"Tales of Rain and Moonlight”, Ugetsu Monogatari

 

To understand the literary world of the Edo period, one must overcome significant historical gaps in how people perceived the world, along with the language barrier. There are two major layers of transformation: the worldview of post-war democracy, with the establishment of democracy and human rights after Japan's defeat in World War II, and the rejection of the feudal family system and emperor-centered nationalism. 

The second layer involves the Meiji Restoration, which rejected Confucianism and altered the treatment of Buddhism, revealing the spiritual world of the Edo period beneath. This world was inhabited by the Buddhist concept of reincarnation and the Confucian values of benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and filial piety, coexisting with a world of supernatural creatures.

Overcoming the barriers of language and cultural gaps reveals a fresh literary world, whose works would later influence many writers.

Rohan compiled the Water Margin, thereby bringing forth the mute child of three generations,

Shikibu wrote the original words, but those who once fell into evil ways,

Indeed, it's merely a place pressed to perform their duties.

 "Tales of Rain and Moonlight", which reflects the mood and themes of the stories – they are often melancholy, dealing with the mysterious and the ethereal, much like the feeling one might get on a rainy, moonlit night."The Ugetsu Monogatari, commencing with the introduction, 'In March of the fifth year of Meiwa, when the rain has cleared, under the hazy moonlight of the late spring night, this book was compiled by the window and bestowed upon Azusa. It is titled 'Tales of Moonlight and Rain,' was published in 1776 (the fifth year of An'ei) when Ueda Akinari was 43 years old.

Ugetsu Monogatari is a collection of bizarre short stories that include 'Shiramine,' 'The Chrysanthemum Vow,' 'The Reed-Choked House,' 'The Carp of My Dreams,' 'The Buddha, the Law, and the Priest,' 'The Kettle of Kibi,' 'Lust of the White Serpent,' 'The Blue Hood,' and 'A Discourse on Poverty and Wealth.' These are narratives that project the intricate emotions and thoughts harbored within individuals onto their extraordinary content.

'"Shiramine", the first tale in Ueda Akinari's "Ugetsu Monogatari", tells the story of Saigyō, a monk who encounters the vengeful spirit of dethroned Emperor Sutoku while traveling. The spirit, filled with resentment over his past, asks Saigyō for a consoling poem. Despite Saigyō's poignant verse about the transient nature of life, the spirit remains unconsoled, underscoring the power of lingering resentment and the potential of art to express deep emotions.

The Chrysanthemum Vow' tells of a young man named Samon, who lives with his mother, nursing a passing samurai one day and forming a brotherly bond with him. The recovered samurai turns out to be a military scholar from Izumo, named Soemon, who promises to return on September 9th and goes back to his hometown, where he becomes imprisoned and unable to fulfill his vow. The story follows him taking his life to keep his promise, even if it means becoming a ghost, later seen as an Edo-era version of the fidelity of Melos' friend.

In 'The Reed-Choked House,' the spirit of Miyagi, who had kept faith with her husband's promise and kept waiting, was already dead, and the apparition living in their now ruined home was just a phantom of Miyagi.

Soemon's spirit traveling on the wind, the spectral form of Miyagi who dies of desperation while waiting seven years for her husband Katsushiro in 'The Reed-Choked House,' and the vengeful spirit of the Cloistered Emperor Sutoku; all these stories depict intangible spirits realizing the emotions of the deceased, after bodies filled with hope, despair, resentment, or desire have disappeared

"This Ugetsu Monogatari is a collection of short stories that had a significant influence on later Japanese novelists, and it became a representative work of the Edo period's Yomihon.

Ueda Akinari was born in 1734 (the 19th year of the Kyoho era), and at the age of four, he was adopted by the Ueda family, a paper and oil merchant in Dojima, Osaka. He studied at a private school called Kaitokudo and, at the age of 33, authored 'Shodou Akiramimi Seken Saru(shodo hearing ear world monkey)’ 

"Although he studied national studies, at the age of 38, he lost his home in a fire. Seizing this as an opportunity, he studied medicine from Confucian doctors and started practicing medicine in Osaka at the age of 42. Then, at the age of 43, he released the Ugetsu Monogatari to the world.

