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Nine Classics of Japanese Art (From "Floatings from East to West")Author(s): Michel Butor and Terese LyonsReviewed work(s):Source: SubStance, Vol. 10/11, Vol. 10, no. 4 - Vol. 11, no. 1, Issue 33-34: Books: On and About(1981/1982), pp. 3-25Published by: University of Wisconsin Press

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Nine Classics ofJapaneseArt(FromFloatingsromasttoWest)

MICHEL BUTOR

2 The 100 Views of Fuji byHokusai

The first age inwesternbooks is the ast nJapanesebooks,and vice

versa,which makes forproblemswhen one wants a workto travelfromone civilization o the other. have a carefullymade Americaneditionofthe 100 Views t my disposal. They follow each other in theiroriginal

order,providedyou turn thepages fromback to front.Problemsarise,however,as soon as an illustration xtends onto a double page. Let's

imaginea sequence of singleplates.The Japanese order: . . . 87654321willbe reversed n thewestern dition: 12345678 .... If, however,thefirstmage in the 100 Views,the sublimegoddesswhogivesbirth oandnurtures he flowers nd trees,takesup onlyone page, the second, the

apparitionof MountFuji,coverstwo, s do thethird, he hermit en, and

fourth, uji on a clearday.The fifth oversonlyone page, though.So asnot todestroy he double pages, a western ditionwillhave togiveus the

woodcuts n the following rder: 1, 3 and 2, 5 and 4, 7 and 6, 8. Platenumber 5, therefore,will immediately ollowplate number 2. On theother hand, whenevera double page is made up of two independentimages,the order of the woodcutswill be exactlyreversed.The overall

compositionwill be transformed, owever: withthe right-hand magecomingon the eft,whatshould be on theoutside will ome inthecenter,and theoriginalcenter willbe tornapart.The seamsofthediptychswillcease to function.

These thoughts et metodreamingof a Franco-Japanese ook,print-ed inbothscripts nd combining he ook of each. The vertical apanesetext would read from eft-handpage to left-handpage and the French

Sub-Stance N0 33/34,1982 3



4 Michel Butor

text,horizontally,n theright-hand nes. Each double page would pre-sent a shortchapterand its translationwith the necessary llustrations.These chapterswould follow ach other n both directions nd thebooks'

pages could be turned from eftto rightor right o left,depending onwhetheryou'reJapanese or French,withthecomingand going,oscilla-tion,floatingbecoming all the strongerthe betteryou navigatein theotherculture. tmakes sensethatmy houghtswere nspiredbya bookbyHokusai, and inparticularbythisone, for notonlyare the100 Views hemostrecentof all the classicsthat 've selected,butmoreover,beingthemost manoeuverable and easiest to transport, heydoubtless had the

greatest influence on European art when communicationswere re-

openedwith

Japan.

The firstpage in Japanese books is a left-handpage; in westerneditions,what we discover first s always a right-handpage. When itcomes to double pages, the righthalfis what we firstnotice as we leaf

through, ookingforone imageunderneathanother. n the first olume

of the original edition of the 100 Views, s I turn over the sublimegoddess, I spotthetipof Mount Fuji extendingbeyondthe frame.As Iliftt, he hermitYen's cane extendingbeyondtheframe, iftinghat, he

tipofFuji on a clearday,and lifting hat,pilgrims escendingFuji. In awestern dition,when I lift he sublimegoddess, I'll onlysee stupifiedspectatorswithoutknowingwhat they're ooking at, wooden sandalswithout nowingwhosethey re,hillsides nd boatswithout eingable to

place them,and finally, ince I end up withtworelativelyndependentimages,thepilgrims' escent. The wholevolume worksdifferently.ince

Hokusai (we realize as we study hesedetails)made fulluse of thepossi-bilitiesofferedhim by the look and feel of Japanese books, western

reproductions,howevercarefully one theymaybe, inevitablyeave out

manyaspects.

Justas

Hiroshige's53 Stations

actuallyconsistof 55

plates,the 100

Viewsnumber102,countingthe titles lluminatinghem na topcorner:31 in the first olume,30 in thesecond,41 inthe ast.The first wowere

publishedat almost the same time, n 1834 and 1835. The authormighthave considered themto be complete, ince thethirddidn't follow hemuntil 14 years ater, n 1849, theyearof his death at theage of 90, rightbefore the rape ofJapan byCommodore Perry n 1853. Now, leavingaside the introductory ext,each of thesevolumes numbers25 doublepages, and, therefore, 0 woodcuts,and the twoof them make up 100



Japanese Art 5

"views."With thepublicationof thethirdvolume (50 woodcutsas well),where is the figure 100 to be found? Fuji is approached in so manydifferentways that it's veryhard to say thatany given image doesn't

represent t. The goddess on thefirst age is itspersonification,nd soare the wrestlers.And in the next to last mage,Fuji reflectedntheJa-oimarshes,don't we see it twice?And don'tthedouble pages with eparatetitlesformdiptychs,whose overallcomposition dds a thirdFuji to thetworepresented n either ide?And the charactermarking henumber8and, with t,all sortsof happiness- isn't talreadya representation f

Fuji byvirtueof its two brushstrokestheview fromFuji over theeightpeaks of Shinano, the tourof theeightbordersatop Fuji?And theverycharacters f thename Fuji, repeated 92 times?And all themetaphors,the points seen beside the mountain- thatchedroofs, cranes, smallboats, birds,etc. - which are representations f it ust as much as the

snowpileor mass of clouds are? 100 Views thereare notonly 101 or102,but hundreds of others,perpetually ngenderedwheneverwe leaf

throughthesepages, and enablingus to imagineeven more.

