Dannielle Jeanne E. Clomera Mr.

Herbert Tabios
Discussant Instructor

OBJECTIVES
Students will:

Respond to creative writing using interpretive, critical, and evaluative

processes.
Identify literary elements, such as mood and dominant impression.
Employ relevant pre-writing strategies and organizational techniques.

JAPANESE LITERATURE

A review of haiku poems is an excellent way to become familiar with this form of poetry
and the sensory language it uses, and gain some inspiration.

History and Structure of Haiku Poems

A haiku poem consists of three lines, with the first and last lines having 5 syllables, and
the middle line having 7. The lines rarely rhyme.

The origins of haiku can be traced back as far as the 9th century. Haiku is more than a
type of poem; it is a way of looking at the physical world and seeing something deeper,
like the very nature of existence.

Haiku started out as a popular activity during the 9th to 12th centuries in Japan called
“tanka.” It was a progressive poem, where one person would write the first three lines
with a 5-7-5 structure, and the next person would add to it a section with a 7-7
structure. The chain would continue in this fashion.

The first verse was called a “hokku” and set the mood for the rest of the verses.
Sometimes there were hundreds of verses and authors of the “hokku” were often
admired for their skill. In the 19th century, the “hokku” took on a life of its own and
began to be written and read as an individual poem. The word “haiku” is derived from
“hokku.”

There were four master haiku poets from Japan, known as "the Great Four." They are:
Matsuo Basho, Kobayashi Issa, Masaoka Shiki, and YosaBuson. Their work is still the
model for traditional haiku writing today. They were poets who wandered the
countryside, experiencing life and observing nature, and spent years perfecting their
craft.

The evolution of haiku might be perceived as a natural process, like anything else in
life, but a dedication to its authenticity has preserved its core principles. While master
poets in the 1800s, such as Basho, probably wrote their haiku in a 5-7-5 pattern - if
read in Japanese - the premise was still the same. These master poets contemplated
small snippets of time, used imagery in their language, and sought out a sense of
enlightenment in their prose.
`
Examples of Haiku:

An old pond! In the twilight rain

A frog jumps in- These brilliant-hued hibiscus-

The sound of water. A lovely sunset.

TALE OF GENJI

The Tale of Genji, thought by many to be the first novel in the history of world
literature, was written by a woman, Murasaki Shikibu, in the eleventh century. Lady
Murasaki lived during the Heian Period (794-1185), an era remarkable for the poetry,
diaries, and fiction produced by court ladies.

Chapter 1: The Paulownia Court

The emperor's favourite lady, Kiritsubo, has no strong family backing at court and
suffers greatly from the insults of jealous competitors. She bears the emperor a
beautiful son, which makes matters worse as he may one day be a rival to the future
crown prince, the emperor's eldest son. Kiritsubo falls ill and dies, so the child is taken
in by his grandmother. The emperor is distraught and asks for the boy to be sent back.
Eventually he returns to the palace and the grandmother dies shortly afterwards.
Korean ambassadors arrive in the capital and predict a brilliant future for the six-year-
old boy.

Although of royal blood, the boy has no maternal relatives to support him as a prince at
court and is instead made a member of the non-royal Genji clan, henceforth being
known as "Genji." The emperor's eldest son by Lady Kokiden is made crown prince and
the emperor subsequently finds a new concubine, Fujitsubo, who resembles Kiritsubo
but has better family connections. By the end of the chapter, Genji is married off to the
daughter of the Minister of the Left, Princess Aoi.

Chapter 2: The Broom Tree

The first part of this chapter is the famous "Appraisal of Women on a Rainy Night"
scene. Genji and his brother-in-law To-no-Chujo meet at Genji's palace and compare
notes about women. They are joined by a guards officer and other friends. The
guardsman casually suggests there may be a beautiful unknown woman hidden away
somewhere because her family has fallen upon hard times. Genji then falls asleep as his
companions discuss several types of women, all of whom he will meet later in the Tale.
After Genji wakes, Chujo tells the story of a lover - who is later revealed to be Yugao -
who bore his daughter but was discarded because of her meek and forgiving nature.
Shikibu, a young man from the Ministry of Rites, tells the gathering of a lady who was
too scholarly, preferring the rather masculine Chinese language to Japanese, and whose
breath on one occasion had smelled of garlic. The friends decide that the perfect
woman should be loyal and cultured, but passive and willing to feign ignorance when
the situation requires.

