Sounds of parting and longing : music and narrative in Genji monogatari
department or school: Arts, Faculty of
department or school: Asian Studies, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Mindlin Xavier, Helena
issued: 2024-12-24T20:19:55Z
issued: 2024
related degree: Master of Arts - MA
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Genji monogatari is one of the most important works of Japanese premodern literature, written in the eleventh century by the court lady known as Murasaki Shikibu (c. 973â1014). This thesis will focus on the musical aspects of the narrative, namely performance scenes and the accompanying dialogues and poetic exchanges. While the abundance of musical scenes in the Genji is widely recognized in scholarship, there are still many aspects to be further researched. My primary goal is to show how music is a constitutive element of the text that deeply impacts narrative development and the relationship between characters. I will focus on the scenes concerning the Akashi Lady, a prominent female character in the tale who stands out for her close connection with music. In Chapter 1, I introduce gagaku, the musical tradition found in The Tale of Genji, giving a brief overview of its history, main genres, and a description of the instruments used. In Chapter 2, the core of this thesis, I analyze selected excerpts from Chapter 13 âAkashi,â and discuss scenes from later chapters that relate to the Akashi narrative, showing how music is an inseparable part of the Akashi Ladyâs character which plays a crucial role in establishing her relationship with the protagonist Genji, while contributing to her path of social ascension. Through a close reading of the text and consideration of scholarship on the Genji, gagaku, and on music in the Genji, I demonstrate how music is conceived by the author as a narrative device. By arguing that music in the Genji should be treated as a form of narrative and not as a separate aspect that adds certain characteristics to the text, I hope to expand the interpretive possibilities not only of music, but other artistic manifestations present in the work.
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/89992
note: SOUNDS OF PARTING AND LONGING: MUSIC AND NARRATIVE IN GENJI MONOGATARI by Helena Mindlin Xavier B.A., São Paulo State University, 2013 M.A., University of São Paulo, 2022 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Asian Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) December 2024 © Helena Mindlin Xavier, 2024 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the thesis entitled: Sounds of Parting and Longing: Music and Narrative in Genji monogatari submitted by Helena Mindlin Xavier in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Asian Studies Examining Committee: Christina Laffin, Associate Professor, Asian Studies, UBC Co-supervisor Joshua S. Mostow, Professor, Asian Studies, UBC Co-supervisor Sonja Arntzen, Professor Emerita, Department of East Asian Studies, University of Toronto Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract Genji monogatari is one of the most important works of Japanese premodern literature, written in the eleventh century by the court lady known as Murasaki Shikibu (c. 973â1014). This thesis will focus on the musical aspects of the narrative, namely performance scenes and the accompanying dialogues and poetic exchanges. While the abundance of musical scenes in the Genji is widely recognized in scholarship, there are still many aspects to be further researched. My primary goal is to show how music is a constitutive element of the text that deeply impacts narrative development and the relationship between characters. I will focus on the scenes concerning the Akashi Lady, a prominent female character in the tale who stands out for her close connection with music. In Chapter 1, I introduce gagaku, the musical tradition found in The Tale of Genji, giving a brief overview of its history, main genres, and a description of…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2025-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0447622
language: eng
degree discipline: Asian Studies
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Laffin, Christina
contributor: Mostow, Joshua S., 1957-
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/89992