7 TheOrigins ftheMountShigiMonastery

A rich farmer hishouse iswonderfully etailed- we can makeoutthe storerooms nside; he supports some bonzes, of course, but by allindications,he's bad), his heart hardened byhissuccess,refusedone dayto fill hemagicricebowl that he mountainhermithad sent llby tself o

beg foralms.The bowl shiningwithgold amidstthelight olorsthat,bytheway,have paled somewhat since the XIIth Century, he dark blue

havingmostly urnedgray),won't takeno foran answerand decides,tothe amazement ofthe entirehousehold,to takeawaythe wholegranary.

The doors still lammingbehind, t fliesoffoverthe waters fthe sea orofa lake,causinga greatwind that ifts p theclothing fthepeasantsonthe shores. The farmerumps on his horse and, accompanied bya fewservants n foot, akesoff npursuit f hisescaping granary,which s now

highabove themountains.Such a long wayto go! And all themore sosincethegranarywas able to cut straight cross thegulf,whilethe menwe're followinghave to keep to all the twists nd turnsof the road! It'sautumn; the maples are losing theirred leaves. Finally, fterpassing

throughmanyforests, avines, nd

fogs,our men reach thehermitage,

perchedhighon an impressive liff.There heyfindtheholyman, n thecompanyofhisgoldenbowl lying ike a dog at hisfeet), almlyfingeringhisBuddhistprayerbeads. At a distance,we can make out thegranary,half-hiddenamong the rocks and clouds. The farmerapologizes andcomplains:"everyone hinks 'm rich,butmyonlywealth smyrice.Whatwillbecome ofmyfamily? an't you giveme a little f itback?"The bowlseems tosmile n itsgilding.The holyman is movedbythesearguments:"I'll giveyoubackyourrice. need so little o liveon.'"And,to one of the



6 Michel Butor

servantswho rushesup to load thefirst ack: "Leave it, eave it!Mybowlwillbring tback foryou."To theringing fthebowl, ll the sacks file utof the granary n good order and fly ffafter t in one splendid move-

ment,overrooftops, idges, nd ravines, verpines, maples,and cherrytrees,herds of surpriseddoe, the foggygulf,the edges of the scroll.

Returningvia another route in the company of the farmerand his

entourage,with noses up in the air,we come upon the farm n a fitofmerriment.t was surprised n themidstofitswork a servantwoman isstill n theprocessof pickingan eggplant n thevegetablepatch) bythesacks,come back once more to settle n the foundations fthegranary,whichhas stuck lose to thehermitage nd,with t, onstitutes he nucleusof the

present-daymonastery.

The presence or absence of written extaside, the horizontal crollscan be placed into two broad categoriesaccordingto theirhandling. nsome, the images are clearlydetached fromone another.Each can be

grasped at a glance, even at the riskof comingback to scrutinize he

details.They'relikeslides that anbe projectedone after he otheronto ascreen.Theycould ust as wellbe prints r illustrationsor western-stylebook. The othersappear continuously,ike thoseold sheetsofglassthat

people used to slide intomagic lanterns. t's impossible o see thewhole

image at once, even ifthe entire work s unrolled in a very ong displaycase. Atevery onsultation r presentation, heviewer,whether lone orwitha selectcircleof friends,would have to decide upon a particularsectioningand stop his unrollingwith one hand and rollingwith theother.A normal book isbound tobrutally hop thesefabrics p. They'rerivers:you can go down them at leisure,but then- and this s theirdisadvantage,as well,perhaps,as theirteaching you have to go back

upstream.You have to re-unroll nd reroll them with at least as muchcare to put themaway. You have to recapitulate n reverse the whole

journey you have made.

In the courtyardof a palace, a nobleman and his entourage greetsomemonkswhohave arrived n an ox-drawncarriage.The outcomeoftheirconsultation s immediately lear: theymustbe off.The noblemanmounts hisbayhorse and hisfaintly earded first fficermountsa darkgray ne. The servants ollow n foot. Where are theygoing?"thecrowdasks. "To seek advice of the monkup there? How absurd!" Payingnoheed to these eers, the troop falls in line and, aftermany hours -

perhaps days- on the road, finally eaches the hermitage.



Japanese Art 7

"In the palace below,the prince is ill. If he has given you cause for

reproach,we beg you to forgivehim.We have tried all the doctors andtheprayers f the most famous monks. As a lastresort,we have come to

plead withyou.""Go backdown toyourmaster nd tellhimthat ll I can do isbeseechthe beneficentpowers along withhim."

