![]() Ueda's version of Shiramine is a particularly strong example of this. At the same time, he presents in Ugetsu Monogatari some of the moral views of the kokugaku school. Like other members of the kokugaku movement, he utilized fiction as a tool to reinvigorate Japan's past, by bringing to life the aesthetics of antiquity in the present. Ueda's kokugaku beliefs led him to adapt the stories in ways that were different from, and sometimes counter to, the ways his Confucian and Buddhist peers did. Notably, Ueda, a devoted kokugaku scholar, went farther than his contemporaries in changing the source material to remove evidence of its Chinese origins. In his reinterpretation of these stories, Ueda recast them as historical tales set in Japan, weaving together elements of the source stories with a rich array of references to historical events, personages, and literary works, as well as Japanese folklore and religion. This was not viewed as plagiarism, as "the notion of the artist prevalent in time defined practice as one involving an adaptation of the tradition." Rather, his writing was praised for its unique take on the existing stories. Since these stories had already been adapted by others, Ueda was able to draw, not only from the original stories, but also from the existing adaptations. The stories in Ugetsu Monogatari were pulled from various Chinese story collections, including Chien Teng Hsin Hua ( New Stories After Snuffing the Lamp) and Yu-shih Ming-yen ( Clear Words to Illuminate the World). It was part of a new genre of books that had become popular in the 18th century: translations of Chinese stories adapted to fit into Japanese culture and historical settings. Ugetsu Monogatari is a hon'an shosetsu (adapted novel). Literary context and influences Adapted novels Its popularity has been enduring and it is still being adapted into new works in the 21st century. Ugetsu Monogatari is considered a predecessor of the yomihon genre of Edo-period literature. ĭespite being published under a pen name, Takizawa Bakin's later attribution of the work to Ueda is now undisputed. While he used the name Senshi Kijin just once, this was not the only time Ueda used a pen name that referenced his disability, one finger on each of his hands having been permanently deformed by a severe case of smallpox he had as a child. Ueda published Ugetsu Monogatari under the pen name Senshi Kijin ( 剪枝畸人) Senshi ( 剪枝) meaning "cut finger" or "pruning" and Kijin ( 畸人) meaning "eccentric" or "cripple". In writing the book, Ueda played with the differences between colloquial and classical language, incorporating double meanings and word play into his text by pairing furigana (Japanese phonetic readings) with classical Chinese words and phrases. ![]() Volume 2: Asaji ga Yado and Muo no Rigyo.Volume 1: Shiramine and Kikka no chigiri.The nine stories were published in five volumes: Ugetsu Monogatari was first published in a 1776 woodblock edition, although its preface is dated 1768. Tales of Moonlight and Rain is the most common English translation other translations include Tales of a Clouded Moon and Tales of Rain and the Moon. The use of this naming convention is particularly notable, because it had become less popular in Ueda's time with the rise of ukiyo-zōshi. Use of the term monogatari ( 物語) in the title, meaning "story" or "series", connects the book to other significant works of Japanese and Chinese literature by which it was strongly influenced, such as The Tale of Genji ( Genji monogatari ) and Inga Monogatari. These images evoked the supernatural and mysterious in East Asian literature Qu You's Mudan Deng Ji ( Chinese: 牡丹燈記 a story from Jiandeng Xinhua, one of Ueda's major sources), indicates that a rainy night or a morning moon may presage the coming of supernatural beings. It derives from a passage in the book's preface describing "a night with a misty moon after the rains", and references a Noh play, also called Ugetsu, which also employs the common contemporary symbols of rain and moon. The word Ugetsu is a compound word u ( 雨) means "rain", while getsu ( 月) translates to "moon". 4.9 Hinpuku-ron ( 貧福論, Theory of Wealth and Poverty).4.7 Jasei no In ( 蛇性の婬, Lust of the White Serpent). ![]()
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