujitsubo). A total of seven.

 延喜の御代のことは例の準拠なり。あながちにとるべからず。

The part about Daigo's court is the usual historical parallel, which should not be taken too seriously.

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The older commentaries had a great interest in relating the Genji to historical people and events; Hagiwara accepts that these parallels exist in some fashion but encourages viewing the story primarily as fiction.

Phew, that's finally the end of the first sentence.  Fortunately most of the passages don't have this level of annotation.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Hyoshaku, "Kiritsubo" 1.1c

More than you ever wanted to know about 女御.

I mentioned in the last post two supplementary volumes of notes.  The second is labelled by Hagiwara as 余釈, or "extra annotations."  This is a dumping ground for annotation with any of three qualities -- passages that are too long for the main headnotes, passages that are useful but not essential for understanding the text, and issues from old commentaries that Hagiwara seems to think are worth preserving but not completely accurate.

The annotations to this first sentence surprisingly lengthy explanations of the terms 女御 and 更衣, ranks of women in the Emperor's service.  The terms are Chinese loans (like many government terms of the period).  There had long been an interest in something called 有識故実, which consisted of finding precedents for terms such as these in older writings.  There are at least three commentaries in the Edo period devoted to this practice just dealing with the Genji (Hagiwara does not cite any of them, however).

My translations of "Consort" and "Intimate" are arbitrary; I borrowed them from Royall Tyler's English translation.  Also, there are some passages of 漢文 in these notes -- rather than trying to represent that in the post I'll just write a kundoku instead.

 周礼云ワク、「三夫人、九嬪、二十七世婦、八十一女御ハ、三公、九卿、二十七大夫、八十一元士ニ比ス。」

Mingo nisso (1598): The Rites of Zhou says that the three fujin, the nine hin, the 27 seifu, and the 81 nyougo correspond to the three kou, the nine kyou, the 27 taifu, and the 81 genshi.

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The Rites of Zhou is a Confucian classic compiled some time in late BCE.  This quotation does not actually seem to come from that work -- it appears in the Chinese history 後漢書 (The Later Chronicles of Han) and may have derived from some commentary.  The basic idea behind this cryptic citation is that the Emperor's inner palace was supposed to be ordered in parallel to the outer governance to ensure stability.  This concept is part of what underlies the Japanese court's concern over Emperor Kiritsubo's behavior in the first chapter of Genji.

I'm not sure why Hagiwara cites this single part from the very long note in the Mingo nisso, and especially why he omits Michikatsu's own note that the Japanese court of the Heian period was very different from these Chinese models.

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 周礼、天官云ワク、「女御ハ、王の燕寝ニ御叙スルコトヲ掌ル。」

Kakaisho (1360's): The Rites of Zhou, the Tenkan chapter, says "The nyougo are in charge of keeping order in the King's sleeping chamber."

 女御は今の夫人に当たれり。女御てふ語は続日本後紀巻八に「女御従四位ノ下藤原ノ朝臣浄子卒ス」と初めて見えたれど、これより前、奈良の朝の末などよりこの称有りしにや。この物語に顕れては三人見ゆ云々。雄略紀に女御の字はあれど、これは漢文によれるのみにて、そのころ女御てふことあるにあらず。権與のやうに思ふは誤りなり。

Shinshaku (1758): The nyougo is equivalent to today's fujin. The term nyougo is first seen in the Shoku Nihon Kōki, volume eight: "The death of Fujiwara no Takushi, nyougo of the sub-4th rank." However, it may be that the term was used starting in the late Nara period. There are three people in this Tale identified as nyougo. In the Yūryaku section of the Nihon shoki, the characters 女御 do appear, but this is simply borrowed from Chinese writings -- the office of nyougo did not exist at that time. It is wrong to view this as their beginning.

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The Shinshaku's 浄子 is a mistake; the Shoku Nihon Kōki itself says 沢子.  Fujiwara no Takushi was one of the women in Emperor Ninmyō's (810-850) court.  Yūryaku is one of the legendary Emperors; the sections of the Nihon shoki that cover the first few reigns borrow heavily from Chinese sources.  Many old commentaries cite the NS passage (which says that Yūryaku wanted to make a woman named Wakahime his mime (女御)) as the first appearance of nyougo, Mabuchi seems to be correct that the office did not actually exist at the time.

