Litsy

Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu, Murasaki Shikubu

Much talk of paper stock in #Genji21:
“It was written on purple paper in a bold script, & a spray of wisteria was attached to it.”
“Her answer was written on a blue diapered paper in a boldly varied hand, heavy & light strokes being dashed in with an almost cursive sweep”
“the appearance of the note greatly delighted her. It was on a greenish paper, very thin & fine, laid down on a stout backing.”
(Makes me want to browse in a paper supply shop.)

Lindy @Daisey @llwheeler @bianca @saresmoore @bookandcat @mhillis @SoniaC @batsy @KathyR @TheWordJar @Faibka @RachelO @CindyMyLifeIsLit Any paper aficionados among you? 5y

Tanisha_A Diapered paper, the name is funny. I will have to look up what is that. 5y

bookandcat @Lindy I do love paper but I tend to purchase blank notebooks more. My paper love comes more into the love of certain paper in books - feel and smell and whatnot. 5y

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batsy I love the focus on paperstock and colour, too! #papernerd @Tanisha_A I've not heard of diapered paper, either. In the Washburn translation: "His Gosechi lady had chosen paper appropriate to the season for her reply—blue with printed designs of plants that matched the vestments of the maidens of the dance." The paper nerd in me swoons ? 5y

batsy On the green paper: "Written on thin green paper that matched the color of the coral evergreen garland she had worn for the Gosechi dance, it was stylishly bundled with other sheets of various colors". I'm thinking of contemporary Japanese stationery and the attention to detail in a lot of their products, too ... I'm always like ?? whenever I peruse the stationery aisles in our local Kinokuniya. 5y

mhillis This is so lovely!! But I‘m so far behind right now!! 5y

saresmoore Thank you for sharing Washburn‘s translation, @batsy! These paper and fabric descriptions are so lovely. The poetry, layered silk, and even letters inspired by nature—all of it infused with color that speaks a language of its own—it really breathes life into the story and, I think, serves to reinforce the ethereal & ephemeral themes. 5y

Lindy @Tanisha_A @batsy I had to look up the meaning. Diapered paper has a repeating geometric or floral pattern. The usages of the term that I found online were for wallpaper and bookbinding materials. 5y

Tanisha_A @batsy I join you in the swooning for #paperlove. 5y

Tanisha_A @batsy Wow! I'd love to visit a Japanese stationery shop. We have a strange yet interesting bucket list, should I say. 5y

Tanisha_A @Lindy @batsy Ah! Interesting. Now I feel like reading this tome, you girls. 😶 5y

batsy @Lindy Thank you for the explanation! @Tanisha_A I'm loving our bucket list. I simply *must* visit Japan one day 💕 5y

Lindy @Tanisha_A @batsy I‘m planning to visit Itoya stationery when I‘m in Tokyo. It was recommended by @sisilia - https://livejapan.com/en/in-ginza/article-a0001536/ 5y

Tanisha_A @batsy Yesss, one day! 🤞💗 @Lindy Wow! When do you go? 5y

batsy @Lindy Ooooh 😍😍 5y

Lindy @Tanisha_A You are welcome to join our group read, although it will be a challenge to catch up. We are doing one chapter a day, which brings us to chapter 22 today. In my Penguin Deluxe edition, I‘m at page 407 this morning. (edited) 5y

Lindy @Tanisha_A I leave for Japan on March 5 and I will be there for 2 weeks, travelling with my friend @KathyR . We will get together with @shawnmooney while we are in Tokyo. 😊 5y

Lindy @batsy @saresmoore @Tanisha_A In looking into diapered paper, I learned there was a time when ceilings with a central decorative boss were considered unsightly: “The removal of that baneful excrescence, the central “rose”—and it must be removed if any artistic peace is to be enjoyed by the inmates of the room—will frequently cause such damage to the surface of the ceiling that no choice is left but to paper the entire area.” 5y

Tanisha_A @Lindy Aw! Thank you for the invitation. I would have loved to had I not been reading a tome (GWtW) already and another book. But I am certainly going to try reading it in this lifetime. 💕 5y

Tanisha_A Have a lovely time in Japan. I will be looking out for pictures! 5y

Lindy @Tanisha_A Thanks for the good wishes. I will definitely be doing bookish things and posting about them from Japan. 😊 5y

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Lindy

Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu, Murasaki Shikubu

One evening when the crimson carpet was ruffled by a gusty wind, she filled a little box with red leaves from different trees and sent it to Murasaki. As messenger she chose one of the little girls who waited upon her. The child, a well-grown, confident little thing, came tripping across the humped wooden bridge that led from the Empress‘s apartments with the utmost unconcern. #Genji21