In thesumptuousdwelling, eproduced todayby partofthe mperialPalace inKyotowith tswalled-in lumpsofbamboo,all is desolation.The

high-rankingfficers arely urn o isten othe mbassador'sreport.But

suddenlya heavenly messenger,dressed in flamingraysand holdingaswordwith handlemade of ightning,rrives na wheelofthunder.Hetellsofhis fabulous ourney through he clouds: he has come from o far

awayand flown o highover fields, hatchedcottages,mountainforests- farhigherthan the birdsin flocks in order,thanks o the hermit'smerits, obringthecure. The delegationsets out once more,ridinghighovergulfs nd birds nflight almost s highas theheavenlymessenger- and reaches the hermitage,whichcurtainsof fogreveal to us more

fully.An entirewing s seton pilingssimilar o those at Kiyomizu-dera.They thankthe holyman and assure him of the prince's protection.

I dreamed lastnight hat was readinga book entitled loatingsromEast to West.The author's name had been scratchedout. Referring othese same 21 Classics,however,he had managed to speak of anythingbut.Thus, he spoke of the trees n the 53 Stations,f thestrange nato-mies - animal and especiallyhuman anatomies- withtightly lexedmusclesand claw-nails nthe100 Views, f thearrangement fflowersn

Korin'sPlumTrees, fwater n theDaigo-ji fans,of fabrics n The Portu-guese nJapan;he spoke,apropos of Tohaku's screens, f thedoublingofthemainpinetree neach group,as if t werecasting ts hadowenlargedin the fog,of the symbolism f Togan's crows,of the four scenes ofchildrenparodying hefourrefinedpastimes writing,music, hegameofgo, and painting in the decoration oftheTenkyu-in, fthedimen-sionsintroducedbythepossibilityfoverlapping nEitoku'sflower ndbird panels, withthe two large cranes able to disappear - symbolsof

longevity,s ifthiswere the secret one of thesecrets) f alltherest, fthe

holes intherocks ll through esshu'sgreat croll, heeyesand earsoftheEarth,whirl-windsn thefoldsofmountains howingus that ll ismoreor less slowocean or flames,mouthpieces fthe flute fages in which hetravelerhimself ecomes themelody, nd of the role of color underneaththe text of TheBiographyf ppen in givingtonality o the images thatfollow t,and thenmore...



8 Michel Butor

On a mountain nwinter, midstragingtorrents,n old nun,accom-

panied bya servant, s wendingher way.Fortunately, compassionatepeasanthas lenther his blackhorse. He leads themtohisdwelling,where

they an takerefreshment, armup, and rest.She givesthepeasantbackthe boots that he lent her. Now they'reback on the road again - insandals. Time passes. Here's another pious and generous family.Thewillowsdon'thave any eavesyet, uttheredplumtrees rebeginning oblossom.A cat is keepingwhere t'swarm;thedogs are restless. ittlebylittle, he nun learns there s a greattemple ntheregion. t's still ar way,though.She setsoff.She talkswith omewild animals.Her servant howsher the way,but then abandons her. She goes on alone, reaches the

splendidtemple

ofAmida,sleepsthereone night,earns na dreamwhat

path to take.She feels miniscule n themidstof immensity.Time asses.She crosses a sea ofclouds,passes highabove storms olling ikedragonsunder her feet,and spots a hermitagewhere she thinks she sees herbrother.She calls him.Yes, it's him! What oy! It's a wonderfulhermit-

age: so much space forstoring crolls and sutras and forcommentingthem. And on the otherside,thenun setsup a pantry.They won'tbe inwant of anything.A littlefarther n (you have to know theway),half-hiddenbyclouds: the roofofa granary.Andwecan be sure that certain

goldenbowl will lwayskeep it full.Fromhere,the viewover theworld tone and the same time overwhelms nd calms.

9 TheStory fTwo Patriarchs ftheKegonSect

There's rainfalling n the cave whereGengyoand Gisho are asleep.The littlefluteplayer,seen frombehind, accompanyingGengyoas he

playson hisJapanese zither.The craggy sland wherea saintlyhermit s

meditating midst tigersand bamboo trees.And Gengyo,on anotherisland, istening o the echoes of thismeditation.And the anxiousness ntheprincely alace,where thegueen lies ll nspiteof all theherbalbrewsthat thewisemen are bringingher and all theprayersbeingoffered nthe templenextdoor. Gengyo alone could perhaps be of help, so theysend a messengeroff to him. The Korean messenger'sboat is sailingtowardsChina,whereGengyohas gone to hear theteachings f the besthermits. he sea king'sminister isesfrom he waters o meetthe messen-

gerand inviteshimto his

palaceinthe

deep.There, in the

presenceofhis

submarinemajesty,he presentshim with hescrollson which he secretsof the cure of the queen of Silla are written. he messenger's rrival n