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 女御は無位以上、二位、三位にいたるまであるなり云々

Rokasho (1504): The term nyougo covers from above rankless to the second and third rank.

I'm not entirely sure what 無位以上 means here.

 女御のこと、岷江入楚に諸抄を引きて委しくいはれたれど、今は省きつ。かの書を見るべし。本居先生の玉勝間、十三の巻に云わく:「女御といふ班(つら)を確かに定められたるは、いづれの御世のころよりのことにか有りけん。雄略天皇の御世の稚媛(わかひめ)を初めといふは、ひがことなり。書紀のかの御巻に、女御とあるは、ただ選者の、例の漢文にこそあれ。そのかみ、実にこの号ありしにはあらず。すべてかの紀はかかる文字につきて、後の人の思ひまどふこと多きぞかし。そもそも、女御といふは、もと漢国にて、王の御(め)す女をひろくいへる目(な)にて、一つ定まれる号にはあらず。皇朝にても、本は然るなりしを、後に定まれる品にはなれるなり。かの雄略紀なるも、ただ御(め)す女とし給へるよしなり。」

Mingo nisso's explanation cites many commentaries and is quite detailed, but I omit it here. You should look at it in that commentary. The 13th book of Motoori [Norinaga]'s Tamagatsuma says, When did the office of nyougo actually become fixed? It is incorrect to see it as beginning with Wakahime in the reign of Emperor Yūryaku. The appearance of 女御 in that book is simply another example of the compilers borrowing from Chinese sources; the office did not exist at that time. Later people have been confused by the inclusion of such [Chinese] words in the early chronicle. Originally in the Chinese court, the term nyougo was a broad name referring to women who served the King, and was not a name for a fixed office. In our country, too, it was originally the same, and later became a fixed office. The term in the Nihon shoki also just means a woman who serves.

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The Tamagatsuma is a collection of over 1000 short essays by Norinaga on many different topics dealing with words and phrases.  I'm not sure if Hagiwara seriously wants his readers to look at the MN or not -- the commentary there is very long, and a lot of it deals with a detailed explanation of the makeup of the Chinese court, the roles assigned to the various women there, and how they embody various Confucian virtues.  It's hard to believe Hagiwara would have considered that useful information.

Next, 更衣 gets the same treatment.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Hyoshaku, "Kiritsubo" 1.1b

Hagiwara has two extensive sections of supplementary notes at the end of the volume.  The first one is 語釈; definitions of words.  Coming at the end of the Edo period, Hagiwara is able to benefit from the work of the best nativist scholars of the period -- Keichu, Mabuchi, Norinaga, Ishikawa Masamochi, and Suzuki Akira are all quoted in this section.  Hagiwara also adds fairly detailed notes of his own as well.  Older commentaries are not quoted at all, which shows Hagiwara's perception that the old methods are at their least adequate when it comes to word definitions.

Two of the works cited in this section are dictionaries rather than Genji commentaries -- this is the 雅語訳解 of Suzuki Akira,  and the 雅言集覧 of Ishikawa Masamochi.

As this section deals with definitions and etymologies of classical Japanese words, there's a limit to what I can do with the translation -- these sections will be the least comprehensible to someone without a grounding in Japanese.

さぶらひ

 古言にはさらひといへり。守(もる)を延べて、「もらひ」といへるにて、は発語なり。俗言に伺候するといふに当たれり。貴人のありさまを伺ひ目守(まもり)てつつしみ侍るをいふ。それより転(うつ)りては、ただ敬ひ詞にそへてもいへり。ここは女御更衣たちのあまた伺候し給ふなり。

In the oldest language the word was samorahi. This is a lengthening of moru to morahi, with the sa just serving as a prefix. In the vernacular it means shikou suru ("serve"). [It refers to] looking after the wellbeing of a high-ranking person. This eventually became just a form of polite language. Here, it means that many Consorts and Intimates are serving the Emperor.

