Ideal Men &Women of the Heian Court based on “The Tale of Genji”

1486 Words3 Pages

Genji Monogatari or The Tale of Genji is a story that was written by Murasaki Shikibu during the Heian period. It is a very well received work of Japanese literature and the first part of the story is written with the main character being Genji, and then continues without him. I have no knowledge of the second half of Genji Monogatari but it is in the first section of this tale the characteristics and traits for ideal men and women of the society within the story can be gathered. The criteria for an ideal man or woman in The Tale of Genji was the importance of the physical attribute of beauty, the background, personality, and education of a woman, and characteristics that the main hero of the story, Genji, possessed.

In the society portrayed by Murasaki Shikibi, there is an importance on physical attributes for both men and women. The physical attribute that make men and women ideal in Genji Monogatari is one that is still heavily valued today, beauty. A prime example of this is, the main character and character that the tale is named after, Genji. Genji is written as an extremely beautiful and elegant being through the entire tale and his beauty is at such an extreme that both men and women fall before it. After taking a closer look, the emphasis for beauty by the society in Genji Monogatari was clearly displayed during the chapter of Yugao. In this chapter Genji grows gravely ill and at this time “the entire realm lamented that Genji, whose perfection of beauty already aroused apprehension, now seemed unlikely to live.” This statement, taken from Tyler’s translation of The Tale of Genji, is near the beginning of the story when all of Genji’s characteristics are not well known yet. The only thing the audience truly knows at thi...

... middle of paper ...

...portant backgrounds and personal traits that a woman must have to be ideal. In general, she must be very devoted to her lover, keeping him in her priority and always being considerate towards him, and must not be concerned with his treatment of her. As for men, the ideal traits were defined within Genji himself and included his love for those he devoted himself to despite appearance, and the natural gifts of elegance that he was bestowed. Together, the handbook for perfect beings was written and recorded in Japanese history, and surely influenced the Heian society that is was written for.

Works Cited

Citko, Malgorazata. Handout 8 – Heian Period. (Summer, 2011).

Smits. Topics in Medieval Japanese History. ch 8. Available online at http://www.east-asian-history.net/textbooks/480/ch8.htm

Tyler, Royall. The Tale of Genji. Penguin Classics. (2006). pp 18-86

Show More
Related

  • The Samurai's Garden Gail Tsukiyama

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sometimes people are judged by their looks, and preferences will be made towards the more beautiful people before the less beautiful people. What individuals don’t put into account is that the person’s personality is part of their beauty. In Gail Tsukiyama’s novel, The Samurai’s Garden, through the characterization of Sachi’s personality and adversities, Gail Tsukiyama conveys the message that beauty is deeper than just the outside and this message is important because one shouldn’t judge someone just by their looks.

    Read More

  • Female Gender Identity In The Memoirs Of Lady Hyegyong And The Tale Of Genji

    1890 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ironically, Murasaki was able to write The Tale of the Genji in a patriarchal environment, which was typically dominated by male poets and historical writers. The background of this 11th century Japanese “novel” defines the unusual circumstances of a male-dominant literary culture, which allowed Murasaki to tell this story as a female author. In her own diary, Murasaki Shikibu writes about the power of patriarchal authority in the royal court, when she learns that the emperor was reading Tale of Genji. This aspect of 11th century Japanese society defines the assumption of ignorance and submissiveness that Murasaki had to endure as a female

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Charlotte Temple And Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    loyalty, honor, and modesty. Having said this we will look at female characters throughout both

    Read More

  • Hamlet Invisible Man

    1426 Words  | 3 Pages

    Female and male are two fundamental sectors of humanity. Anima and animus are psychologist Carl Jung’s way to describe the feminine and masculine halves of the personality. Just like the ambiguity of gender orientation, anima and animus coexist within the individuals of the global population. The blurred border between these subdivisions implements the need to search for . In Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” and Ellison’s Invisible Man, the feminine character traits of the protagonists are alluded to as the cause of their failures, which supports the idea that the inward battle between masculinity and femininity exist as the characters journey closer to their identity.

