Genji and Fanfics

Penna recently sent me a link to a fascinating article called There's fanfic at The Met and it's all because of The Tale of Genji. The article discusses an exhibit that was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art—The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated. On display were various literary works, art, and clothing that were inspired by the book. The Met didn't use the word fanfics in the exhibition title but they could have. The authors and creators of the exhibited items all have something in common—a love of the original work, an attribute shared by fanfic and fanart creators everywhere.

On June 25, I celebrated the 4th birthday of my own Genji-inspired story, An Evening with Genji. For a while, I'd wanted to write a story that explored Neal's Japanese connections. His fluency in Japanese and ability in origami were both canon traits. I created a gala reception for a set of folding screens depicting scenes from the Japanese classic as the launch point. I could easily see Diana teasing Neal about attending an event for a character who had some resemblance to himself. Both are men of refinement and sophistication, experts in art, poetry, and music. Both abstain from violence and are charming to the point of being swoon-worthy. Neal's interest in fine arts is an unusual characteristic for a TV series, but the same can be said of White Collar where there's very little violence and characters routinely reference poetry.

The Tale of Genji was written by Lady Murasaki Shikibu in the eleventh century. Murasaki was an innovator on several fronts. Her work is generally considered to be the world's first novel, Genji can be considered one of the first true romantic heroes. Even more remarkable, Murasaki wrote it from a woman's point of view. She chose to focus her novel on the intrigues and romances of court life in an age where courtiers addressed each other through poetry. Penna wrote about the Bechdel test in a recent post about diversity (Not another story about straight white men - Part 2 ). The test requires a work to include at least one conversation between two women where the topic isn't a man. Murasaki passed the test many times over.

In a sense, Murasaki can be considered to have written fanfiction. Genji is believed to be modeled after a person whom Murasaki admired at court. She also is believed to employ a technique many a fanfic author has used—self-insertion. Genji meets the character Murasaki no Ue when she is a child and later marries her. The author applies ample amounts of angst, intrigue, and romance to her story—traits not unfamiliar to fanfiction. She also can be said to take advantage of tropes. During the period she wrote, courtiers expressed their thoughts by referencing classic poems. Often Murasaki only used the first line or two of a poem and expected the audience to supply the rest.

In my story, Fiona asked Neal if he, like Genji, was a romantic. He said he wasn't convinced that was an accurate description. We know better, and given the number of fanfics and fanart that he's inspired, he has something else in common with Genji.

An Evening with Genji on Archive of Our Own
An Evening with Genji on FanFiction