I believe the "form of polite language" is 候 (sourou).

いと、いたく

 この二つは甚だしき事を強くいふ辞なり。その中にも、「いと」はやや軽くして、俗言に「ずっと」といふにあたり。「いたく」は痛(いたく)の意にて、こよなく重し。俗に「ひどく」といふにあたれり。

These two words both emphasize an extreme state.  ito is somewhat softer, and corresponds to the vernacular zuttoitaku has the meaning of "painful," and is much stronger.  It corresponds to vernacular hidoku.

やんことなき

 この言は、もとはなほざりにしがたき意よりいひて、もだしがたしといふと同じく、止ム事無シなり。高き人をいふもなほざりにしがたき意より出でたるなり。

Tama no Ogushi (1796): This word originally meant that something was hard to ignore, or hard to put aside, thus "does not stop".  The meaning in this sentence developed from high-ranking people being hard to ignore.

 カクベツナ

kakubetsu na (各別な)

 後撰集羈旅の部のことば書に、「なかはらのむねきが、美濃の国へまかりくだり侍りけるに、道に女の言えに宿りて、言ひつきて、去りがたくおぼえければ、二三日待て、やむごとなき事によりて、まかりたちければ、絹を包みて、それが上に書きて、をくり侍りける。」この「やむことなき」はえ止むまじき事ありて出でるをいへり。

Genchu shui (1698): In the travel volume of the Gosenshu [poem 1354] the prose preface says: Nakahara no Muneki was on his way to Mino province, and he stayed at a woman's house along the road. He was drawn to her and found it difficult to leave, but after two or three days, he left on business he could not ignore, so he gathered up his clothing and sent her a poem written on it. This use of yamu koto naki means business he cannot ignore or put aside.

 ヨンドコロナイ モダシガタナイ

yondokoro nai (拠無い), modashi gata nai (黙し方ない)

きは

 分際の字に当たれり。今俗に分限といふに同じ。限りといふ意なり。極(きわ)みといふも同じこころなり。

This matches the word bunzai. In current vernacular we would say bungen. It means "limit". The word kiwami has the same idea behind it.

めく

 これは形容詞にて、所見来(ミエク)の約(つつ)まれるなり。されば、何にてもその指したるさまに物の見え来るをいふなり。この意にていづれもたがはず。

This is an adjective, and comes from a shortening of mieku. So it refers to what something appears to be like -- this will work for any term.

ときめき

 時を得たりと見ゆるさまなり。「めく」は例の所見来(ミエク)を約(つつ)めたる形容(ありさま)辞なり。

This means to thrive at the appropriate time. meku is the usual adjective coming from the shortening of mieku

Friday, December 14, 2012

Idea for Genji "edition"

I alluded to this in the first post I made, but something else I was considering doing was an "edition", so to speak, of the original text with some relatively brief and simple annotation in English that would help people who aren't classical Japanese experts make sense of it.

Rather than just using the usual texts everyone uses, I was considering two possibilities:

1. Either the 尾州家本 or the 飯島本; both of these are interesting in that they are two of only a tiny number of manuscripts that have all 54 chapters written by the same person, with no missing chapters or chapters added later.  The 尾州家 is considered the best of the much-maligned 河内本 family of manuscripts (and is a very early Kamakura manuscript, making it quite old as well).  The 飯島本 is a mix.

2. The other idea I thought would be interesting is to do the 陽明文庫本 text.  This is a text that seems to preserve the state of the text in the late-12th century, before the work of scholars like Teika and Minamoto no Mitsuyuki that helped shape the text we have today.  Although the story and characters are the same, there are hundreds of differences per chapter in style and diction. 

If either of these sound interesting let me know -- of course I'll never finish any of these projects but why let that stop me?

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Genji reading, Eawase 1

So this is the first of a series of short posts on my random thoughts reading Genji in the original.  I'm on chapter 17, so that's where this is going to start.

