Towazugatari
The Towazugatari ( Japanese と は ず が た り , literally: "An unsolicited tale") is a courtly tale from the Japanese Kamakura period . It was written at the beginning of the 14th century by the court lady Nijō ( 女 房 二条 , Nyōbō Nijō ) and episodically describes several decades of her life, from the beginning of her time as a lady-in-waiting at the imperial court in Kyoto to her 20-year wandering as a Buddhist nun .
action
Nijō was born into a family he was reputed to have high literary skills. She grew up at the imperial court in Kyoto, where her father and grandfather held important offices. At the age of 14 she became a concubine of the former emperor Go-Fukakusa, 15 years her senior, in 1271 . With her father's death within the next two years, she had no one to support her in becoming his chief consort. As a result, their position at court depended entirely on the goodwill of Go-Fukakusa.
Although Nijō had at least two other lovers besides Go-Fukakusa, he seemed to be less bothered by it than to pursue his voyeuristic ambitions. At 25, she had four children: one with Go-Fukakusa, three more from two lovers, one of whom she was hiding. Due to her reputation and (presumably) untrue rumors, she was expelled from the imperial court in 1283 at the instigation of Go-Fukakusa's wife, but also with his consent.
The story jumps to the year 1289 (parts of the book are probably missing), in which she already became a Buddhist nun. Relatively poor, she spends more than 20 years on pilgrimage, recapitulating her past and writing down her thoughts about things she has experienced and about people she has met. The text ends in 1306 when she is 49 years old.
The young woman, who was naive at the beginning and only appeared to be worldly and mature on the outside, developed in the course of the story into a wiser, reflective person.
reception
Nijō wrote the five-part story probably after the death of their patron Go-Fukakusa, between 1304 and 1307. Books 1 to 3 cover the time at court, 4 and 5 that of your wandering. The text has the form of a diary or a pilgrimage report .
The togasugatari was probably not widely used because it sometimes shows historical personalities and what is going on at court in an unfavorable light. Only one manuscript survived unnoticed in the imperial library, where it was only discovered in 1940 by Yamagishi Tokuhei , who published it in 1950. In 1966 the first annotated edition appeared, in 1973 and 1974 the first German and English translations.
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Karen Brazell (trans.): The Confessions of Lady Nijo . Arrow Books, London 1983, Introduction.
literature
- Rainer Krempien: Towazugatari. Translation and editing of a newly found literary work from the Kamakura period. Schwarz, Freiburg i. Br. 1973.