China. His futile topat a sumptuoustemplewhereno one can decipheranythingwhatsoeverfor him. Then the meetingwithGengyo,who is

begging n a noisy marketplacewherefish, loth,fowl, nd livestock resold. And, at last,the splendid ceremony n the Korean templeto cele-brate thequeen's recovery.Here's Gengyomeditatingn his reed studyand copyingover the books he mosthighly steems.The king'smessen-



Japanese Art 9

ger bringshim a thank-yougift.The othermonks' ealousy. Repeatedfourtimes ver,Gengyo'snewstudy n a foundation f bluerocks,wherethe messenger'sall too zealous servant s pilfering he precious copies

whilea dog howls to denounce him.It doesn'tmatter, hough withoutmakinga singlemistake,Gengyorewrites he text,whichhe knowsbyheartand which themessenger maytake away.

Lots oftext n these scrolls itevenmixes n with he magestogiveus the main characters'words, as in modern comic

stripbubbles or

medievalphylacteries.Withthehelp of various booksand catalogs, canmake out thegist f t. Butthere re somanyobscurepoints n thedetails!Ofcourse, n direnecessity, could have had themost mportant assagestranslated.(There s an excellentJapanese department t theUniversityofGeneva,where teach.)But no, I prefer o make use ofmy gnoranceinputting opaper thestory hat hesescrollsmakemeimagine a storythat,forreaders fromthearchipelagowho knowthe real one, willper-haps have an amusingflavor fincongruity, freshness rombeyondthe

pole. WhenI went oJapanfor hefirst ime, ourteenyears go, I spentfewnights n Tokyo at the Franco-JapaneseHouse. Its directorhad a

charmingfiveyear-olddaughter,whogot along verywellwith he cook's

daughter,who was more or less her contemporary.She managed to

jabber a bit in the language of the land betterthan her parents.One

morning heseyoung adies challengedeach other to a painting ontest.

Theyweresupposed to draw the Sun. The Frenchgirlmade a yellow potsurroundedbyeightdazzling rays.

"How come you drew a spider?"asked her friend,who had made a

perfectly ound, red spot on the whitebackground."And you,how come you drew thisstop sign?"

Since reading proceeds inJapanese fromright o left,we have the

feelingwe'reaccompanying verythinghatgoes from ight o eft n thescrolls nd

meetingupwith

everythinghat

goesin theotherdirection.

Allthebuildingswe'll enter nd doors we'llpassthroughwill ppear to us

obliquely,from heupper right o the ower eft.Here a fewof themgiveus the reversediagonal: in otherwords,we'll have theimpression f re-

enteringthemwhen we roll the scroll back up. In the first nrolling,we're on a search. We're in a successivepresent.Everynormaldiagonalline can be interpreted s theexpression"then" or "afterwhich."This isabsolutelyclear in the storyof the theft f the scrolls,when Gengyo'sstudy srepeatedfourtimeswith light ariationsn tsfurnishings.We're



10 Michel Butor

motionless hen. But timegoes by.When we roll the scrollbackup,we're

alreadya littlefamiliarwitheverythinghathas takenplace. Of course,we maypayattention o different etails thatthesequence of eventshas

made particularlymportant, uteverythings seen in terms f the verbalaspectsof the perfect.The reversediagonal is equivalent,therefore, otheexpressions"now" or "meanwhile," r even "beforehand." We come

upon it strikinglyt the end of the second scroll when we leave the

thanksgiving eremony n the Buddhist temple.We see that,thanks to

Gengyo's ntervention,ll sortsof thingshave happened in a verybrief

space of time. An entire era has come to a close. The queen's illness sover; itwon'tbe mentioned nymore. It wouldbe better, hough, o talkabout it a bitmore; that's what these books are

for.) Similarly,t the

beginning f the fourth croll, hedoor closes an earlierstatefromwhichGisho's ourney is goingto free us.Some buildings re in almostEurope-an-style erspective:that s,the lines of their ides meetin thedistance.This indicates long-lasting resent.Thus, theway rchitectures drawnmakes for greaterprecisionin establishing chronology,but the waycountrysidesdrawn,with ts urves,rocks, nd mists, ies vents ogetherloosely.

Here's Gisho'sdeparturewith companionand two ervants, inceallisdecidedlyunwell n thekingdomofSilla.The redsunovera little slandnear the shore. The grottonear a torrentwhereour travelers re tor-mentedbya terrifying ightmare.Thecity t the edge of the sea. Theembarkation.The boat setting ail. Here's thearrival nChina. Hubbabin the port. The imperialpalace where,by a magnificent ock,Gisho

meetsPrincessZemmyo,who fallsmadly n love withhim. But thenewsfromKorea is pressing,and aftergoing into a temple (the garden ofwhich sdecorated with rockthat'snot as big,but ust as remarkable, stheone at thepalace) in ordertogather few ssentialrevelations,Gishodecides to go back as soon as possible. Here's PrincessZemmyowho,havinggotwindof herlover'splans inherpalace (a wingof whichbathesin a pool alive with all sortsof fish and birds amidst the flowers), s

packinghima trunkfullof wonders. But he's already gone. The messen-

geron

horseback, eyondtheblue

bridge,rushes tfull

peedto the

port.Too late: The boat has already ifted nchor. The tunesof itsorchestraare drowned out bythe sound of the waves. The princess etsout. Shecan'thelp stoppingfrom ime otime oweep. At theport, he,ofcourse,sees that theboat has alreadyreached theopen sea. Out ofdespair,shethrows out the packed trunk. The wind rises. Strongerand strongerwavescarryherpresent owards heboat,and theprincess hrowsherselfintothewaterto oin it,tothegreatfright f herentourage.But then, nthemiddle of thestorm, he turns ntoa huge dragon and,whileGisho,