This chapter picks up the story from Miotsukushi, where Genji had promised the dying Rokujo lady that he would take care of her daughter and send her to palace service.  I think Genji really does regret his treatment of Rokujo and wants to make amends -- he overcomes his own attraction to her daughter and at the beginning of this chapter we see him sending her off to palace service.

However, the complication is that Genji's half-brother, the ex-Emperor Suzaku, has been interested in Akikonomu for a long time, but she's going to be sent to Reizei instead.  This little section has great psychological analysis of Genji's feelings towards Suzaku -- he has some resentment for the role Suzaku played in his exile, but at the same time realizes it was mostly his mother.  Akikonomu gets some screen time too; she has some feelings for Suzaku but it's not like she gets to pick her own guy.

I also laughed a bit when Genji sees a letter from Suzaku to Akikonomu, and then tries to badger one of Akikonomu's gentlewomen to show him more but she refuses.  That's not very nice of him.  He also gets shut out of seeing Akikonomu's response to Suzaku at the end.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Hyoshaku, "Kiritsubo" 1.1

Now we can move on to the actual text of the chapter -- warning, though, the first sentence is probably going to take four posts to go through because of the quantity of annotation Hagiwara provides.  He has basically four levels of annotation to the text.  The first is the marginal annotations to the text itself -- Hagiwara does a lot to try to make the main text easier for "beginners" to read.

I attached a photo of the typeset version to the right.  As you can see, Hagiwara has added punctuation (only the 。 though.  He does not use separate punctuation for the end of a sentence) and 濁点 (voicing marks).  In addition, the notes to the left of the text provide glosses.  Some of them are just kanji, but most of them are glosses in the contemporary 19th-century vernacular, which turns out to be surprisingly close to modern Japanese.  So きは is 分際, いと is ずっと, and 時めき is 出頭する.

The text under the triangles represents what Hagiwara considers to be "understood" parts of the text that are omitted.  So 御時 is 帝の御時, and you should imagine ありけん after にか.

Finally, the open circle to the right of やんことなき represents Hagiwara's emphasizing that こと should be read unvoiced (that is, not as ごとなき).  He says in his intro that he does this for words that are pronounced in the contemporary vernacular as voiced.  As far as I know, modern editions say you should voice this word, though.

(Incidentally I see that he dodged the issue of how to read 御, which is a problem as old as Genji commentary that is still unsolved today.)

Here's my super-literal translation of this first sentence:
"In some reign, among the many Consorts and Intimates who served, there was one who was not in the very highest rank, and who thrived exceedingly."

Now above the text (sometimes spilling onto the next page), Hagiwara has a selection of the notes that he thinks are the most important and clearest to understand the text.  The first sentence has four notes.

 この物語はすべて作り物語にて、今の世にいはゆる昔話なり。さる故に、昔いづれの御時にかありけん、かかる事の有りしといへるにて、この詞一部にわたれり云々

Tama no Ogushi (1796): This story is all a constructed tale, like what is known today as "stories of old".  Because of this, it says "Long ago, in some reign, these things happened," and these words apply to the whole tale (etc.)

The "etc" at the end is because Hagiwara cuts out the last part in which Norinaga criticizes some old theories; Hagiwara tends to omit these sections of the other commentaries when he quotes them.

 女御は后につげる女官なり。更衣は女御よりは次の人なり云々

Rokasho (1504): "Consort" is a female office that follows the Empress.  The "Intimates" are next after the Consorts.

 或説に、源氏の君はよきことをつくしてかけるなれば、御母も大臣家の女などにつくりなすべきを、やんことなききはならぬとあるはしばらくおさへて、見る人にあはれと思はせんとてなり。末に帝のわたくし物にかしづき給ふなどある、皆その意也、といへり。この説しかるべし。

Shaku: According to a certain theory, in order to make Genji as good as possible, his mother should be the daughter of a Minister or other high-ranking official, but the author instead says "not of the very highest rank" to cause a feeling of pity in the readers.  Later when it says that the Emperor lavished his private affections on Genji [rather than his public support], this is the same meaning.  This theory is sound.

