Paper short abstract:

In the anecdote 103 of The Tales of Ise, the narrator describes as “awful” a poem, known as one of the finest by Ariwara no Narihira. We chose to consider this criticism as an ironic remark contributing to the playful style of the narrative and inviting the reader to constantly renew his reading.

Paper long abstract:

The Tales of Ise are one of the most widely read and studied works of classical Japanese literature, yet many gray areas remain. As Takahashi Tôru, a leading specialist in the literature of the Heian period, points out: « Every time I read The Tales of Ise, I am confused by their difficulty. Sometimes it is difficult to grasp the meaning because of difficult words or the brevity of the text. I can try to solve those problems in my own way with the help of various annotated editions. However, the moment I think I have understood it, I often feel overwhelmed by the feeling that it is all a misconception.” In addition to the ambiguous character of most tanka poems due to their brevity, The Tales of Ise include number of observations or judgements formulated by the narrator with regard to the actions and words of the characters. Far from facilitating understanding, those remarks seem on the contrary to open up the text to an infinite field of interpretation. The presentation will focus on the narrator's critical remarks regarding a poem composed by a character. In anecdote 103, the narrator appears to condemn a poem composed by the hero as “awful”. This poem which is also included in Kokinshû (905), is usually known as one of the finest poem of Ariwara Narihira’s and this narrator’s comment has traditionally been understood as a self-deprecatory expression of the hero-narrator. However, such an interpretation is hardly convincing in view of the fact that among the 35 poems of the Tales of Ise which tradition attributes to Ariwara Narihira, only this poem is subject to such a vehement criticism by the narrator. The presentation will propose an alternative interpretation by reflecting on the humorous aspect of the narrator’s comments in The Tales of Ise. It will try to show how the narrator’s humorous remarks extend the communicative space of the poem, opening up a new space - that of the monogatari - which involves the reader, and create a dynamic and engaging reading experience.