Random things

[telophase]

Good essay on Gojyo and Hakkai and incest in Saiyuki by harukami. Massive spoilers if you don't know their backstories and how they met.

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Something I was thinking about in regards to the Tale of Genji: back when I was lurking on rec.arts.sf.fandom (or possibly it was rec.arts.sf.composition), I vaguely remember reading someone's post about medieval history. She said that once she really paid attention to the ages of the historical figures in question and realized that medieval Europe was being run by the equivalent of her highschool football team, medieval politics suddenly made so much more sense.

I think the same can be said for Heian Japan, at least as it's presented through the Tale so far. Someone in a comment on one of rachelmanija's posts about it made a crack about it being the first fanfiction, and it's so damn easy to find fanfic tropes in it, and rachelmanija's mentioned that the Pillow Book of Sei Shonagan, who was a contemporary of Murasaki, the Tale's author, reads just like Livejournal. And apparently Murasaki made some thinly-veiled slams at other court ladies in her book, including Sei Shonagan. Which makes me want to map her onto fanfiction.net, if Sei Shonagan maps onto Livejournal.

*fights temptation to fandom_wank them*

ETA: And wordsofastory says in a comment on my post about chapters 1-3 that the bit about Genji being compelled to sleep with the unattractive lady reminds her of a highschool jock being forced by his mother to take the geeky next-door neighbor to a dance. See? IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE!

 

Comments

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

I agree--I read the pillow book a couple years ago, and it did really read like a blog!

I haven't tackled Genji yet, but I am so not surprised, after all I've read about it. Even has Mary Sues.

Of course the longest lasting novel would be a fanfic--whereelse do you get that much passion?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I think I'll be able to stick with it much longer if I imagine that every time she completed a chapter and it got copied and passed around the court, she got a bunch of letters with flowery poems saying the equivalent of .:OMG!11!!:. ur so talented!!!!! rite more soon, kthnx!! *happy dance* GeNjI's so HAWT!!!!!!! ::flails:: ::falls over::

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

That is so true!

[madame-manga.livejournal.com]

Bwaahaahaha! From what I hear, Murasaki DID get a lot of fan mail...and no, I've never been able to get through the whole unabridged version of TOG in one continuous slog. But boy, do I know how that story inflation business tends to go when you're on a roll...

[telophase.livejournal.com]

The autumn wind sighs through the willow branches
How is it that the carp survives the winter's kiss?

translation:

"omg! i luffed ur latest chappie!!11! i thot that u culd have genji (TEH SMEXXY!!11!) fall in luff w/dis gurl who wuz the daughter of the undersekretay of forrin afairs n her fav color iz red n she iz good at singin n it woldd b soooooooo kewliez!!1!!!!"

[kate_nepveu]

No no no, that translates to "OMG I can't wait for the next chapter! Please write more soon or I will stalk you!"

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Hee. I couldn't really figure out how to get all that other stuff into a flowery, poetic verse, so just made something up. Which does, now that you point it out, sound like your translation. XD

[livinglaurel.livejournal.com]

((rolls around on the floor, laughing hysterically))

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I'm certain she did!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I just read chapter 4 at lunch. Skank!Ho!Genji fer sure, plus a dig at the Heian equivalent of marysues.

[livinglaurel.livejournal.com]

((dies))

[i-smile.livejournal.com]

A f_w-style summary of the troubles between the two of them would be great! :D

But Genji wasn't really compelled to do it, was he? It sounded more like wanting to cushion her feelings. So it'd be kind of like taking his beloved little sister's unattractive friend to the dance because she won't get a date otherwise & the girl he wanted was going with the guy she'd been going steady with since sophomore year.

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

She said that once she really paid attention to the ages of the historical figures in question and realized that medieval Europe was being run by the equivalent of her highschool football team, medieval politics suddenly made so much more sense.

brilliant, *heh*.

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

I felt that way about the Pillow Book. IIRC, the Emperor was fourteen and the Empress eighteen or so. The whole bizarre snow mountain episode suddenly made sense. They were insane teenagers. Shonagon herself was about thirty, thus the sighs about her aging, but she was living in the equivalent of a frat house.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

It wasn't just a frat house -- it was a completely irrelevant frat house. The worst thing the Court could imagine was being exiled off to a province where you'd actually have to -- shudder -- *do* something.

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

"I gotta sit on my lazy ass administer this province all the way out here? All by myseeelf? Wah! It's five miles away from the capital! I'll die-eee!"

OMG did you see what Murasaki said about Sei?

[diony.livejournal.com]

What Murasaki (in her diary) had to say about Sei Shonagon:


LADY SEISHONAGON. A very proud person. She values herself highly, and scatters her Chinese writings all about. Yet should we study her closely, we should find that she is still imperfect. She tries to be exceptional, but naturally persons of that sort give offence. She is piling up trouble for her future. One who is too richly gifted, who indulges too much in emotion, even when she ought to be reserved, and cannot turn aside from anything she is interested in, in spite of herself will lose self-control. How can such a vain and reckless person end her days happily!

There's an online version of the Murasaki Shikubu diary here (http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/omori/court/murasaki.html), from which I stole the quote since I don't actually own a copy of it. Yet!