Japanese Art 11

greatlymoved,gathersup and admiresthetrunk fpresents, hedragonZemmyo oads hisshiponto herback and carries t to safe harbor n the

greatestof calms in themidstof the unleashed elements.

10 The Great Scroll by esshu

A fewtreesto theright f a pathwhere a young ervant,oaded downwithluggage, followshis masterclimbing hroughthe rocks. The road

zigzags and movesaway,but we meetup with tagain farther own,nodoubtafter longdetour,alonga steepwall.And allofa suddenwe see a

village,two

villageseven: the one below is more like a small

city,with

double-roofedbuildingsdecorated withdolphinsor phoenixesand col-onnades; the one above is behind still ransparent rees.The pathwe're

losingmustsurely ead to the atter.We fly ver therooftops fthe ittle

city, kimming ver a hill withtwisting ld pines and a fewplum trees

already nbloom. Fresh eaves everywhere.Atour feet, realvillagethistime:thatchedroofs.A torrent nakesamong thecrystallineocks.Andon a bridgewemeetup with ur traveler rom whileback withhis ittleservant,whohas left heirbags at an inn. Is he really he same one? How

can we tell?He's walking n the opposite direction. s he comingbacktowards us after n immense detour behind thecliffs, avines, ornices,and forests, fterresting nthebuildingwhoserooftopwe can ust makeout in the fog?That musthave been almost two months go. He's hadtime to get thereand settle n. He's going to leave again and reach theshore of a lake, another villagewith tile roofs under the willowsand

amongthereeds. You'd think heywere houses inEurope. The windowsare open and have awningstoprotect hemfrom healreadystrong un.There are bistroswith heir ignsfloatingnthe wind and lotsofboats at

anchorwith heirfoldedsails,theirdrying aundry, heir poolsofrope.One of them is sure to agree to take us across. Farewell. There was

splashingnear the shore.

Duringmyfirsttay nthe UnitedStates, wenty ears go, I spentthesummer

teachingat a

languageschool in Vermont. n a

nearbytown,small publisherwho specialized inJapan had put out, under a sandal-wood cover, fold-out eproduction f thegreat croll,with he commen-

taryrunningunderneath the mages,ofnecessity rom eft oright nd,therefore, ollowing heyearbackwards.Sincethen, 've beenwanting oputthisrememberedChina intowords, hisChina reinvented t the twistof some paint and the stroke of a brush. Sesshu has rolled years ofpilgrimage,wanderings,and surprises nto the shell of his return.Anhomage to China, but not to any siteor templein particular.Rather a



12 Michel Butor

talismanallowingone to unfurl,to unroll, the equivalent of thatvast

empire fromany rock,knotty ree trunk, r snatchof horizonwhatso-ever.For this,he had to steal all the secrets f the masters rom crossthesea. He had to becomecapable ofopposingtotally ifferentmoods tothismotionof thehand,to that olorof nk, r to the ightpaintcomplement-ing t, nordertogivethe mpression f an ever-changingountryside,tdifferentpeeds, though,with tscrossings, rails, nd resting-places.twould be easyto singleout 53 stations r 100 views,but neitherFuji nor

capitals. It's the image of the land where we are not. It's the fantasma-

goriaof theWest,and through t thecontemporaneityfall seasonscanbe won.

There wassplashingnear theshore. Now the breezeswelling ur sailsis so swift t's as ifwe wereslidingover a frozen urface.On thehorizon,the sharpoutline of themountains.And here's a violently ollowed outshore. We land in a cove, climb up and down through stair-shapedtunnels that ead us todiscoverthe bowelsofthe Earth.Ata bend,once

again we come upon our traveler, esting s he sitsand chats withhisservant,unless it's ourselves that we're meeting up with,our memoryfromanotheryear?Haven't we already passed throughtheseparts, ndifferent eather, n a differentmood,comingfrom lsewhere? sn'tthisanother knot n ourjourney, ust like so manyothers? But we've neverseen thisprovincebefore: it's even more mountainousthanthe astone,with pagoda, with evenroofs,one on topoftheother,bellsringing ntheir orners, nd a spire rivaling hispeak, thisescalade ofthesky.Wemustbe nearingthecenterof theworld,butwe won't reach it thisway,we'll ust circle round it.We'llhave to aimfor tfrommuchfartherway.Howeverhighweclimb, he snow s all gone. More temples.The traveler

