Dress and Social Hierarchy
The Heian period, from 794 to 1185, was a time of great refinement in Japanese court culture, characterized by a focus on aesthetics and aristocratic cultural practices. The lives of Heian elites were filled with aesthetic and cultural practices, including obsession over appearance, love affairs, and ceremonial rites, as described in the rich written record of courtly life produced by noblemen and noblewomen. Clothing in the video meticulously reflects social standing. Genji, draped in opulent silk kimonos, embodies effortless elegance. At the same time, lower-ranking characters wear simpler garments (Internet Archive Python library, 1:05). Elder women like Genji’s mother adorn themselves in heavier brocades, signifying their authority and maturity. Heian courtly life was characterized by the “rule of taste,” valuing style and aesthetic experience over moral principles, with court society placing great importance on beauty and culture in nearly every aspect of the lives of the upper class. This visual hierarchy aligns with the reading’s emphasis on the “Rule of Taste” in Heian society, where aesthetic choices held deep social significance.
Heian Architecture
Sliding paper screens and open floor plans are given priority in the Heian architecture that the movie depicts. This facilitates controlled intimacy and fosters a sense of oneness. Characters frequently communicate through screens during private interactions, which upholds decorum while adding layers of suggestiveness. Grand halls, on the other hand, are representations of power relations, with Genji dominating the center and everyone bowing down before him. This spatial choreography accentuates the reading’s depiction of highly stratified and ritualized Heian existence (Bani, 2022). Furthermore, elites were able to engage in minutely thorough cultivation of taste because of the leisure afforded by the money from the sho-en estate system; the aristocratic taste is particularly characterized by sensitivity to seasonal variations and their reflections in nature.
Language and Etiquette
Poetic allusions and indirect communication characterize the dialogue used in the film. Emotions hardly ever get expressed directly or openly by any of the characters, but rather subtly, and it is through oral puns that they actually get into what they want. This indirectness sounds very much like what the reading calls “mono no aware,” an awareness of the brevity and impermanence of beauty that is supposedly exhibited in Heian communication veiled elegance (Bani, 2022). What strikes me as especially amazing about this is that women consequently often make even the first move on the man of their romantic interest, thereby secretly resisting the patriarchal structure detailed in the reading.
Symbolic Details and Enduring Relevance:
The video’s rich nature imagery of blooming cherry trees, moonlit escapist gardens, and cascading waterfalls give a setting for emotional encounters. This fits the reading’s portrayal of an intense relationship between Heian culture and nature, where the seasonal changes and natural beauty blended into artistic expressions (Internet Archive Python library, 2:00). Genji’s writing of poems amid the cherry blossoms is one of the prime examples of the blending of nature with art. “The Tale of Genji” reflects elements that are quintessentially Japanese in nature. Even though it is set in the past, the focus on ‘refinement’, aesthetics, and indirect communication showcased is very much a feature of modern Japanese society, which values politeness and social harmony (Bani, 2022). In this connection, an understanding of the “Rule of Taste” laid down by the Heian society helps us appreciate the historical foundation of these cultural elements. This is the use of the kana phonetic script that brought women forward after the Heian period, as it was the “women’s hand,” which allowed the liberal expression of their thoughts and affections in their mother tongue. This was the grand Heian period that put a strong emphasis on aesthetics, gender roles, and aristocratic cultural practices.
References
Bani Hani, J. (2022). The influence of supply chain management practices on supply chain performance: The moderating role of information quality. Business, Management and Economics Engineering, 20(01), 152-171. https://doi.org/10.3846/bmee.2022.16597
Internet Archive Python library. (2022, February 27). The Tale of Genji 1987: Free download, borrow, and streaming: Internet archive [Video].. https://archive.org/details/The_Tale_of_Genji_1987
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