| The late Heian tales, fictional prose narratives written after The Tale of Genji in the latter years of the Heian period (794--1185), today occupy an uneasy position within the classical Japanese literary canon. Despite considerable evidence of their popularity with early readers, scholars generally dismiss these texts as derivative of Genji and lacking in independent literary interest. Therefore, although individual critics have annotated and translated many of these texts, they remain undervalued and often untaught within the academy at large.; Curiously, one may observe a similar state of affairs with respect to the Rear Court, the households of imperial women and their attendants which produced most Heian tales, including Genji. Historians and literary critics typically depict these women as aesthetes, either free from or no more than pawns in the fierce political struggles known to have polarized Heian courtiers. No one considers the women's own political activity. Their texts, by extension, are judged to be romantic or escapist.; This dissertation challenges the consensus on both counts by analyzing three late tales---The Tale of Sagoromo, The Tale of Nezame, and The Tale of Hamamatsu---in light of their depictions of Rear Court experience. After reintroducing the institution through a comparison with the French salon and an account of Sagoromo's own circle, I discuss Sagoromo's Ima Himegimi, Nezame's eponymous heroine, and Hamamatsu's Chinese Consort. I conclude that not only are these character portraits artful, but their court stories are decidedly world-wise---proof that the mixture of aesthetics and politics which defined elite Heian male culture marked its women and their later tales as well. |