greetsus as we pass by. Maybe he's who we'll become. His servant s

probably sleep at an inn.Maybewe're his servant.He had tostruggle o

getthisfar.We've had tostruggle.An arbor awaitsus where we can havesome tea. What a horizon! It's the immenseestuaryof a river.You cansmellthe odor of theocean. Beyondthefoggy lain,a far-offitywith ts

temples,below the fantasticalmountains and beyond a bridge over a

tributary. ut the main branchis on" heother side of these slandsandforestedhills. The ferryman akes us to his villagenestledamong hay-stacks.Alreadyharvestedricefields,with nother river rrigatinghem,across whichthere s a roundly rchedbridgewhere, nce again,we meetour companion and his servant, ur master nd his master.We're near-ing a famous pleasure-ground.There mustbe a party.



Japanese Art 13

On the path on the other side of thewater,people hurry bout ontheirdonkeysor on foot.Fires roar nthekitchens. he guestscongratu-late one another. The leaves growredder and redder. The high slopes

are alreadywhite, ut we arrive n time t thisgreatcitywith tsramparts,where, na pavillion,we can enjoya lastpale rayofsuninthecompanyofour guide. The skygrowsblackbehindthepeaks,and even the roofsofthe houses are gettingcovered up withsnow. Then we make out a

signaturetraced in the snow on the spotlessfields:"paintedbySesshu

Toyo, veteranof thefirst iege at Ting-Tung (in China under theMingdynasty),n December of the 18thyearofthe Bummei era (1486), at the

age of 67." Now we have to roll thescroll back up again. Onlythepineneedles were

keepingtheirdark

green,nd all thatwas eftwas towaitfor

the opening of the firstbuds of the plum trees thatwe'll see againsomeplace else. The skywas growingblack behind thepeaks. Windowswereclosingone byone. The highslopeswerealreadywhite.To getanyfarther,we had to hurry o climb these stairs n theravines,for thefogwas closing n and thefirstnows wereupon us. Leaves. We wereunderthewingof the mountain nd, sincemostof thehouses are actually aves,well shelteredfrom the risingwind. Fires roared in the kitchens.The

village quarewasswarmingwithpeople. On thepathon the other ideof

thewater,people were hurrying bout. There must have been a party.There must be a party.There was splashingnear the shore.

11 TheSixPaths

Ifyou'renotreborn demonor a man,an animal, dragon,or a god,chances are good you'llcome backas a starving hantom. n whichcase,withan enormous belly,a hollowchest,bushyhair perpetuallyfalling

over eyesthatare popping out ofyourhead likeshinymarbles, pindlylimbs,a jagged spine, and fangliketeeth,you'll attemptto slake yourthirst t riversides, utyou'llbe chased away byspiritskeepingwatchto

preservetheirpurityfor betterbeings thanyou. You'll be reduced to

lapping up the fewdrops leftby the feetof travelers omingto wadeacross.You'll try o oin inat the feasts fhumans,hopingto snatch fewbitesof theirmeals,whosedeliciousflavoryouremember, utyou'llonlymanage tocatch thesplatterswhenthey prinkle hefuneral ablets.Bearin mindthat even

Mokuren,one of Shaka's ten

greatdisciples,ouldn't

feed his motherwhenshe became a starving hantom. ttook the nspira-tionof Providencefor him to thinkof sendingthefood thathe wantedher tohave throughthestomachsof hismonks, husenablingher toeather fill t last.And if t does happen thattheprovidentialpowerssome-times take pityon these phantomsand shortentheirmiseryby takingthemalong towards ome heavenor,simply, y authorizing omesaintlymonk to throwthem rice meant for human beings, in general theirhunger asts o longthattheydespairof evertouching nyfoodthat sn't



14 Michel Butor

foul.These scrollsbelong to groups (partsofwhich have disappeared),dealing withthe themeof the sixworldsofunhappinessthat we can bereborninto and that, t every nstant, ur existencereflects.

Here's the hell of excrementsforpeople who have behaved in vile

ways.The liquid shit hey'remmersed n isswarmingwith arvae- theylooklike those ofmaybugs- that lingtotheirhairand bitethenapes oftheirnecks. Here's thehellwherecheaters re forced,night fternight,tomeasure exact amounts of flame under thethreefold

urlygazeofan

agelessharpy.Here's the hell where theives re crushed na cast-iron ellbygleefultorturers.Here's thehell where cruelpeople are pickedapartby fireyroosters. Here's the hell where arsoniststry n vain to flee ashowerofburning shes falling rom pitch-filledky.Here's thehell of

puss and blood where poisoners' eyes are devoured byenormous hor-nets.Here's the hell wherewickedwomen are laceratedbywolveswithlava spit.And here's a hellwheredemon-dogsand phantom-scavengerslap up and savor blood out ofwounds, and wherepeople who'vebeen

stoned tossand turnunder a showerofflint,nd themagnificent ell offlames, hemostbeautifulflames fallHell,and the hellof ivecoals.Youdidn't knowabout these neighingdemons, these flayers, lashers,and

persecutorsbefore. And there were manyother images broughtbackfrom the 18 parts of hell. But just think:these tortures re nothingcompared to thoseundergonebythoseverydemons whosesole comfortis totortureyou,and theveryworst hat ould happen would be foryoutobe reborn as a demon. Search yourdreams: weren'tyoua demon in a

previousexistence,notso very ongago after ll,and isn'tthere violent

desirewakingup insideyoutobite and flay? 've puthell nthecenterofthisJapaneseparadise,thegateofwhich 'm trying ard toopen withmyramblings bout theclassics,for there s hell inJapan,and therecan be

paradise onlywith the knowledgeof hell.

