Welcome to Litsy!

“It infuriated him that her amazing resistance, far from disappearing, had instead risen to this pitch, and he was beside himself with outrage and injury, although he knew perfectly well that strength of character was what had attracted him to her in the first place”
P.44
Genji, no means no, dude. And shame on you for using a kid to pimp out his sister. She knows she has everything to loose and has already explained it to you, you selfish goon.

“No footsteps seem to have disturbed the fallen leaves in your garden.”
P.30

Ha! What a poetic way to indicate that no other person has visited her. When I read it I loved the image it created in my mind of fallen autumn leaves. This stock foto I found of somewhere in Japan improves greatly upon than image.

#Genji #Genji2
#autumn
#Japan
#amilleniuminbooks

From Persia to Japan, finally can relax and continue reading this XI century, 1182 page book where people communicate through poems and behind curtains, while I enjoy this wonderful Bavarian malty beer. What better way to spend a Saturday night! Cheers 🍻
@Lindy

#Genji #Genji2
#booksandbrews
#amillenniuminbooks

This was a busy chapter for Genji!! More musical instruments in today‘s section, Young Murasaki. The hichiriki is a double reed instrument 🎶
#genji #genji5

But suppose that behind some gateway overgrown with vine-weed, in a place where no one knows there is a house at all, there should be locked away some creature of unimagined beauty—with what excitement should we discover her! The complete surprise of it, the upsetting of all our wise theories and classifications, would be likely, I think, to lay a strange and sudden enchantment upon us.

(Quote from #Genji2 foreshadows #Genji4)

Despite the old-fashioned view of a “woman‘s place,” the Japanese apparently, at the same time, have a pretty progressive attitude toward sex. Unmarried men and women have sexual relationships, even live together, with no stigma. The only other book I‘ve read about historical Japan is Shogun. In that book, too, sex was dealt with very pragmatically—whatever “floated a person‘s boat” was their business. Shame was considered ridiculously prudish.

I know that we have to keep in mind that this book was written a thousand years ago. The treatment of women, the perspective of women‘s position in the world, are obviously going to be antiquated. Even so, this one was pretty outrageous! After Genji “selfishly forced himself upon her” (and this is a married woman—so, NOT available!), he is sorry to see her so upset. “Still, it was annoying that she should be so inconsolable.” 🤨
#genji #genji2

My print copy of the Tyler translation arrived today so I can now more easily read it with footnotes while also cross referencing the Waley translation in ebook form. I found the comments from a few other readers about the different translations fascinating, and I did compare a few passages, specifically the last few sentences of the chapter about the young boy.

#Genji #Genji2

At last he recited the poem “I knew not the nature of the strange tree* that stands on Sono plain, and when I sought the comfort of its shade, I did but lose my road,” and sent it to her. She was still awake, and answered with the poem “Too like am I in these my outcast years to the dim tree that dwindles from the traveler‘s approaching gaze.”
*the hagakigi or Broom-tree #Genji2