Send message to Author

Paper short abstract

The substantial amount of variants found among extant texts of the Tale of Sagoromo has hindered the study of its transmission history. Surveying recent developments in the field, this paper proposes new critical approaches more appropriate to the work’s diverse corpus of textual witnesses.

Paper long abstract

Even among the oldest extant examples of the traditional tsukuri monogatari (fictional tales) genre, as an extensive work of authentic Heian vintage surviving essentially complete, the Tale of Sagoromo belongs already, bibliographically, to a truly elect company. Beyond this, the Sagoromo bears uniquely the greater distinction of being classically set alongside the Tale of Genji as its implicit peer in literary honors. Fujiwara no Teika himself, for example, paired the two works in his famous Hundred-Round Poetry Match between the Genji and the Sagoromo, attesting to the status it enjoyed not two centuries after its composition.

Nonetheless, despite this early association with the Tale of Genji, over the eight centuries following Teika, the reception of the Tale of Sagoromo has in many respects diverged sharply from that of its counterpart. Central among these is the contrasting course of its textual transmission. In particular, the Tale of Sagoromo is infamous for the sheer numerosity of variants found between its extant textual witnesses. The extent of these is so great, in fact, that certain opposing witnesses can reasonably be described as actually differing in content. Surpassing thus in their import the variation between textual witnesses of the Genji, the Sagoromo’s variants are one of its most distinguishing features, constituting much of its interest and its charm.

Yet mostly they have proven a hurdle, resistant to conventional methods for determining textual lineage. Indeed, only two major studies on the question exist, both not only fifty years outdated, but also somewhat always marred, especially by tendencies to be unforthcoming with evidence for their claims. Recently, however, growing awareness and methodological understanding of such problems is seeing this impasse successfully challenged. Most significantly, the Fukagawa manuscript itself, allegedly best witness (and base-text for the standard edition), has found its status thrown seriously into question. Notwithstanding, truly fundamental reexamination of the textual tradition remains a task unattempted. This paper offers a step towards such a new paradigm. Surveying both prior problems and recent developments, it proposes new critical approaches more appropriate to the Sagoromo’s diverse corpus of textual witnesses going forward.