Ifyou'revery ucky,you'll

be rebornaman, but,

asyou know,

thatcondition an be a hell.Who ofus hasbeen freeofcolics, ice,toothaches,sties,nervous tics, nsomnia,and nightmares?And all around, amidst

viciouslaughter, ook at thisparade of cripples,doddering idiots,andinvalids.Who would ever wanttobe born fhe had any suspicionof this?Andyet,wehavenotonlybeen demonsand phantoms,we have also beenmen,and that'swhat we remain.And our raremoments f trueoy don'tmake us lose our tastefor thesad compensations ttachedto our misfor-tune.And we have been animals,and could have been born animals-



JapaneseArt 15

theremust avebeenscrolls bout heirmisfortunesoreven, ikemen

dyingncombat, ragons oreverattlingndfeeling reatoy accord-ingtowhat heyupposedlyay intheir erpetualombat ndcapableofsavinghumanbeings n distress. ut with ven more uck,we couldhavebeenborngods.Whatwouldn'tgive orediscoverneof he crollsabout themisfortunesf thegods?Would a modern-day apanesebecapableofreinventinghat orus?Remember: e havealso beengods,sometimes earegods for he engthf sigh andnow ndthenwepartake f divine orrows,he surest athtowards eliverance.

In the airaroundus,godsand demonspassbyfrom ime o time.Aboveall,though,t'sswarming ith tarvinghantoms. ow can weeverforgethis?As soon as a child s born,while veryones oyfullycelebratingnd the wicked onze,dreaming f hisprofits,s gleefullyfingeringisprayer eads, phantomwaits rouched,n the ook-out,readyto lap up whathe can from hemother-waters.ndwhile hemastermakesmerry,starving hantomies nwait o as to catch very-

thinghat espits ut.Andwhile friendelightsnthemusic fhis ute,a phantomtands uardnext ohisearready oswallow hatevermightcome out of it. So thestarving hantomstandwatch vernostrils,armpits,avels,nd,firstndforemostfcourse, rotches.nbarnyards,alleyways,ndsewagefarms,nsewers ndlatrines,hey rawl hrougholdpapers, arbage,ndbones.Young ndold,men ndwomen,very-thingsfit or hem; heywaitwith nextinguishableatience;heyniff;their ense f mell as become xtremelyine uned; heymay ravel ndcrawl ordays nddays owards grave.Butas soon as a child rouches

over,what relief! or few nstantshe nner orment ill ubside. heyalso hauntpoorly ept emeteries.hey avor he arrionndfightveritwith ogs.This eaves hemwith uch stenchhat easts fprey ftengathernd tear hem opieces.But wheneverhey oo often ucceed n

calming heburningntheir ellies,ealousdemons omeup from elland make themvomit,nd everything ustbe begunall overagain.Remember hetimewhenwe werephantoms.

12 TheBiographyf ppentheMonk

Tatteredwriting n thepinksilkofchildhood,a plumtree nflower,marshes,dogs near a thatched ottage, herry rees, house thatpeopleare leaving, littleboats, a child going off after an adventurermonk,templeswherehe seeks nformation, oorvillages, icepaddies,sheetsofmist,other trees in bloom, a samourai passing by withhis escort onhorseback, olumnsofcharacters, cemetery, hermitage n themoun-



16 MichelButor

tain,a flight fducks over theriver, he weathergetting ad, sentences,byhilland dale, torrents nd surprises, wogoatsfighting,hemagnifi-centtemplewith tsoutbuildings, nd wanderingmusician withhislute,

legend, grass,the young leaves of willows, he conversation f the twobonzes,bamboo forests, lacardshangingover ricepaddies to scareawaybirds.Roll it backup, tietheribbon, henwriting n ocheryellow ilk, he

temple bynightwith he adder over the ravine eadingto thehermitageabove, the templeson the mountaintops, pious women with theirbighats,autumn leaves, talk,day afterday,anotherhouse thatpeople are

leaving, heboyhesitating ofollow hecrowd, flightfcranes, omeone

leaving them,gloss, the weather,an immense temple thatpeople are

leaving,all classes of

societywere

flockinghere,

beggarsoutside the

walls, heseashore,far-offails,beach birds so delicately rawnon thewornsilk story,mist, nothertemple,mountains, torms, path goingup betweenpalisades, some deer beside a rushing tream.Putthescrollback nits acquerbox,thenonce again beginunrolling he rosepurple-thengreen- silk, streamthat ittle oatscarrying umerouspilgrimsare goingup, anothertemple, waterfall, et nothertempleamong theravines, storms,twistedtrees, rock stairways, izzyingpaths, and yetanothertemple ust before a streamfishermen re goingdown,declara-

tion,the years,autumn leaves, a neighinghorse,shapes of monksthatyoucan make out throughthe translucence f shades or paper-coveredwindowframes, xplanationson thesilk, well-sinker, furnace, farmthatpeople are leaving.