This is a pretty loose translation; I don't fully understand the passage.  I'm also not sure whose theory this is.

 時めき給ふ更衣ありけりなどは書かずして、それより下臈の更衣たちはといふ所にて更衣と知らしめたる、いみじき筆づかひといふべし。かやうのこと、次々にいと移し心得おくべし。

Hyou: The author does not write "...there was an Intimate who thrived," but only reveals it later when she writes “the lower Intimates.” This is excellent writing, and shows up many times later. You should pay careful attention to it.

---

Next up will be the 語釈, Hagiwara's extended definitions of particular words.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Hyoshaku, "Kiritsubo" introduction part 2

Here's the second part of Hagiwara's introduction, with his 評 (analysis).  It's longer than the rest of the intro put together so you can see how important he thought this aspect of commentary was.  The translation is something of a challenge because Hagiwara has long sentences and a lot of effusive praise for Murasaki Shikibu's ability using the same words over and over.  Hagiwara expands on a lot of these ideas in his intepretive notes to the chapter itself.

 この物語の筆遣ひのいみじきとはいふもさらなれど、この巻は初の巻なればにや、ことにいみじき所々多し。まづ、最初に帝の更衣を寵し給ふことの甚だしきよしをいひおこして、次々に人のそしり恨みのおこるさまをいひ、さてその恨みねたみの故によりて、つひに更衣は病となりて、うせ給へるよしをいへるは、或人もいへるごとく、源氏の君の孤(みなしご)となり給へることをいひて、見む人のあはれの深くかかるべきほどしたるなるべし。

It goes without saying that the composition in this tale is excellent, but perhaps because this is the first chapter, there are an unusual amount of excellent places. First the story recounts the depth of the love of the Emperor for the Intimate, and next the resentment and criticism of others, and then how because of that resentment and jealousy the Intimate soon becomes sick and dies. As someone said, Genji becomes an orphan, and those who see him are bound to be filled with a deep pity.

さて、その次に更衣の身まかられたるを、帝の深く惜しみ歎かせ給ひて、更衣の母北方のかたへ靫負(ゆげひ)の命婦を遣はされたる所、また命部が帰り参りたるところの一段(くだり)は殊に語(ことば)をえりととのへて、文づらをはなやかに心をかなしく書きなされたり。その中にをりからのけしきを書かれたるなどは、さらにいとめでたきに、その法(のり)おごそかに乱れずして、悲しびを添ふる響きとなれるさまかえても、及ばぬ筆づきといふべし。

After that, the Emperor feels deep longing and regret for the Intimate's passing, and he sends Yugei no Myobu to the Intimate's mother's house. This section, including the return of Myobu to the palace, is especially well crafted, written with beauty and sadness. Within this section, the depiction of the scenery arising from the season is even more splendid, and the solemn and flawless way this is combined with the sadness of the scene is an example of unequaled compositional skill.

さて、そこまでは上に楊貴妃のためしと書き出でられたるより、白氏文集なる長恨歌を下に匂はせて書かれたるに、その脉(すぢ)、つゆも乱れず、かつ彼にはよりながらいづこもいづこもその語(ことば)の意をとりかへて、新らしくめづらしく書きなされたるなど、巻々の引歌の法と同じくして、文章の余韻(にほひ)となりたる、えもいはれずめでたし。

Now previous to this, the tale brings out the example of Yokihi and the section has overtones of Bai Juyi's “Song of Neverending Sorrow.” This is never the least bit rough, and even though borrowing from the other work, the Genji uses the words to write new and splendid material – just like the many examples of poetic allusion in the chapters of the Tale, it is indescribably excellent.

さて、末にいたりて、源氏の君の伝に移り、その容貌(かたち)と才芸とのいみじくめでたきよしをいふ中に、高麗の相人に見せ給へることをいひて、一世のほどにあるべきことをまづいはせたるなど、ぬけ出でたる書きざまといふべし。 これなん一部のおもふきを思ひ構へられたることの初めなりける。

Then later in the chapter the story switches to the story of Genji, and while describing his peerless looks and ability, the visit of the man from Koma describes what will happen in Genji's entire life, which can be seen as writing beyond compare. [This is the beginning of the planning of one part of the work.(?)]

