maiji: Hamamatsu Chunagon Monogatari - a tale from the first Tale of Genji fan

[Photo: hand holding up a book with a seal of flowers and leaves and the text: "A Tale of Eleventh-Century Japan: Hamamatsu Chunagon Monogatari - Thomas H. Rohlich - Princeton Library of Asian Translations"]At long last! Thanks to the magic of libraries I have finally read this Tale of Genji historical fanfic I had on my list since 2018!!Hamamatsu Chunagon Monogatagari (“Tale of the Hamamatsu Middle Counselor”), or Mitsu no Hamamatsu ("Waiting/by the Pines on Mitsu Beach") is a very special work. Not only does it exhibit many clearly recognizable characteristics common to what we in fandom today would call an AU fic (reimagining/transplanting familiar characters and events into parallel or equivalent events), and not only is it the oldest of the works I had on my radar when I first started looking into Tale of Genji historical fanfics, it is also generally believed to have been written by the earliest documented Tale of Genji fan! Back in 2018 I wrote: “Hamamatsu Chunagon Monogatari/Mitsu no Hamamatsu - 11th century story purportedly written by the first Tale of Genji fan ever documented (Sugawara no Takasue no Musume/Lady Sarashinai - I mentioned her in my Ukifune illustration). I’ve read some summaries/reviews of it, but haven’t read an actual translation yet. It’s kind of a reimagining of the Kaoru and Ukifune story, but the Kaoru character is more successful. Reincarnation and the Chinese imperial court are also involved.”As you can see, I went in with a general sense of it in broad brushstrokes, but it’s always a different experience reading it directly (or more directly, through a translation). Wikipedia has a high level summary, and critiques, of it here.Honestly... it’s very clear that Tale of Genji is the more sophisticated work by a significant distance. However, it is absolutely delightful to see the various ways the author attempts to right the wrongs done to those who seem to be this universe’s version of their favourite characters, and realign events or tragedies from the original work with a different, preferred outcome through the Hamamatsu Chunagon’s adventures. Here are my personal favourite retakes, compared with the original, in very simplified and paraphrased summaries. Some of them made me go "awww!"; others made me laugh really hard.For the purposes of typing faster,  HCM = Hamamatsu Chunagon Monogatari;  Chunagon = the main character. While he generally appears to be modeled after Kaoru from the Tale of Genji sans his magical fragrance (mainly on account of his manner with women and having a level of restraint or indecisiveness Genji does not seem to have), his experiences also have clear parallels with some of Genji’s shenanigans. He is also repeatedly described as having a "shining" presence consistent with how one would describe Genji. 1,000 year old spoilers for both works. lolReimagining Kaoru and Ukifune (or Oigimi) - Chunagon and Taisho no Kimi[READ-MORE]In the original Tale of Genji, Ukifune becomes a nun and avoids Kaoru’s attempts at finding her or communicating with her. Most fanfics/wishful fan thinking about their reunion seems to involve either Ukifune no longer being a nun so that they can be lovers again, or Ukifune staying a nun and there’s this sadness that there’s a kind of wall between them they can’t cross because they can’t be lovers. In HCM, not only does she stay a nun and they reunite, but he supports her and they practice Buddhism together:“In order to be with Taisho no Kimi all day, Chunagon would simply push aside the curtains surrounding her room and walk in. [...]At night they set their bedding together and talked of the past and present, weeping, laughing, and forever vowing to each other that in the next world they would be born again on the same lotus leaf. On the holy days they copied sutras to offer to the Buddha. Together they performed the Nembutsu and recited praise for the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra. Her father found great relief in their ideal relationship[...]It was apparent, much to Lord Taisho[Taisho no Kimi’s dad]’s delight, that Chunagon and his daughter had vowed themselves unto each other in this world and the next. [...]With Chunagon she could now devote herself entirely to prayer, and in her heart she was no longer disturbed. She was delighted to have found a friend in prayer; together they could pray with one heart for their life in the next world, and as she grew more accustomed to his presence she no longer felt so distant and gloomy.”Especially as an ace person, I found this kind of happy non-sexual-alternative-arrangement-to-marriage-with-lots-of-sleepovers very cute. The HCM wiki page notes that this is also considered a reworking of Kaoru’s tragic relationship with his true love Oigimi. They seemed to be a perfect match, but in a terrible combination of misunderstanding and weak constitution she thinks her deceased father wants her to renounce the world instead of getting married, and ends up dying in Kaoru’s arms. I personally see the Ukifune parallels more, but I can understand where this perspective is coming from, as Oigimi and Taisho no Kimi are both written as the “ideal had fate not intervened” partner with their respective protagonists.