Lindy Much fuss is made over the child who delivers the gift of leaves, so I wonder if she will come into the story again in a later chapter. 🤔 @Daisey @llwheeler @bianca @saresmoore @bookandcat @mhillis @SoniaC @batsy @KathyR @TheWordJar @Faibka @RachelO @CindyMyLifeIsLit 5y

saresmoore I had that thought, too. I had to flip back to make sure I was reading it correctly and hadn‘t missed anything. 5y

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Daisey

The Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu

I had a late lunch and finished today‘s chapter. I can really see the story beginning to move to include more about the younger generation in this chapter. Also, to be honest, I‘m a bit confused by what seems to be lot of moving of various characters from one place to another. I feel I‘m still not really comprehending various details because of my lack of understanding about the culture of this time and place.

#Genji #Genji21 #ReadandEat

MayJasper I like the corner illustration 5y

Daisey @MayJasper There are a few of these little illustrations in every chapter showing aspects of daily life and I really enjoy them! 5y

Lindy I found chapter 22 to be the most puzzling so far. 5y

Daisey @Lindy I finished 22 today, and I didn‘t find it any more confusing than a few other parts. Although this whole mismatched parentage thing is getting constantly more confusing. I regularly find myself baffled by what I can only assume are cultural aspects I‘m missing. Overall, though I‘m thoroughly enjoying it! 5y

Lindy @Daisey 😁 5y

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batsy

The Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu

Mic drop moment for Lady Murasaki with this salty remark 🙌🏽 In her own life, from what little I know, she was also critised for her knowledge of Chinese language, literature, and philosophy. Women were not supposed to worry their pretty (and heavy—the length of hair!!) heads over these things. #Genji #Genji21 @Lindy

Lindy 🙌 5y

Lindy @batsy Thanks for reminding me that it‘s time to discover the delights in the next chapter of Genji. 😁 @Daisey @llwheeler @bianca @saresmoore @bookandcat @mhillis @SoniaC @KathyR @TheWordJar @Faibka @RachelO @CindyMyLifeIsLit 5y

Tanisha_A Yeah, looks like that head is only for decorating. Oh but how she writes. 💕 5y

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batsy @Lindy LOL ... Only because the time zone difference puts me ahead of you guys. This one is a looong chapter; hope I can finish it before bed 😅 5y

saresmoore I highlighted this, too, and was planning to post about it! It seems our hopeful suspicions about some stealthy feminist undertones are being confirmed! #rudeladywriters #brainsburiedundersilkandhair 5y

Daisey @batsy Thanks for the heads up on a long chapter. I might try to get ahead a bit today on my day off so I won‘t put it off until tonight. 5y

Daisey @saresmoore Great hashtags! 5y

batsy @Tanisha_A Indeed! I sound like a broken record for repeating this but the narrative voice asserting itself unexpectedly in parts is one of the highlights 😁 5y

batsy @saresmoore Bahahaha that hashtag! 5y

batsy @Daisey You're welcome! I think the next one is also a bit lengthy but shorter than today's 😉 5y

Daisey @Lindy @batsy @saresmoore I just got to this part in the Tyler translation and I would not at all have read this same meaning about knowledge of Chinese writing or scholarly thinking in it. “. . . it also conveyed a father‘s love so movingly that all present wept while they hummed it. However, a woman has no business repeating what she cannot know, and since I do not wish to give offense, I have omitted it.” (edited) 5y

Lindy @batsy I wholeheartedly agree about the authorial voice. I get a tingle each time she slips herself in. 5y

batsy @Daisey @Lindy @saresmoore The difference between the translations is fascinating and intriguing. I'm always curious about the translator's choices. I might even be ready to read a whole book about Genji translations, if one exists, once I'm done with this 😁 5y

batsy @Lindy A tingle! Yes 👍🏽 5y

Lindy @batsy @Daisey @saresmoore The same passage in the Waley translation: “But women are not supposed to know anything about Chinese literature, and I will not shock your sense of propriety by quoting any of the poems—even that by which Genji so deeply moved his hearers.” 5y

batsy @Lindy @Daisey @saresmoore Thank you! It looks like the Tyler translation is less particular about emphasising the "women & knowledge of Chinese literature" aspect. 5y

saresmoore Hurm, very interesting! I still think the implication is there that she had acquired the necessary knowledge to understand, in all three translations. (So says my obstinate feminist heart.) @Daisey @batsy @Lindy 5y

Lindy @saresmoore I am making the same interpretation, even though it‘s not as equally clearly stated in all three translations. 5y

Daisey @batsy @saresmoore @Lindy I agree it‘s there in all three, but I would not have been able to pick up on it on my own from the wording of the Tyler translation. So glad you‘re sharing these statements more clearly visible in the Washburn translation. 5y

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