Genji Monogatari In Focus: Hikaru Genji's Childhood - The Importance of Showing Kindness when one is at one's Lowest

The Grandmother & the Orphan

Decided it’s been too long since last I wrote about Genji, after speaking with

Emika Oka

and

Alucard

.

Ordinarily in these analysis essays I analyse almost all the text, certainly all that of older books. In this case though, I must defer doing so, as the next part is one that is so well known and that would take some time to cover. It would also slow the pace of this analysis quite a bit.

So needless to say that the Grandmother of Genji is visited by one of the Emperor’s servant-women, one who goes by the name of Myobu (which is really a title not a name).

Myobu is of course a top servant-woman of the Emperor and is quite close to him. She was to be dispatched to visit Genji’s grandmother as the Emperor is quite anxious for her and his son (which is over-all quite reasonable).

This shows a bond that is pretty overlooked in this day and age; that of son-in-law and mother-in-law so kudos to Shikibu Murasaki for remembering this particular detail.

“Myo~bu was much moved to find the emperor waiting up for her. Making it seem that his attention was on the small and beautifully plant garden before him, now in full autumn bloom, he was talking quietly with four or five women, among the most sensitive of his attendants. He had become addicted to illustrations by the emperor Uda for ‘The Song of Everlasting Sorrow* and to poems by Ise and Tsurayuki on that subject, and to Chinese poems as well.”

We also find out here that the Emperor has developed an obsession with the Song of Everlasting Sorrow and poems that were composed by Ise & Tsurayuki and also Chinese poems (just ask

Hyun Woo Kim

about how addictive these things can be!).

If you wish to know, for a little historic context Emperor Uda was an Emperor who reigned from 866 to 931 A.D.

As to the The Song of Everlasting Sorrow it is a song that was the masterpiece of Bai Juyi (772–846), composed likely around the year 809 A.D., it is a retelling of the love story of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and his favourite concubine Yang Guifei (719–756). The Tang is the Dynasty name for the greatest Chinese Dynasty to ever rule over the nation, with it lasting from the year 618 to 907 A.D.

The poems by Ise are likely a reference to Ise Monogatari, a series of poems and stories (30 in total) dating to an earlier period in the Heian-jidai. Tsurayuki is also the Ise Monogatari, just the more extensive name for it.

In all the Emperor has begun to lose himself in old literature and poetry in order to exorcise himself of his monstrous grief. It has to be said that it’s likely a healthier outlet than say booze or women. Though, if we can compare it, if he was alive to-day likely he’d be playing boat loads of games or watching a ton of movies (though perhaps not as this Emperor is an immensely cultivated man, so he might end up reading old lit anyways).

“He listened attentively as Myo~bu described the scene she had found so affecting. He took up the letter she had brought from the grandmother.”

Granny wrote him a letter, but the important point here is that the old woman has been suffering immensely since her daughter died so that her estate has become somewhat neglected. The news of how badly overrun it has become would have been of interest to a nobleman or Imperial family as the garden and courtyard of one’s estate or home was considered to be an extension of the inner-self back then (it still is to the Asiatic mind, just look at how gardens are looked at in Chinese, Korean & Japanese film).

“I am so awed by this august message that I would run away and hide; and so violent are the emotions it gives rise to that I scarcely know what to say.”

The importance of receiving a letter from the Emperor is beyond compare. Any sort of message, or letter or other show of favour by a sitting Emperor is of incomparable importance. It is such a unique and remarkable event that most would go their entire lives without ever seeing or hearing of the Emperor save when he lived, abdicated or perished. Even bushi in the countryside, and some noblemen around or within the capital never saw or heard much of him.

This is because the Emperor was considered a ‘kami’ that is to say a divine-being. He was quite literally worshipped in a manner that the likes of Caligula likely would have loved.

So the old woman’s amazement and given her being visibly moved by the favour shown to her is something that has to be understood as quite the event.

“He sought to hide his sorrow, not wanting these women to see him in such poor control of himself. But it was no use. He reviewed his memories over and over again, from his very earliest days with the dead lady. He had scarcely been able to bear a moment away from her while she lived. How strange that he had been able to survive the days and months since on memories alone. He had hoped to reward the grandmother's sturdy devotion, and his hopes had come to nothing.
Well, he sighed, she may look forward to having her day, if she will only live to see the boy grow up.”

It is evident that the Emperor is more concerned for his good-mother’s emotional well-being than his own. It shows the goodness, the sweetness of character that he has and that underneath the grief, the mistakes and such that he is indeed a very good man.

He is chivalrous, so that to him it isn’t enough to simply worry about his son, he must extend his protection and love to the boy’s grandmother. I must admit that this is one of his most endearing traits.

The grandmother though sends Myobu back with keepsakes of the man’s deceased love which inspires little in the way of comfort for him.

“Looking at the keepsakes Myo~bu had brought back, he thought what a comfort it would be if some wizard were to bring him, like that Chinese emperor, a comb from the world where his lost love was dwelling.”

This is a sentiment that is perfectly understandable given that he’s lost the love of his life; the desire to have some sort of object or sign from the other side is perfectly understandable. The reason being that he longs for his wife more than anything else (or should I say lover?).

That said his desire for one of her combs is particularly saddening as this just goes to show how deep his grief runs that he should wish for something she might be attached to.

Combs represent beauty, love and status interestingly enough, along with being associated in some places as dowries and femininity just as an aside.

“There are limits to the powers of the most gifted artist. The Chinese lady in the paintings did not have the luster of life. Yang Kuei-fei was said to have resembled the lotus of the Sublime Pond, the willows of the Timeless Hall. No doubt she was very beautiful in her Chinese finery. When he tried to remember the quiet charm of his lost lady, he found that there was no color of flower, no song of bird, to summon her up. Morning and night, over and over again, they had repeated to each other the lines from “The Song of Everlasting Sorrow" :

In the sky, as birds that share a wing.

On earth, as trees that share a branch.

It had been their vow, and the shortness of her life had made it an empty dream.”

This is quite the demonstration of grief. The Emperor has allowed himself as said to lose himself in his grief.

This is a sad thing for anyone to do. It is highly inappropriate for a man of his rank however we must not forget that he’s human. Yet he does one thing that we could all stand to learn to do when consumed by a sense of loss and grief; be kind to those around you.

The importance of kindness when one is at one’s lowest point is one of the most important things one could practice. The reason being that kindness tends to rebound back onto the giver of it. As the song goes one must give more than one takes, though when grieving one should accept every kindness offered as grieving is a time when one does necessitate some positive treatment.

If you enjoyed this article do check out the following story, which features a great deal of Samurai fun, fighting and drama kind of like this story (though Genji is on a whole other level being a flawless novel as it is).

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