[/READ-MORE] Reimagining the death of Murasaki’s grandmother Kitayama no Amagimi - the death Yoshinohime’s mother the Yoshino nun[READ-MORE]This one was very impressive to me, because it’s rare to see a female character depicted with such clear spiritual achievements. HCM goes into detail describing the Yoshino nun’s moment of death, not in a gruesome way, but in a way that is reminiscent of a very advanced practitioner of Pure Land Buddhism/Amidism. She is sitting up and reciting the Nembutsu to the very end, and at the moment of her final breath, the signs of raigo manifest - a beautiful fragrance (an indicator enlightened being, if you recall from Kaoru in the Tale of Genji), and a purple cloud materializing in the sky towards to the mountains. Everyone is like WOW!!!! and Chunagon tells Taisho no Kimi about it and the narrative notes that they are both impressed by and jealous of the nun’s accomplishment.[/READ-MORE] Murasaki and Genji’s relationship - Yoshinohime and Chunagon[READ-MORE]I was seriously amused by this one. In the original Tale of Genji, Genji finds Murasaki as a child. Because she is related to and resembles his forbidden lover (the Fujitsubo Princess, who is Murasaki’s aunt), and she’s also in a tough situation where she has no support, he decides to become her guardian and basically raise her to be his perfect woman.  In HCM’s parallel situation, Chunagon discovers Yoshinohime, who is the half-sister of the Hoyang Consort whom he fell in love with in China. He similarly takes her under his care. But a monk tells him, HEY, you need to know that she has really scary karma: if she has a relationship before she’s twenty SHE’S PROBABLY GONNA DIE!!! and scares the crap out of him so he never attempts to pull any moves on her. Beyond this, he also ends up in a situation where he makes up a story that she’s actually his half-sister, and then keeps sharing that same story, and then eventually they’re both like, “well it would just be super weird and awkward now if we did anything.” SO they don’t. lmao[/READ-MORE]Prince Niou’s just desserts - Prince ShikibukyoContent warning - very brief mention of suicide. [READ-MORE]So as Tale of Genji fans know, Niou was Kaoru’s supposed best friend and rival, a horrible playboy with less self-restraint than Genji who has a bit of a inferiority complex when comparing himself to Kaoru. He sneakily seduced Ukifune when he was fully aware she had a relationship with Kaoru, resulting in Ukifune becoming so stressed and conflicted that she attempts to drown herself so that she doesn’t have to face her mother (who is a huge Kaoru fan) or either of them. (She doesn’t actually end up drowning herself and becomes a nun instead.)In HCM, Prince Shikibukyo is a similarly infuriating playboy. He’s like dang, why is Chunagon always finding the hot women?? and when he discovers Yoshinohime while she’s sick, abducts her. She ends up not talking to him, refusing to take medicine and getting even sicker till she’s nearly at death’s door, freaking him out because he has no idea how to take care of her, and finally he begs her to tell him if there’s someone she wants to see. She tells him “Chunagon” and (I cracked up at this part) he replies “OK absolutely yes, great, I’ll find Chunagon! Uhhhh, which Chunagon, there’s a lot of them??” (Remember, Chunagon is a title that means Middle Counselor; no one is referred to by their actual names.) He ends up having to summon Chunagon and pathetically entreat him to help nurse Yoshinohime back to health. He is also generally moved and shamed into becoming a more responsible and committed dude.Oh, I should also note that Prince Shikibukyo is the first recipient of Chunagon's "Yoshinohime is my half-sister" fabrication. He doesn't question it at all and in his head is like "oh yeah obviously, they really do look like each other because they're both so beautiful" lollll[/READ-MORE] The first part of this book covers an overview of the monogatari genre in general, and the known history of Hamamatsu Chunagon Monogatari, including some of the doubts on its origins and authorship. There’s also some highlight of various historical critiques/reviews, a summary of the principal characters, and even a summary of the missing Chapter 1 that is no longer extant. The translator’s footnotes, in addition to what you would typically expect with explaining nuances of the translation and calling out references to other literary works, also include things like “this is obviously what the author thought the Chinese court was like based on the Japanese court; this geography is impossible but the author clearly just knew of it as a famous place and assumed it would be nearby, etc.” …which, I understand so much. (I can only imagine what my comics and writing would look like without the convenience and support of the public library and the internet…)Rohlich also took the effort to convert names of Chinese characters into an equivalent Chinese pronunciation instead of Japanese to minimize cognitive dissonance, which I appreciated.If you enjoyed the Tale of Genji and you are fascinated by fandom like me, I do recommend checking this out if you can! My previous posts about Tale of Genji historical fanfiction: FRUITS OF THE 1000 YEAR OLD FANDOM: Tale of Genji fanfiction - Reviews of 4 different fics Nise Murasaki Inaki Genji adventures - The medieval Japan spies and assassins and supernatural shenanigans reimagining of Tale of Genji