Celebration of the Millennium
The Tale of Genji
Dec. 5 (Fri) 2008
Minami Circle December Meeting
Lecture on Tale of Genji
which is regarded as world's first novel written by a woman.2008 is being celebrated as the Millennium Year for the Tale of Genji,
In our December Meeting we were lucky to celebrate the Millenium Year of the Tale of Genji with Mr. Stuart Varnam-Atkin writer of manga version and early chapters of Tale of Genji. Apart from being a writer, Mr. Varnam Atkin is also a teacher, narrator, co-translator and a voice coach. It was indeed an honour to have him, with us in Minami Circle.
He was accompanied by his co-translator Ms.Yoko Toyozaki.
The meeting was held in Hakuntei in the Sankein Park in Yokohama. The venue provided a beautiful ambience for hearing the Tale of the Genji. Hakuntei is one of the many traditional Japanese houses with wooden floors, shoji windows and tatami rooms, located within the Sankein. The falling autumn leaves added some additional old world charm to the venue and we enjoyed sitting on the floor and wooden benches to listen to the story.
Mr. Varnam-Atkin introduced some of the elements of The Tale of Genji that he personally found particularly fascinating and attractive and compared them to the works of some other famous writers, such as Shakespeare, Chaucer and Charles Dickens. He threw light on the lifestyle and elements of Japanese culture that existed a thousand years ago. He emphasised on the ideas of beauty and romantic etiquette in the Heian period as portrayed by Murasaki Shikibu,
the writer of the book. Finally he also read extracts from his own book Stories from The Tale of Genji: Wakamurasaki based on Suetsumuhana (Safflower), Chapter 6 of the original novel.
Eight of us were fortunate to get Mr. Varnam Atkinfs books as prizes in a lucky draw. Others got an opportunity to buy and order his books. We also had a taste of Japanese tea ceremony and enjoyed drinking warm green tea in the cold weather.
In all, it was a great learning experience for all members. A very warm thank you to all the Board members for organising this event and also to all the volunteers who made the tea and helped with tea ceremony. Report: Anju.B
pictures: A.Motegi
December Meeting
The December meeting was held in Sankeien Garden to celebrate the 1000-year anniversary of the novel"Tale of Genji". It was the last monthly meeting of the year and we did our best to make it a memorable one so we were very pleased that Prof. Atkin agreed to give us a lecture on the topic. Prof. Atkin is very knowledgeable about Genji and he is also a very nice speaker, so we were sure this was going to be a great event.
On the day of the meeting we had very nice weather so we were lucky to have beautiful autumn views as we walked through Sankeien Garden to Hakuuntei (the teahouse that we also used for the 30 year anniversary celebration). Preparations went smooth as from 8:30 until 9:45 Hakuuntei was buzzing with many ladies helping out, and at exactly 10 pm, Prof. Atkin started his talk. He explained many interesting details about the times in which the characters lived and about things that were common in those days. Thanks to Prof. Atkinsf vivid descriptions I now have a much more lively image of what times would have been like in the days of Genji.
After explaining the background of the tale he read to us one of his favorite parts of the book, the story of suetsumuhana. Finally Prof. Atkin and Yoko-san had prepared us a surprise by bringing 8 books that were given as presents in a lucky draw. They also brought some books for sale, allowing many ladies to take home a nice souvenir of this special meeting.
After the lecture Kodaka san prepared tea for us in a nice and very seasonal setting. Kodaka san is a Minami circle member who is an expert in Tea ceremony. So while enjoying the beautiful autumn weather outside through the windows of Hakuuntei, we could also enjoy a nice time together drinking tea and savoring seasonal sweets in the shape of camellia. Kodaka san and the other ladies also brought some beautiful teacups and many other seasonal objects like flowers, a scroll with a special text about 1000 year old pine, etc.
As we were with a very large group of around 90 ladies, of course Kodaka san could not prepare all individual cups of tea herself so other ladies also prepared tea in an adjacent room.
I had a very nice time and I am sure many of the ladies will agree with me that this was a very special meeting that we can cherish for a long time.
So thank you Prof. Atkin and Yoko san for the excellent lecture and Kodaka san for performing a beautiful tea ceremony. I would also like to give a special thanks to all the other ladies that worked very hard to make this meeting a success. Without their help this meeting would not have been possible.
Thanks.posted by Annemarie on Dec.9th
I just want to thank you all for the warm reception you gave Yoko Toyozaki and myself last Friday. We really enjoyed your splendid hospitality in such a gorgeous and suitable setting.
We have also been most impressed by the website memories of the event, complete with winking Genji, Murasaki at work, so many excellent photos and a very nice report of the proceedings.
Writing is a rather solitary activity and it is most rewarding to have one's words appreciated with such enthusiasm.
I must say that I don't think even Lord Genji himself was ever in one room (in daylight or in the dark) with such a bevy of international beauties. And I can say for certain that he never sent an e-mail to so many ladies or composed a poem in such perfect calligraphy:
To travel south in autumn would seem an irksome duty
But he came, he talked, and he was conquered by their beauty.
Many thanks again and our very best wishes for all your future activities.
Finally, a Merry Christmas and a Happy Year of the Ox!Stuart (Briefly the Shining One) Varnam-Atkin
December 09. 2008
Information
What do you think"The Tale of Genji" is?
Written in the eleventh century by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady of the Heian court, this world's first novel has been translated into more than 20 languages.
It's a romantic and emotional piece of literature.
At the end of this millennium year,Minami circle is inviting a talented lecturer
Mr.Varnam Atkin Stuart who is one of the experts on this cultural heritage.
He is currently teaching at an university and also narrating: NHK's Begin Japanology
Time:Reception 9:30-Lecture:10:00...11:30
Place:Sankei-en Hakuun-tei
Reservations:From Oct.17 to Nov.30
Contact:Ms.Tamura Yoshiko or Ms.Oki Kazumi
Fee:800 Yen including tea and sweets plus 500 yen for venue
Non-members:1,500 yen plus 500 yen for venue
Cancellation : no refund after Nov.30
Payment can be made at October meeting, after that, you can pay to the members in charge.
Mr.Stuart Varnam-Atkin
Stuart Varnam-Atkin is a long-term resident of Japan who was born in Birmingham, England and graduated from Oxford University (Jesus College). During the 1980s, he was a founder member of the Albion-za and Za gaijin professional theatre groups in Tokyo. Today, besides teaching at Meiji University, he works as a narrator, writer, co-translator and voice coach for Japanese actors.
He is the narrator for the weekly TV programme Begin Japanology (NHK World), a regular guest sumo commentator on NHK, and the narrator for many of the documentaries on the Japanese Government Internet TV. His books include adaptations of several Shakespeare plays in prose, co-translations of stories by Miyazawa Kenji, and Asaki yume mishi, the manga version of The Tale of Genji. He has recently written his own simplified English versions of the early part of the novel: Stories from The Tale of Genji: Yugao (published in September 2008); and Wakamurasaki (to be published early in 2009). He can currently be heard reading extracts from his Genji books on the Internet: NHK World Radio Japan Listening Library.
Picture - taken at his office on Nov.21 2008
December 5th Lecture
Beauty & Romance in Genji
Mr. Varnam-Atkin will introduce some of the elements of The Tale Of Genji that he finds particularly fascinating and attractive, with an emphasis on the Heian period ideas of beauty and romantic etiquette as portrayed by Murasaki Shikibu. He will include a reading of extracts from his own book Stories from The Tale of Genji: Wakamurasaki based on Suetsumuhana (Safflower), Chapter 6 of the original novel.
Picture - Suetsumuhana - safflower
Minami Circle