The background to the birth of this new novel, a story independent from the medieval Buddhist or early modern Confucian morals of rewarding good and punishing evil, was the cultural changes of the Edo period.

The Obaku Sect, a branch of Zen Buddhism, persecuted under the Qing dynasty at the end of the Ming dynasty, migrated to Japan in the 17th century. Particularly during the era of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa generously treated them, built temples all over the place, and made them Zen temples. During this time, Ogio Sorai, the policy brain of the time, welcomed Kaneyama Okajima, learned Chinese, and established classical literature studies. This separated literature and art from politics, and furthermore, Kaneyama Okajima translated a large amount of Chinese vernacular literature, bringing Chinese vernacular literature to Japan. The Obaku sect of Zen Buddhism was indeed the culture of the Ming Dynasty itself and had a significant impact on Buddhism in the Edo period."

This sencha was a symbol of Ming culture. In Baisao's sencha salon, literati from Kyoto gathered to create a 'China School', a place to study Chinese painting, literature, and the lifestyle of figures like Tao Yuanming. Yosa Buson, Ike no Taiga, and Ueda Akinari were influenced by this Chinese culture and created the literature of Kyoto and the upper regions during the Edo period. Later, the center of culture moved to Edo, marking the final period when Kyoto culture still retained its brilliance.

"When Akinari was 53 years old, as a scholar of Kokugaku (national studies), he criticized Motoori Norinaga, a nativist scholar and advocate of restorationism. Norinaga had claimed that Japan, the birthplace of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, was a country illuminating all nations, and that there was no superior country in the world. In response, Akinari contested this by saying, 'If you look at a world map, no one would agree that Japan is at the center of the world,' which sparked a dispute.”

"Even if you're hailed as the Hyobee of Kojiki studies, it doesn't mean you have the last word."

In response to Norinaga's poem:

"When asked of the soul of Yamato in Shikishima, it shines like cherry blossoms under the morning sun."

Akinari humorously retorted:

"What's all this 'Yamato spirit' fuss in Shikishima? Yet again, more prattle about cherry blossoms."

Kokugaku, or National Studies, originated from Keichu, who innovated the interpretation of waka (classical Japanese poetry), rejecting the medieval oral traditions and advocating for waka as an expression of the heart. Simultaneously, Norinaga Motoori argued for the concept of Yamato-damashii, or the Japanese spirit, unaffected by Buddhism or Chinese thought, and sought to elucidate the pre-existing Japanese way. It was Kamo no Mabuchi who first merged these two paths of waka studies and ancient ways.

Ueda Akinari, a student of Kamo no Mabuchi, leaned heavily towards an artistic and literati-style activity, and as such, found himself in opposition to the nationalist, Japan-centric Norinaga Motoori.

At the age of 55, Aki Naru left the medical profession and moved to Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka, while writing essays like "Sanmuiki" and travelogues on waka poetry, and a collection of poetic essays called "Tsurabumi" (Wisteria Notebook). Around the age of 60, Nambo Ota worked as a government official in Osaka and met with Ueda Aki Naru, depicting their harmonious relationship in “Tandaishousinnroku" (Records of Gallantry and Cowardice).

In his later years, Aki Naru left behind a collection of short stories titled "Shun'u Monogatari" (Spring Rain Stories). 

Within these tales, he wove allegorical stories that personified human emotions, such as "Blood Armor," "The Bonds of Succession," "The God with a Single Eye," and "The Blossoming Face of Death.

" His view of humanity was that there are no purely evil or virtuous individuals; all people are capable of mistakes and changeable. The final story shares a theme with “The Blue Hood," where a ruffian undergoes a transformation of heart and becomes a Buddhist monk, illustrating the idea that releasing one's heart leads to becoming a demon, and restraining it brings enlightenment.