さて、その後元服し給ひて、その夜左大臣殿のむこに成り給へることをいへるは、やうやう大人になり給へることを知らせたるにて、この巻のことをすぢここに終れり。さる中に、藤壺中宮の伝、左右大臣の伝、弘徽殿の女御のこと、東宮の御こと、頭中将、葵上のことなど挿(さしはさ)みあらはして、末の巻々の源因とせられたるなど、いともいとも透間(すきま)なきものなり。

Now after this, Genji has his donning of the trousers, and that night becomes the son-in-law of the Minister of the Left, showing that Genji has become an adult, and with this the storyline of this chapter ends. Within this chapter, there are stories dealing with Fujitsubo, the Ministers of the Left and Right, the Kokiden Consort, the Crown Prince, To no Chujo, Lady Aoi – these are interspersed within the main story to serve as seeds for stories in later chapters.  There is never a wasted moment.

おほかた、巻中の人々のことは、源氏の君の御族の一とも、藤壺中宮の一とも、左大臣殿中将の一とも、右大臣弘徽殿女御の一ともにて、その余(ほか)の人々は皆それに属(つき)たるがごとき人々也。さればそのむねとある限りをば、皆この巻に引き出でて、末の巻の基とせられたる法(のり)いとおごそかにめでたし。

For the most part, the characters in the entire work have to do with the family of Genji, Fujitsubo, the Minister of the Right and To no Chujo, the Minster of the Left, and Kokiden – any other characters are related to these in some way. So having all of them appear in the first chapter as a base for future chapters is well written.

さて、巻の末にいたりて、再び光る君といふ名のことをいひて、とぢめられたるにて、この巻はこの君の本伝をむねお書かれたることも、おのづからあらはれて、かぎりなく味はひ深し。大方かかることは、先達もをりをり注せられたることあれど、さしも委しく意はれたるもなければをこがましけれど、さし出でて評ずるなり。見む人、意の過ぎたるを思ひゆるしてよ。

At the end of the chapter, the name “The Shining Genji” appears once again to close the chapter, showing naturally that this chapter is mostly about Genji himself – this shows deep, unparalleled skill. For the most part these things can be found in other previous commentaries, but since they weren't detailed enough, I decided to be presumptuous and put my own analysis here. Readers, please forgive me.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Hyoshaku, "Kiritsubo" introduction part 1

Before getting into the actual chapter, Hagiwara includes a bunch of introductory material.  I'll split this into two posts -- the first one covering the quotations from older commentaries and Hagiwara's 釈, the second with Hagiwara's 評.

I had already done some translations of the early part of this chapter, but I'm sure there are problems with them.

旧注 この巻の名は、すなはちこの巻に「御つぼねは桐壺なり」といへる詞をもちて名付けたるなり。一名は壺前栽といふ。これも「おまへのつぼせんざいのさかりなるを」とある詞によりてなり云々

Old Commentaries -- The title of the chapter is taken from the words “Her residence was the Kiritsubo.” Another name is “Tsubosenzai.” This is also taken from words: “The garden plants out front were growing lushly."

The "old commentary" section is taken from the Kogetsusho.  The alternate name for the chapter is found only in the Okuiri of Fujiwara no Teika; as far as I know there is no evidence outside of that work.  The older commentaries had a lot of strange theories about the chapter titles; relating them to Chinese poetry or Confucian philosophy -- Hagiwara characteristically rejects all of that but because he implicitly takes the view that the entire story is the work of the single author Murasaki Shikibu, he considers the chapter titles worthy of some consideration.

 こを巻の名とせしはこの巻に光源氏の君の母御息所の局を桐壺なりといひ、且つ専らこの御息所のことをいふ巻なればなり。或抄に壺前栽とも名づけしといふは、「おまへの壺前栽」てふ詞のあればなり。されど、桐壺こそことにわたりて聞ゆれ。

Shinshaku: The origin of the name of this chapter is the fact that the Shining Genji's mother, the Haven, lived in the Kiritsubo. This is because most of this chapter recounts events related to this Haven. A certain commentary says that the name is “Tubosenzai,” taken from the words “The garden plants out front.” However, “Kiritsubo” is the more common name.

