Los Angeles to celebrate the millennium commemoration of The Tale of Genji    Sept. 22 – 27 in Los Angeles and Orange counties

 

Cultural News, August 2008

 

Reproduced costumes of Heian period (794-1185) with historically accuracy will return to Los Angeles venues for celebrating the millennium commemoration of The Tale of Genji.

     The world’s oldest novel turns 1000 years old this year. The millennium commemoration of The Tale of Genji is celebrated throughout Japan in 2008. In Southern California, several academic and cultural institutions will host the Genji Millennium Festival Los Angeles between Sept. 22 and 28.

 

     Prof. Hiroaki Sera of Shikoku University in Tokushima, Japan, a specialist in classical Japanese literature, will give lectures on The Tale of Genji and kimono instructors of Shizuko Seo Kimono Academy in Tokushima will give demonstrations of Heian period costumes at five venues in southern California.

 

     The events are open to the general public and are aimed at enhancing understanding of the social and historical background of The Tale of Genji, widely recognized as the world’s first psychological novel.

 

     The exquisite epic written by Lady Murasaki depicts the love and the political intrigues surrounding Prince Genji, the son of an emperor, and his descendants. It runs 1,120 pages in Royall Tyler’s translation of 2001.

 

     The aristocrats of the Heian period (794-1185) devoted themselves to the cult of beauty that demanded the minute attention to the elegance of clothing, perfumes, calligraphy, poetry and letter writing.

 

      The average person in Japan today would see the members of the imperial family wear these elaborate costumes from the Heian period on formal occasions such as an enthronement ceremony or a wedding. But even in Japan one would hardly have a chance to see how these layers of clothes are actually put on.

 

       The Genji Millennium Festival Los Angeles will offer an exceptional opportunity for the people of Southern California to witness the donning of these costumes. The instructors of Seo Kimono Academy will show how different ranks and professions are represented through clothing. Included in the demonstrations are formal and informal costumes of aristocratic men and women, shirabyōshi dancers, samurai, and priests of the Genji era.

 

      The most elaborate of these costumes is nyooboo shoozoku, commonly known as juuni hitoe (twelve-layer kimono). The costume that Princess Masako wore at her wedding to Crown Prince Naruhito in 1993, for example, is estimated at $350,000 and weighed 35 lb.

 

     Prof. Sera and kimono instructors gave similar lecture-demonstrations in Los Angels last summer. At every venue the event was well attended and enthusiastically received. This year they plan to expand the scope of the events to celebrate the millennium of The Tale of Genji.

 

      Students will enact some scenes from The Tale of Genji, and Prof. Sera will explain the background of the scenes, much as Heian aristocrats gazed at illustrations while a member of their retinue read the tale aloud from hand-copied text.

 

      Prof. Sera’s lecture, re-enactment of scenes from Genji, and costume demonstration will enhance audience’s understanding of the Heian period and The Tale of Genji.

 

     The Genji Millennium Festival LA is presented by Cultural News with association with universities and a museum. The festival is financially supported in part by the Japan-United States Friendship Commission and the Northeast Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies.

 

    For more information about programs and venues, call Cultural News at (213) 819-4100 or email info@culturalnews.com.

 

The Tale of Genji Millennium Festival Los Angeles

 

Sept. 22 (Mon) 10:00-17:00 and Sept. 23 (Tue) 10:00-17:00: Reading The Tale of Genji in the original Japanese at Kyodo System Japanese Language School in Koreatown)

 

Sept. 22 (Mon) 18:30-21:30: Reading The Tale of Genji in the original (In Little Tokyo area)

 

Sept. 24 (Wed) 13:00-16:00: Lecture on the life in the Heian period, re-enactment of scenes from Genji and costume demonstration (California State University, Northridge, University Student Union Grand Salon)

 

Sept. 24 (Wed) 19:00-20:30: Lecture, re-enactment, and costume demonstration (Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena)

 

Sept. 25 (Thu) 15:00-17:00: Lecture and costume demonstration (Occidental College in Los Angeles)  

 

Sept. 26 (Fri) 18:30-20:30: Costume demonstration and photo opportunity (California State University, Long Beach, Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden)

 

Sept. 27 (Sat) 10:00-11:30: Costume demonstration (Orange Coast Gakuen Kyodo System Japanese Language School, Huntington Beach)

 

Sept. 28 (Sun) 14:00-17:00: Reading The Tale of Genji in the original (In Orange County area)