The Tales of Ise

I was pleasantly surprised to see how readable The Tales of Ise can be. Translated by Peter Macmillan, it's smooth, engaging, and lyrical while taking the reader on a journey to Heian Japan. Based around 125 episodes combining poetry and prose, the narrative is a fictionalized take on the life of aristocrat Ariwara no Narihira. Most of the episodes concern Narihira's love affairs and poetic messages to past and present women in his life. Some also contrast the countryside with the elite court culture of the capital (modern Kyoto) and describe various regions of Honshu. Reading this after the Ochikubo Monogatari, one can see how The Tales of Ise influenced future monogatari through its subject matter, tropes, and combination of poetry and prose. 

Like Ochikubo Monogatari, men and women often communicate through love poems, and the courtly culture of the capital is clearly the main social arena through which the various characters interact. However, unlike the husband of Lady Ochikubo, Narihira is a womanizer who is constantly wooing or sleeping with various women of all social classes (countrywomen, women of higher rank, lusting for his own sister), including the Priestess of Ise. I personally think Ochikubo Monogatari is, at times, a defense of monogamy possibly written by a woman. Ise Monogatari, on the other hand, seems to lack any judgment of the various affairs of Narihira, and takes the reader on an endless romp with the various successful and unsuccessful conquests of its protagonists. At times, one cannot help but admire him though, as he decides to stay with country women or, in one case, with an older woman to please others besides himself. 

In its combination of poetry and prose to tell a (somewhat) central narrative, it also brings to mind the far older Satyricon of Petronius. While Petronius's comic "novel" is more of a satire on Rome from nearly 2000 years ago, both texts combine poetry and prose to propel a narrative centered on a man and his amorous affairs. Encolpius is far less likable or romantic than Narihira, but both engage with a variety of social classes in their various amorous affairs across their respective territories. The Tales of Ise, however, actually consists of well-written poetry and contains less humor. Yet, both are bound together by their episodic nature of life in highly stratified ancient societies. Ultimately, The Tales of Ise is the more rewarding work because of the incomplete nature of The Satyricon, but it is interesting to see how early "fiction" in both the "Western" and "Eastern" contexts evolved from a combination of verse and prose.