Murota Chika
Japanese Literature, 61(6) 11-23, 2012 Peer-reviewed
<p>In the age of The Tale of Genji, a certain trend is found regarding the view of 'this world' in the expressions in literature. People care for 'this world' all the more for its vanity, while they come to deeply believe in the thoughts of Pure Land or the idea of the evanescence of life from Buddhist thoughts. They imagine the perspective of the dead or the dying in advance of their death, or they imagine the distant view of 'this world' from the perspective, and express a huge love for 'this world'. In The Tale of Genji, this new trend becomes conspicuous after the story of the death of Kashiwagi. This paper will explore this new perspective which seems to have emerged from the reception and the re-interpretation of those Buddhist thoughts, and will clarify the view of the world in The Tale of Genji.</p>