すべてこの物語は紫式部の在りし御時の様を書きたるものなり。されど、前代の帝の御名をあげて、その外の人々の様をも、今の一人にあたらぬやうに書きなしたるは、罪を逃れんとて也。さて、このほどは帝の御勢ひやや衰へゆかせ給ひ、臣下の権のみ強れるを愁へて、密かに帝の御勢ひつよりまさんずる心構へを書きたりと見ゆ。そのよしは次々にいふべし。

The entire story was written by Murasaki Shikibu based on a previous age. However, the reason she gave the names of previous Emperors and wrote the rest of it so that they could not be linked to a specific person was to avoid censure. Now, at this time it was lamented that the power of the Emperor had declined somewhat and that of the other nobles had increased, and she wrote this to secretly to show a time when the Emperor had more power. I will say more of this later.

I'm a little surprised Hagiwara includes this part; it's not very relevant to "Kiritsubo" itself and he's usually a little wary of theories of authorial intent like this one. I think the "names of previous Emperors" means that the Genji mentions Emperors Uda and Daigo (Engi) by name, but I'm not entirely sure. In any case this passage does not appear in the Shinshaku printed in the current Kamo no Mabuchi Zenshu; Hagiwara was working from a different text, I suppose.

 源氏の君生まれ給へるより十二歳元服の事まで見えたり。かくて巻の末に「おとなになり給ひて後は」云々とあるを、花鳥余情に、「この詞に十三歳、十四歳、十五歳三ヵ年のことをばこめて、帚木の巻は十六歳なり」とあり。今思ふにしからず。「おとなになり給ふ」とは元服して、大人の形になり給へるよしなり。これに三年こもれりとはいふべからず。なほ、下の文に「ただいまは幼き御ほどに罪なくおぼしなして」云々とあるにてしるべし。されば、この巻は十二歳までにて、帚木へ年立は続かざるなり。伊勢物語に「昔、男うひかうふりして」と書き出だせるも業平(なりひら)朝臣の成人のはじめをまづいひおきて、さて奈良へ下られたるは、その後いつにても有るべきがごとく、この物語もこの巻にまづ元服までを書きおきて、さて年立は帚木より続けたるなり。桐壺巻は序文までもいりたらずといへる説いはれたることなり。

Tama no Ogushi : This chapter contains events from Genji's birth to his twelfth year. At the end of the chapter it says “he became an adult” – the Kacho yosei says that these words cover three years, from his thirteenth to his fifteenth year, and that at the beginning of the “Hahakigi” chapter, he is 16. My belief is that this is wrong – “he became an adult” means that he had his donning of the trousers and thus appeared as an adult.  It should not be read as covering three years. This is clear from later words that say “however, in his youthful heart [Genji] found [Fujitsubo] flawless.” Now, this chapter covers up to Genji's twelfth year, and the chronology does not connect to the “Hahakigi” chapter.  In the Ise monogatari it says “Long ago there was a man who had his coming of age” – this also shows Narihira when he first becomes an adult, and then his journey to Nara is some time after that.   In the same way, in this tale, the first chapter recounts up to Genji's donning of the trousers, and then the chronology begins from “Hahakigi.” The theory has also been floated that the Kiritsubo chapter is just a prologue.