    Read More

  • The Pursuit of Virtue in Pride and Prejudice

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    the essence of man - that Jane Austen portrays in her novel “Pride and Prejudice”. Through a

    Read More

  • Ideal Man and Woman in The Tale of Genji

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ic female figures in Ancient Japanese literature. His sentiment is basically that such acts are melodramatic and lead only to regret on her part (pg. 25). I took it to mean that Murasaki Shikibu was criticizing those old tropes used in Japanese literature, and the unrealistic standards (which the men in Chapter Two later admit are impossible) are a criticism of the expectations placed on women in Heian society. All in all, the book points at the despairing conditions of women in the Heian Period, and as for Genji, who is described by the author and other characters as “perfect” in every imaginable variation of words, it is made clear through his actions and decisions that he is not perfect, and tends to be quite selfish—signifying that the male ideal is also unrealistic and unattainable.

    Read More

  • Gender Ideals in Heian Society

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although the author of the Genji Monogatari, Murasaki Shikibu, was a woman, her perception of male and female ideals was also influenced by centuries of male dominated thought as conveyed through the vast amounts of Chinese culture which permeated the society she was a part of. Thus, one can read the Genji Monogatari as an example of gender ideals in Heian Japan as well its Chinese predecessor, the Tang dynasty.

    Read More

  • Jenny Saville Research Paper

    2024 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout the centuries, notions about the female body have created and recreated the human form. This has resulted in many varieties of depictions of the female body and thoughts of what “beauty” is and how to represent the female body in different

    Read More

  • Beauty In The 1950's Essay

    449 Words  | 1 Pages

    I believe these high standards of what women should look like at the time may have been due to the fact that the world had just come out of a devastating war. Many soldiers were returning home to their families and the female style at the time was very much the homemaker. The idea was of a beautiful woman that men would feel comfortable coming home to. The

    Read More

  • Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood

    890 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abrams, Lynn. "The Ideal Woman." BBC News. BBC, 09 Aug. 2001. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • Depictions of Beauty in the Victorian Era

    1417 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the Victorian novel, physical appearance was a primary means of characterization (Lefkovitz 1). A hero or heroine's beauty (or lack thereof) was probably the most important aspect of his or character. As Lefkovitz points out, beauty is always culturally defined. How then, did the Victorians define it?

    Read More

  • Man In Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance Of Being Earnest'

    1420 Words  | 3 Pages

    Being an only child, raised by a single mum, has allowed me to understand the person I wanted to be. From a young age my mother has instilled in me certain characteristics, qualities and the importance of being a true gentleman. As a young male living in the 21st century trying to behave in a gentlemanly manner I was dared by my mates to ask a girl out. Instant rejection followed; her response “Sorry, you are just, how should I put this not ideal.” Later that night as I buried my face into my pillow, it hit me. How am I not ideal? Heck what does she mean by ideal? Is it possible her view of me was influenced? I needed to find out if the feminine view of males has been clouded by media and classical literature. It would make an interesting story, so I started with Oscar Wilde 's famous play ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ (1895).

    Read More

  • Briana Character Analysis

    500 Words  | 1 Pages

    Characteristics of the characters: knows what she wants, respect for honesty and vulnerability, a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.

    Read More

  • Women During The Renaissance Era

    902 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the fifteenth to the nineteenth century, females from all over the world have been searching for the most accurate portrayal of the ideal woman. Throughout these periods, the idealization of women has been in a constant flux. The expectations of the perfect woman are dependent on the various perceptions that men and woman have all around the world. The perception of physical beauty can be based on a variety of different tastes, styles, and even societal classes (Vester, 2010). However, beauty is based on unhealthy perceptions and attitudes that have created an impossible standard for all women to meet (Malkan, 2007). The main purpose of examining societies idea of the perfect woman is to put emphasis on the impractical standards that

    Read More

  • Are Women Slaves to Fashion and Beauty?

    1707 Words  | 4 Pages

    I would like to begin with the fact that women have always been known to dedicate their time to beauty. Those who are devoted to their appearance most often believe that beauty brings power, popularity, and success. Women believe this, because they grow up reading magazines that picture beautiful women in successful environments; not to mention they are popular models and world famous individuals. Beautiful women are no longer just a priority for most advertising, but we have become a walking target for the working class employers. It is documented that better-looking attorneys earn more than others after five years of practice, which was an effect that grew with experience (Biddle, 172). We cannot overlook the fact that it is always the most popular and most beautiful girl who becomes homecoming-queen or prom-queen. While these are possible positive effects of the "beauty myth," the negative results of female devotion to beauty undercut this value. These effects are that it costs a lot of money, it costs a lot of time, and in the long run, it costs a lot of pain.

    Read More

More about Ideal Men &Women of the Heian Court based on “The Tale of Genji”

Open Document