Week 3a-4a: Angry Women, Hungry Ghosts, Hell, and Medieval Folk Tales

Week 3a: Intro to Mononoke and Lady Rokujô

Reading:

[OL] "The House Had a Spacious Courtyard" (Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon) and
excerpt from Murasaki Shikibu, Her Diary and Poetic Memoirs [click here]
[OL] poem from Murasaki Shikibu's poetry collection;
[OL] Tale of Genji, "Heartvine" (159-175) and "Shrine in the Fields"
Review: Catalpa Bow, pp. 298-301
[OL] supplementary reading: click here for a synopsis of Tale of Genji (to give context for the chapters)

[OL] supplementary reading: [OL] Bowring, Murasaki Shikibu: The Tale of Genji
"The Cultural Background" pp. 1-21

Reading Questions:

NOTE: The first two readings are on the same pdf file. The Murasaki Shikibu diary exerpt begins on the second page of the pdf file. The diary translation is on the right, with notes on the left. So you need to read consecutive right pages.

"The House Had a Spacious Courtyard" (discussed in Catalpa Bow, p. 299)
This excerpt describes an exorcism that took place around 1000 C.E.

1) Does this description follow the basic organization of an exoricism as outlined by Carmen Blacker? What role does the young woman play? The esoteric priest?

2) What is Sei Shonagon's attitude towards this exorcism? Do you think she believes in it?
 

Excerpt from Murasaki Shikibu, Her Diary and Poetic Memoirs (discussed in Catalpa Bow, p. 299)
Murasaki Shikibu, the author of Tale of Genji, was a lady-in-waiting to Empress Shôshi (also known as Akiko), a daughter of the most powerful man of the time, Fujiwara Michinaga. This excerpt describes the scene around Empress Shôshi as she goes through childbirth.

1) Why would there be so much anxiety about the childbirth? What political issues might be at work here?

2) What kinds of rituals are performed? Who are the active exorcists? Who are the mediums?

Tale of Genji, "Heartvine": This chapter describes how Prince Genji's wife, Aoi (or Aoi no Ue), is attacked and killed by one of his mistresses, Rokujô. It will probably be helpful to read a synopsis of the tale (esp. chapters 1, 2, 4, 5) to understand the context. See also this genealogical chart for character relationships. But note that even if you have been reading the book from the beginning, this is the first mention of Rokujô -- the reader is not given much backstory! At the start of this chapter, Rokujô's husband, the Crown Prince, has been dead for about 9 years or so and she has a 13 year old daughter who is being sent to Ise as the priestess. While reading, pay close attention to how the attack on Aoi occurs.

1) What incident precipitates Rokujô's attack on Aoi no Ue? How does Rokujô feel about the attack? Is she conscious of her actions?

2) What form does Rokujô's spirit take in her attacks? What effect does the attack seem to have on Aoi no Ue's personality? How does Genji find out that Rokujô is responsible?

3) How does Buddhism and shamanic exorcism function in this story? What role do the priests play?

Poem from Murasaki Shikibu's poetry collection:

A poem written about a painting on a screen:

Someone had drawn on a scroll the unpleasant form of a woman possessed by an evil spirit. Behind the possessed woman, a priest was restraining the husband's former wife, who had appeared as a demon. The husband was trying to subdue the evil spirit by reading a sutra.

In his anguish
He has blamed it on his dead wife,
But is it not
The demon in his own heart?