First Week Update

Well, I've set out on my literary journey through the orient by reading Tales of Genji by Lady Shikibu Murakami. Tales of Genji holds a number of titles, some of them being the first novel ever written, the greatest Japanese novel ever written, and even the greatest novel ever written. Period. Tales is the story of Genji, a noble prince in a decaying court. I've noticed a few quirks about this proto-novel: there is no plot, per se. Lady Murakami merely tells the story of Genji's life, without any thought of concluding, and , indeed, she wrote up to her death, creating a whopping 45 chapters in Genji's life. As such, the plot is not so much the focus of the story, as are the insights on Japanese culture in year 1008. One thing I've noticed is the influence of Confucianism. Characters are referred to not with names but their position in the court or their relationship to another character. Much ado is given to etiquette. For example, in one scene, it is deemed unlucky for Genji to venture out into the night to return to his palatial homestead. Instead, he stays at a nearby friend's house. The members of the house thoroughly clean the house and ready Genji's room, putting plants by the window to add to the atmosphere. Then they bring out their best wine and drink far into the night.
Poetry is also a major part of their culture. In the same scene as previously described, Genji hears female voices behind a curtain, and desires to go meet them. So, he "hums an old folk song with pertinent lyrics" in order to hint to his friend of his wishes. In this way, poetry serves as a method of communicating that which would otherwise be frowned upon. When a husband leaves his wife, he composes a poem. Genji and his friends will often weave poetry into their speech, modifying an already exisiting poem to fit the conversation. Everyone is expected to create poetry, from the scruffiest farmer to the noblest courtesan. Poems are composed on the spot, and consists of only a few lines. They are not haikus, though. Haiku's didn't come till later.
A word on translations: I am reading the 'Waley translation,' which is the most commonly used translation but is also acknowledge as having a few flaws. In one scene, Genji's friend is telling the story of a woman he knew who decided to "join the nunnery," which seemed rather out of place to me, considering we're talking about Japan in the 1000s. Doubtless, this was the cultural equivalent to the original text, but I feel as though some pieces of Japanese culture are lost, replaced with poor subsitutions, when the translator makes decisions such as these.
Impressions on the book so far: Interesting, to say the least. Genji's world is a strange and foreign one, made even stranger by the questionable translation, but I enjoy the fairy-tale feel of the text. The language is strident, employing no conversationality or Modernist tricks. Just, dry, straight-ahead story-telling. But this dryness is interrupted by breathtaking details, which, in contrast to the rest of the text are made all the sweeter. The worlds Murakami paints are like banners of Asian calligraphy–bold, dark strokes upon stark-white background, beautiful in simplicity.