Tale of Flowering Fortunes: Annals of Japanese Aristocratic Life in the Heian Period

by William H. McCullough (Translator), Helen Craig McCullough (Translator)

Translated, with an Introduction and Notes, by William H. and Helen Craig McCullough.

This is the first translation into a Western language of Eiga monogatari, an eleventh-century chronicle of Japanese aristocratic life from about the middle of the tenth century to the death of the famous Fujiwara Regent Michinaga in 1028. Eiga monogatari is one of the most important sources available to social historians of the period, complementing the fictional portrait of the society depicted in The Tale of Genji.

The wealth of information on the life of the Heian Imperial Court and its nobility—personal relationships, court intrigues, palace ceremony, entertainments—is supplemented by abundant annotation that allows the whole to serve as a comprehensive encyclopedia of Heian aristocratic culture. The Introduction discusses Eiga's origins and assesses its historiographical significance; and appendixes describe the imperial office system and palace structure. The work is illustrated with 19 woodcuts from a seventeenth-century printed version of the work, and has 20 diagrams, including plans of the capital and the Imperial Palace and several genealogical charts.

Genres: History, Japan, Japanese Literature, Japanese History

926 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1040

Reviews

[G.G.]

In fact I have only finished the first volume--428 pages, which includes a 66-page introduction and 68 pages of supplementary notes--of this monumental work, and fear it may be some time before I get to volume II. This translation of Eiga monogatari is one of the few books I’ve read that is often more interesting to read about than to trawl through: along the way, I found Takeshi Watanabe’s Flowering Tales: Women Exorcising History in Heian Japan crucial for understanding just what Eiga is and what it does.

The first thirty chapters translated by the McCulloughs in these two volumes cover the years 946-1029. The author, noblewoman Akazome Emon (956?-after 1041), focuses on “marriages, pregnancies, births, deaths, and rivalries in the Imperial harem, because those were the things that determined aristocratic status and fortune; festivals, entertainments, pilgrimages to shrines and temples, religious events, literary occasions, Court ceremonies, and individual triumphs and tragedies, because those appear to have been the significant experiences of life for most members of the Court circle.” (Introduction, p.11.)

Mostly it’s the grim fate of so many of the women that sticks in my mind. The narrator does not hold back: the imperial ardor, the missed periods, the morning sickness (“she seemed scarcely able to swallow a morsel of fruit,” p.128; “now her extreme emaciation made her almost unrecognizable,” p.129), the deaths in childbirth (“the Empress had survived the ordeal. It was now a matter of the afterbirth...[which] seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time. 'I don't like it,’ said [her brother] Korechika. 'Bring a light.’ He peered at the Empress’s face, saw that it showed no sign of life, and touched her skin in alarm. The body was already cold.” p. 230).

Watanabe observes “contemporary readers find the historical tale wanting in narrative suspense, as a climactic victory is not the destination. Eiga’s goal is sustained conciliation.” (p.246) Reading this much of the McCullough translation convinced me that he is right: so many died in the service of power that there was a lot of placating to be done.

[Jim Grimsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read about this book when trying to learn more about The Tale of Genji and again when reading books about Japanese history. The descriptions of the tale, its importance as an evolution in history, and the description of its idiosyncrasies, were intriguing enough that I found a copy and read it. At first I thought I had made a mistake; it is a manuscript that's mostly of interest to scholars and to serious students of the period and of early Japanese writing. But the fact that it was written by a woman, a courtier, and a contemporary of Murasaki Shikibu made it more interesting and the reading of it was pleasurable. (The authorship is a subject of much discussion, of course; but the manuscript itself presents a first person point of view of a contemporary of the Fujiwara constellation of families and connections.) As a companion to Genji, it is illuminating, being a blend of the luxurious, stately activities described in the novel and the history of the Fujiwara family's dominance over the offices of emperor and empress. I am familiar enough with the period that I could see behind the action to the power politics that are submerged in the writing, the infighting between the branches of the family, and the all-important series of marriages, births, and liaisons that made up life in the capital. Nevertheless it was disconcerting to read in the footnotes the various places where the author made up incidents and cited incorrect dates. In one passage she borrowed to the point of plagiarism from Murasaki Shikibu's diary. The notes within the body of the text and appended to the volumes are the richest part of the reading, full of detail about the imperial calendar and the elaborate ceremonies that drove its life.

[Pipkia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A messy, keenly felt chronicle of the life of Fujiwara no Michinaga, with excellent notes and additional materials from the McCulloughs. Complex and surprisingly ruthless intrafamilial feuds and scheming—it gets awfullly Game of Thrones at times (but with more poetry and less evisceration). Startling poignant depictions of some victims of these political machinations (particularly Empresd Teishi). Not perfect but I can’t help but love it.

Full (very long) review here: https://pentabook.wordpress.com/2020/...

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

About the Fujiwara family.

[Lulu]

Rekishi-monogatari

The first part, thirty volumes detailing the period from the reign of Emperor Uda until Michinaga's death, is believed to have been written between 1028 and 1034 by Akazome Emon and/or Fujiwara no Tamenari. The second portion comprises ten volumes covering part of the reign of Emperor Horikawa and is referred to collectively as the zokuhen. It is generally attributed to Idewa no Ben, and is thought to have been written between 1092 and 1107.