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Limne's avatar

As luck would have it, I'm currently reading Tales of Genji, another oft-cited contender for the title of "first novel," in this case, from the 11th Century. Murasaki Shikubu's work provides a fascinating counterpoint since, much of the time, one can't help but see the prose as an excuse to get to the "music." That the term "Waka" (和歌) translates not as "Japanese poem," but "Japanese song" is often neglected by Western literary commentators, who've worked very hard to obscure the importance of singing to this tradition. Why do they think Genji's playing his kin-harp all time?

Japanese is timed by mora, not syllables, as in some European language, or stress as in English. It's not, 5-7-5 syllables for a haiku - it's 5 units of language, 3 units of pause, 7 units of language, 1 unit of pause, then 5 more units of language, 3 and more units of pause. That's 8 unit's a line - or common time: You can read more here:

https://haikupresence.org/essays/haiku-rhythm-and-the-arches-of-makudo/

It seems to me the more "balanced" approach of novels like Tales of Genji is a model worth considering, along with the very different trajectory of Japanese culture before the Meiji Restoration. Reading this chapter also brought to mind how things have followed a different pattern in Bollywood, and it would be interesting to consider how it relates to what's discussed here. There's a lot to think about.

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Faith Current's avatar

"anyone seeking wisdom still needed to know all the right songs."

And still does, she says, as she listens to Leonard Cohen.

Your book makes me very glad that , with a few notable exceptions, I stopped going to the movies and watching TV twenty years ago...

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