The world of the shining prince

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Summary/analysis of the book

The World of the Shining Prince is a novel written by Ivan Morris in 1964. This book is about court life in ancient Japan, it ignores the life of the average Japanese. It deals specifically with a single century in the Heian period, from about 950 AD to about 1050 AD. The author draws most of his information from The Tale of Genji and The Pillow Book, both written during the Heian period. The book describes The World of the Shining Prince in terms of society, politics and religious life of the aristocracy, not in terms of an actual prince. Though there are several princes that are mentioned quite frequently throughout the book, I do not believe they are what Morris was meant when he says world. This paper will describe this aristocratic lifestyle in terms of the physical elements and mental elements of everyday life for the Japanese aristocracy (henceforth to be termed Japanese).

The mental aspects of life in Morris’ book focus primarily on religion and superstition. During the Heian period, Confucianism was at its’ height, Buddhism was introduced and became popular, and Shintoism (native Japanese religion) was engulfed into both. Due to Shintoisms continued popularity, the Japanese were extremely superstitious. Morris says, “…the way in which various religions and superstitions have been entwined in the minds of the characters that one can hardly tell where one ends and the other begins.” (Morris, 92). He goes on to say, “For Murasaki and her countrymen there was no idea that the acceptance of one set of beliefs (Buddhism) might preclude adherence to another (Shintoism), or that either was incompatible with a mass of complex superstitions deriving both from native tradition and from Chinese folklore.” (Morris, 92).

Morris believes the Japanese lived their lives in an attempt to achieve Nirvana, learn the Confucian scripts (in some cases), and superstitiously go about their lives. The Japanese see the women as inferior to men, as was taught to them by the Chinese when Buddhism was introduced by the Chinese.

Taboo days played a large role in the mental state of the Japanese. Dreams were especially important, because the often lead to a taboo day. A bad dream would lead a person to staying inside alone, canceling all plans for that day. Certain days were taboo days, often based on the calendar, the aristocracy stayed indoors and did no activity. Taboo days which were based on calendrical divination had certain consequences, “The day’s activities were then carefully determined according to current physiognomic and calendrical theories.” (Morris, 127). The Japanese believed in these theories so thoroughly, that should they leave the house on a taboo day, they were forced to wear a notice (women on their sleeves, men on their heads) to warn others to stay away from them. They did not cut their fingernails on any day except for the Day of the Ox, or their toenails on the Day of the Tiger. Bathing was especially difficult because it could only be done once every five days, and only if that day looked good. People did not break these rules because they were afraid of the consequences; such as illness or death, as if it was a punishment from the gods.

The Japanese belief in causes and effects of illness was not much different that the current American view, “…the recognition that spiritual or mental factors could have a crucial effect on physical health.” (Morris 136). They believed people were more likely to surrender to evil spirits when their own resistance was low, as some Americans currently believe. One example of this is jealousy. Jealousy played a large role in the lives of the Japanese women. As a society that practiced polygamy, though generally this only applied to the aristocracy because these were the men that could afford to support more than one wife, the women were constantly jockeying for the attention of their husband. The text does refer to one particular instance where jealousy towards one woman in particular is the death of her. “…the emperor’s favourite concubine is hounded to death by the malicious gossip of her rivals; and her successor, Lady Fujitsubo, suffers equally from rumors and backbiting.” (Morris 169). This is one case where the mental element of stress, depression and emotional instability clearly had such a profound effect on the person’s actual health that there is no denying the truth in the Japanese belief of the relationship between the two.

The physical aspects of Morris’ book focus on day to day events, these events shaped the aristocracy as a whole. “The cult of beauty helped to produce a society of great elegance and charm, which despite its many lacunae and its fatal weaknesses, will always occupy an important place in the world’s cultural history.” (Morris, 198) The most important aspects of life seem to be the emotional aspects that come out of the arts. Morris spends a great deal of time discussing poetry, calligraphy, Confucain studies (however ineffective they may have been), letter writing, music, and perfume manufacturing. Even though the aristocrats were given official titles, they spent little to no time actually working, “The leisured class had a rich variety of games and contests, which allowed people to display their skill, taste, and erudition, and which, particularly for the women, helped to pass the long inactive hours.” (Morris, 150). The invested themselves in being emotionally attached to cultural activities.

Poetry, letter writing and calligraphy all seem to go hand in hand. The Japanese were constantly writing letters to one another, especially when contacting a potential lover. “If his interest is aroused, he will write the young lady a thirty-one syllable poem expressing conventionally romantic sentiments.” (Morris, 214). The girl would then immediately reply to the poem, using the same imagery. “The gentlemen will examine this reply with the greatest scrutiny; for its calligraphy and poetic skill are a sure indication of the girl’s character and charm.” (Morris, 214). If the man found her calligraphy ugly or childish, he would not send a reply, and the relationship would be over. Poetry was also used as a form of entertainment. The women would write poetry after an excursion, describing what they saw, and the men would read it afterwards. It was not unusual for men to be moved to tears by the beauty of the poetry, which was considered to be the correct response if the man liked the poetry.

Morris devotes an entire chapter to the lives of women; probably because so much of the writing we currently study is written by women. The women were considered inferior to men, but were given a favorable position in terms of laws. They could inherit property, as opposed to European women at that time. Women who owned property were generally the women who wrote the literature we currently study. There were laws against domestic violence. Women also had a more favorable position when it came to social climbing, women could marry up and could gain status, but for men this was more difficult. Even if a man did marry up or if his mother married up, he could never be the primary son because of his mother’s low social status. Japanese women were literate, “…these were the main components of a woman’s education…” (Morris, 209) (these refers to reading of poetry, calligraphy, and the study of music).

The question one must now ask is how do the physical and mental world relate to one another? All of the elements of the mental world influenced how people would act in the physical world, such as men crying if they read beautiful poetry or if they were leaving the side of their lover. Ten pages in the book are devoted to giving the reader a brief glimpse at the court calendar. For example, on the seventh day of the first month, “…Seven-herb gruel is also prepared in private households to ward off evil spirits and to ensure good health throughout the year.” (Morris, 157). Or on the last day of the sixth month, “An assembly of Imperial Princes and officials,” basically the aristocratic men, “who have attained ritual impurity by fasting and continence, gather by the main gate of the Imperial Palace and perform a [Shinto] service to purge all His Majesty’s subjects of their impurity and sin.” (Morris, 162). Other days include musical performances or poetic readings after prayers or offerings have been given to the gods. The Japanese believed if they did not perform these rites, terrible consequences would follow. Emotion drove the everyday lives of the Japanese.