The scene then shifts to Sanjo, where Genji is visiting his wife Aoi, but he finds her
distant and cold. Since his home lies in an unlucky direction, Genji is invited to Kii-no-
kami's house. Kii-no-kami's father has married a young lady, and Genji overhears her
apparently discussing himself. Genji also meets an attractive young boy, her brother,
and Kii-no-kami's stepuncle. When everyone is asleep, Genji breaks into the lady's
apartment and carries her off to his room. Leaving the next day, Genji employs the boy
as a page and has him deliver messages to his sister, but the lady discourages any
further relationship. Genji manages to visit her once more but is rebuffed, leaving him
to write a poem about the inhospitable broom tree and sleep with her young brother
instead.

Chapter 3: The Shell of the Locust

Hurt by the rejection, Genji is unwilling to give up his pursuit of Utsusemi ("the lady of
the locust shell"). Her young brother sympathizes and resolves to help him try again.
Wearing plain clothes, Genji sneaks into her rooms and spies her playing Go with a
lively companion, Nokiba-no-ogi. After the game, Genji prepares to surprise Utsusemi
but she catches the distinctive scent of his robes and flees, leaving one of her own
outer robes behind. Genji mistakenly breaks in on her companion and is forced to
improvise. He then returns home sulking and pens a poem comparing Utsusemi's robe
to a cast-off cicada shell.

Chapter 4: Evening Faces

On his way to visit Lady Rokujo, Genji learns that his old nursemaid, who has since
become a Buddhist nun, is sick and may be near death, so he goes to visit her with her
natural son, Koremitsu. At a nearby house, they are admiring the beautiful flowers
called yugao ("evening faces"), when a little girl comes out with a scented white fan for
Genji to take a flower on.

They then go in to visit the nun, and she shows an even greater attachment to Genji
than to her own son. On his way out, Genji's curiosity is aroused by whoever might be
in the house of yugao, so he sends Koremitsu to investigate, who reports back that To-
no-Chujo had been there and that a lady evidently resided within. Genji cannot resist,
so he disguises himself and arranges a secret meeting through her maid, Ukon.

Yugao is a very frail, submissive beauty, and Genji is reminded of To-no-Chujo's rainy
night story. Unlike To-no-Chujo, however, Genji is attracted by this gentility, and
resolves to take her away. Unable to resist, and very frightened, Yugao is rushed off
with Ukon to a deserted mansion. That night, Genji dreams of a jealous lady resembling
Lady Rokujo, and when he wakes he sees an apparition by Yugao's pillow. He tries to
wake her, but she is no longer breathing. Genji panics, wakes Ukon and Koremitsu, but
it is too late, she is dead. Koremitsu sends Genji back to his palace at Nijo and takes
her body to a nunnery in the eastern hills for funeral rites.

At Nijo, Genji is unsettled by recent events and cannot appear at court. He sets out on
horseback with Koremitsu to see Yugao's body, but on the return journey he feels ill
and falls off his horse. The illness lasts for quite some time, and when he recovers he
confirms with Ukon that Yugao was in fact To-no-Chujo's mistress. Genji retains Ukon
and asks her to find Yugao's daughter, intending to raise her himself. The chapter end
with a final poetic exchange with Utsusemi, whom Genji also loses.

Chapter 5: Waka Murasaki

Genji is sick and decides to seek help from a holy man living in a cave in the northern
hills. He goes there and receives treatment from the recluse. While recovering, his
attendants tell him the story of a Governor of Akashi who became a lay priest and
retired there with his daughter, for whom he had great expectations.

During his convalesence in the hills, Genji wanders to a nearby house and catches a
glimse of a beautiful 10-year-old girl, who reminds him of Fujitsubo, the favourite
concubine of his father, the emperor. The priest at the villa invites Genji to visit, during
the course of which he discovers that the child Murasaki is in fact Fujitsubo's niece.
Genji - already smitten with Fujitsubo - seeks to adopt the child but is not taken
seriously.

When fully recovered from his illness, Genji asks again about adopting Murasaki, but is
again refused. To-no-Chujo and some friends from court arrive to escort him back. Back
at court, Genji's father-in-law arrives and takes him to meet Aoi, who turns out to be
cold and unreceptive. Genji sleeps and dreams of the little girl. The next day he renews
his request to adopt Murasaki, this time by letter, but without success.

Fujitsubo leaves court due to an illness and, through her maid Omyobu, Genji arranges
a secret visit and stays the night. Fujitsubo becomes pregnant, but the emperor is
unaware of Genji's role in this. Meanwhile, the little girl is made available for adoption
because her grandmother, the nun, has died. However, Murasaki's father, Prince
Hyobu, decides to take charge of her and Genji is forced to kidnap her before he does
so. Back at his Nijo palace, Genji begins her education.

Reference:

http://www.taleofgenji.org/summary.html