The Tale of Genji is arguably the world’s first novel, a classic and controversial peek into Japanese society written a millennium ago by noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu. It has profoundly influenced Japanese art, theater, literature, music, and more – yet it still remains unknown to most Western audiences.
Professor of Art History Bruce Coats has worked for more than 25 years to introduce the genre to a wider audience through “Creating and Recreating Genji,” his Core III class that gives students the opportunity to explore the text and its impact on the culture of global media.
“Most of my students have not studied Japanese culture,” he says. “This course offers an alternative perspective where they grapple with 11th-century Japan – a very different world – and share their reactions throughout the semester. I certainly encourage them to view the visual arts in a wider and deeper context.”
The course invites its students to write a research paper on the subject or get creative with supplemental works of their own; some have written “missing chapters” to the novel; crafted kakemonos – hanging scrolls with Japanese calligraphy and illustrations; or performed musical pieces inspired by Genji.
“Several students have rewritten chapters as blogs, text messages, and manga stories taking place in The Claremont Colleges,” adds Coats. “I’m always interested in these new perspectives.”
Janet Uhlir ’17 chose to write a case study of Genji from the perspective of Freud’s Oedipal complex. “Genji’s violence in the tale is comprehensively explained by a fixation with his mother, who died when he was a child,” she says. “I love finding the connections between my classes because I believe in the importance of interdisciplinary education and intersectional justice.”
Coats’ expertise in Japanese art also reaped dividends for his students, who were able to visit extensive private collections, view prints owned by the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, and curate their own Genji exhibit for the Clark Humanities Museum at Scripps. “I’m not artistically inclined,” adds Uhlir, “so I’m happy I was able to choose a course that would lead to such graduate-level opportunities to work with art.”
For many in the class, Genji continues to influence perceptions of Japanese and Asian culture in unseen ways. “The structures of power we see today, such as sexism and classism, appear in The Tale of Genji,” says Uhlir.