Another catch-up time

Well, once again, a lot of time has gone by and I have not kept this blog up to date. This time, it has been nine days since my last post, which was about Althea McBean's memorial service. That was on October 21st, and now it is the 30th. The day before Halloween. Althea's service was at 1:00p.m., as I recall, and later that afternoon of the 21st, we went down to Northhampton, because Tamar was home - she is now attending Brandeis University, but comes home some weekends - and we were invited for dinner and ice cream at Herrell's afterward. We had a very lovely meal at the Feinland's - enchiladas, rice and beans, kale salad, slaw. Here is my plate - and Tamar!

Supper was just Julie, Jerry, Tamar, Ellen and myself. Max is in Boulder and Ben is in Philadelphia. Tamar gave us a pretty full run-down of her courses. We heard quite a bit about her Cultural Anthropology course, and even more about a course on "The Tale of Genji." Here is a quote from Brandeis: "Often called "the world's first novel," the Tale of Genji has captivated readers with its narrative of love, rivalry, friendship, and loss for centuries. The class explores what has given the text its prominent place in Japanese and world literature." How did Tamar end up in this course? It is really unusual for a freshman to take this specialzed a course - at least it was in my day - but the world of college has changed a lot. Tamar had studied Japanese at Smith during high school. We think her interest in Japan was sparked by animated movies, which are her favorites, and Japanese "anime" is a big part of the animated film world. The course at Brandeis is JAPN 165A and is taught by Matthew Fraleigh. I looked up Matthew Fraleigh and found that he is a well-published scholar in the unusual field of Japanese scholarship in Chinese literature. One of his books is Plucking Chrysanthemums: Narushima Ryūhoku and Sinitic Literary Traditions in Modern Japan. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2016. You can find videos of him giving a lecture on YouTube. So Tamar is working with a very interesting professor and I can't help but wonder if this interest might lead to further study. Maybe she will go to Japan!

Matthew Fraleigh, Associate Professor of East Asian Literature and Culture and chair of the Program in East Asian Studies, Brandeis University. ************************** Just for fun, here is a quote from Wikipedia about the "Tale of Genji": "The Tale of Genji (源氏物語, Genji monogatari, pronounced [ɡeɲdʑi monoɡaꜜtaɾi]), also known as Genji Monogatari is a classic work of Japanese literature written in the early 11th century by the noblewoman, poet, and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu. The original manuscript, created around the peak of the Heian period, no longer exists. It was made in "concertina" or orihon style:[1] several sheets of paper pasted together and folded alternately in one direction then the other. The work is a unique depiction of the lifestyles of high courtiers during the Heian period. It is written in archaic language and a poetic and complex style that make it unreadable without specialized study.[2] It was not until the early 20th century that Genji was translated into modern Japanese by the poet Akiko Yosano. The first English translation of Genji was attempted in 1882 by Suematsu Kencho, but was of poor quality and left incomplete. The work recounts the life of Hikaru Genji, or "Shining Genji", who is the son of an ancient Japanese emperor (known to readers as Emperor Kiritsubo) and a low-ranking concubine called Kiritsubo Consort. For political reasons, the emperor removes Genji from the line of succession, demoting him to a commoner by giving him the surname Minamoto, and he pursues a career as an imperial officer. The tale concentrates on Genji's romantic life and describes the customs of the aristocratic society of the time. It may be the world's first novel,[3] the first psychological novel, and the first novel still to be considered a classic particularly in the context of Japanese literature." LATER; It is worth noting that "The Tale of Genji," written 1000 years ago, was writtenby a woman, Murasaki Shikibu. It is particularly effective in communicating the inner thoughts and perspectives of its female characters, of which there are many. It is also disturbing in the way it portrays casual male sexual violence against women, which is still a real issue today in Japanese society. STILL LATER: Continuing to Catch Up: Sunday morning we went to church in Dummerston, where I was leading the choir. The anthem was called "Mist and Darkness." It was originally a hymn that I had found in a little church camp hymnal I had acquired decades ago. The tune is an old Japanese folk melody (it was a total coincidence that we sang a Japanese folk tune in church the morning after my learning about "The Tale of Genji!). The lyrics of the hymn are based on the wandering of the people of Israel in the desert after their escape from Egypt and crossing the Red Sea. Shawn Bracebridge's text for the morning was all about the ark of the covenant that accompanied the people during their wanderings, and since there are not many anthems about the ark of the covenant, I created a verse about the ark and set it into this hymn, where it found its natural context. Then I created an arrangement of the hymn, with soloists, all men and all women-groups and SATB four-part harmony - i.e., I made the hymn an anthem. Here are the lyrics: 1. Mist and darkness all around, dark clouds over head; Doubting how to find the path which our feet should tread. Guide our wand'ring weary steps, guard us in our road. Through the trackless wilderness, O our Lord and God. 2.By Thy cloudy pillar, Lord, lead us day by day; By thy pillar bright of fire, nightly show our way. Thus thy chosen flock of old, knew the way they trod; Make us thus to know our way, O our Lord and God. 3. They encountered you at thine ark, where your Presence dwelt; There they met your mercy seat; there thy grace they felt. May our church be for us an ark; in your living Word; May we know your heav'nly grace; O our God and Lord. 4. When we come to Jordan's banks, and death draweth near; Fill our hearts with peace and hope; Drive away all fear. That we may the bliss obtain promised in thy word; Bring us to the heavenly shore; O our God and Lord. The anthem went very well - the choir is sounding good these days. Sunday afternoon there was an OSHER lecture at Next Stage in Putney we could have gone to, but didn't. I'm usually sort of tired after leading the choir - it is a physical act! - so we enjoyed a quiet afternoon and evening at home. There is good TV on PBS Sunday evenings. Monday was just another quiet day, I think. I'm sure that part of the day, at least, I was preparing for Bible Study on the "Parables of Jesus," which would continue the following Sunday, October 29th. The topic of the parables is proving to be challenging, and so I made use of an uninterrupted day, like Monday often is, to do some reading and thinking about parables. I have been working hard in particular on a book by John Dominic Crossan, In Parables: The Challenge of the Historical Jesus, which is very interesting, but sort of tough sleding.

John Dominic Crossan