I'm a little uncertain of the meaning of that last line -- the reference is to the Sairyusho, which says at the beginning of the "Hahakigi" chapter that "Kiritsubo" is just a prologue, but the meaning of that is not entirely clear.>

 この桐の一巻は、源氏の君の本伝なり。されば、初に御父帝の御母更衣を寵し給ふことより、源氏の君の生まれ給へることを挙げ、さて末に御元服ありて、源の氏を賜ひて、御臣(みやつこ)の列(つら)にいり給へること、またその時の左大臣殿の婿になりて、その里亭に住み給ふよしまでを挙げたるなり。故(かれ)帚木より次下なる巻々とは、年立も続かず、ただこの巻のみもてはなれたるなれば、さるこころして読むべし。

This first chapter, “Kiritsubo,” is the origin story of Genji. So first, the love between his father the Emperor and his mother the Intimate is recounted, and after that Genji's birth, then his donning of the trousers, then the granting of the surname Genji making him a commoner, and then his becoming the son-in-law of the Minister of the Left, and finally showing where he lives [after his marriage]. The chronology does not connect to “Hahakigi” and the later chapters. This chapter should be read as standing alone apart from the others.

Hagiwara's explanation is simpler and more direct than the others -- he wanted his commentary to be readable by "women and children" (a frequent idiom that apparently just meant "beginners") but I don't know if quoting all the previous material is much help. Perhaps he was torn between writing an accessible edition but also continuing the scholarly tradition of commentary.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Hagiwara Hiromichi's Genji monogatari hyōshaku (源氏物語評釈), written from 1853-1861, is held to be the last of the "old commentaries" on the Genji.  Hagiwara is following in the tradition of the Kokugakusha like Motoori Norinaga, but he brings a somewhat more nuanced view of the story and is not as willing to completely throw away old ideas as Norinaga was.

Hagiwara was the first since Kitamura Kigin's Kogetsush to try to make a complete commentary that incorporated the text as well as annotation.  He intended it to be readable by novices, and included a lot of aids in the text to help people.  But at the same time the annotation is quite scholarly and sometimes very in-depth.  He also was the first to do a thorough literary analysis of the story, commenting on narrative techniques and development.  Unfortunately he died after completing only the first 8 chapters, but the incomplete commentary continued to influence later scholars.

Patrick Caddeau's 1998 dissertation on Hagiwara gives a comprehensive look at the general theories and approach of Hagiwara.  I'm going to focus here on the textual annotation instead.

Well over half of the annotation is Hagiwara's own, divided into 釈, which represent explanations of words and grammar, and 評, which are literary analyses.  In addition, he cites over 20 previous commentaries stretching back to the 12th century.  I will explain the most frequently cited commentaries here and leave the rest for later.

Hagiwara was the first to divide commentaries into "old" commentaries (those up to the Kogetsushō) and "new" commentaries.  Of the "old" commentaries, he praised two of them highly and quotes them relatively often.  The first is the 細流抄 (Sairyusho, 1510-13) by San'jonishi Kin'eda, working off his father Sanetaka's notes and lectures.  The Sanjonishi family was the dominant school of Genji scholarship in the 16th and 17th centuries.  The second is the 湖月抄 (Kogetsusho, 1673) by Kitamura Kigin -- in particular, Kigin's own theories and those of his teacher Minogata Joan (marked as 師説).

He quotes the "new" commentaries much more frequently than the old ones; three in particular.  Those are: (1) the 源氏物語新釈 (Shinshaku, 1758) of Kamo no Mabuchi, (2) the 玉の小櫛 (Tama no Ogushi, 1796) of Motoori Norinaga, and (3) the 源注余滴 (Genchu yoteki, 1830) of Ishikawa Masamochi.

I will use the usual one-character abbreviations that Hagiwara uses, and I'll apply color to show how old the commentary is (following the rainbow, with red being the oldest ones and the deep purple being Hagiwara's own comments).  It's not really necessary to know every detail about each commentary, but knowing roughly what period it comes from is helpful.

Next will be Hagiwara's introduction to the first chapter, "Kiritsubo" -- I'll explain more about the actual text of Genji itself after that.  I'll be providing both text (punctuated and massaged a bit to standard orthography) and translations, although my translations won't be perfect.

Some helpful links:
Eiichi Shibuya's Genji site, which has text, modern Japanese translation, and commentary for the entire Tale.
A PDF file of the original woodblock print of the commentary; the only other edition is a typeset one made in the Meiji period that's been reprinted several times since then.
The Japanese wikipedia article on the commentary -- in general the JP wikipedia articles on Genji-related things are very good; they were obviously written by a specialist.