Writing n the blue-greensilk of patience,a monkeyon a chain, a

stable, falcon,dogs,the house ofa richmanwho seating, xplanations,solitude,clematisclimbing wallofbraided reeds,a village square withricetradingand clothtrading, ngry oldiers, little anding,a warrior

having his hair clipped, sentences,grass, beggars sleeping withdogsunderneath the floorof a comfortablemonastery r on the veranda,legend, day afterday, dogs fighting, xen, giftbearers, reeds, monks

dancingina circletothe sound of a little rum. Roll itup again and takethenext scrollout ofthe acquerbox: Then writingn deep purplesilk,

flightfswans,

he hesitantnterpretation

f adream,talk,

heweather,flight fwhiteheron,a brutaldownpour,the umbrellasofmonksrun-

ning forshelter,gloss,mist, multiplicityf foliageon the dark back-

ground of forests, he mound where the father s buried, the mothertravelingwithherbaby- so delightfullyoloredon thedissolving ilkstory,heyears,winter andscape,snowon rooftops, n haystacks,n thetrees,snow on rocks, farmland,mountains,on reeds,bridges,snow onwickerback-packs, osywhite ilk, n thevillage square an officerwhoseescort schasing awayvagrants, utthe nhabitants f theregionbring ll



Japanese Art 17

sortsof provisionsfora picnic lunch forthe exhausted men to enjoy.Untie the ribbon,thenbegin unrollingthe raw silk once more,the en-trance to a great temple witha bridge over a lake where swans are

swimming,successive porticos, solemn portals, covered passagewaysleadingall thewaytothe room wherea bonze is teaching urroundedbyhisdisciples,declarations, solitaryMount Fuji highabove countrysideand rivers, lucidations,preachingunder a humbleshelter, he wander-

ing musician withhis lute,hard times,poor wretches aboriouslyfightwiththe crowsover theirpittance,the fewhorses are raw boned, themonkstry odo something bout itbyonce again beginning heirdanceto thesound of tambourines,wordson silk,offerings eachingthetem-

ple,the

crossingof a

roaringriver.

Writing n theocheryellow thenwandering-green silk, boatwith ormorants, hops at the entranceto themonastery, rooster nd ahen on therooftop, xen and horsessplashabout in thegutter, eggars

lean againstthesurroundingwalls, nside,themonksonce again takeuptheirdance infront fsomenunsona square-shaped sland n the middleofa pool, commentary, bridgeovera greatriver, trips f misthalfburythepassers-by, fishermanwithhispole on theshore,people washinghorse,a crowdedmarket, arriages,rickshaws, orsemen,bighats,fancydress,fans,a bonze passes out papers, a flight f blue and whitebirds,explanations,byhill nd bydale, inthe middleofthethrongedmarket,na raisedbuildingunder thefloorof which ittle campsare outdoingeachother tacrobatics, hemonksonce againbegintheirdance to thestrikingofgongs,poor wretches ll around, cripples, ickpeople, haulerspull afloatofbeams on theriver, olumnsofcharacters, rass,people bathingin eddies, preachingat the farm. Roll it backup, tieit,put itaway,then

writing n ocheryellow then redsilk,harvests, entences, ayafter

day, a flood, the prayersof monks halfway up their calves in water,supplicationsof peasants, legend, theweather, greatmanyofferingscomingto thetempleofthepreaching, hewanderingmusicianwithhislute, talk,themist, hebonze has ust arrivedat anothertemplewith

poolwhere lotuses are

blooming- so

intelligentlyrrangedon the

turning ilk gloss, heyears, hebonzebowsdownbefore sacredpieceofwood, no doubt a tomb,ricemust be passed out to thehungry.Take

out, untie,and once again begin unrollingthe deep purple silk,evermore sumptuous temples, geese flyoff over rice paddies where a fewheron are stillfishing, he monksbegin theirdance once more under ashelter of wooden boards, story, noble traveler'sdeparture,declara-tions,morepreaching, lucidationson thesilk, templeon stilts, ousestightlyqueezed together n a ravine.



18 Michel Butor

Writing n green- thenperseverence-white silk, he bonze at the

side of a sickman, a flight f egret-tufted eron, text, hemagnificentspectacleofcourt,fourdancersingoldenarmorand redtrains n a blue

stage,themusicianshidden behinddraperies, atecomers ll ina hurry,monkey n a chain,a horsepawingthegroundinhis stable. n theshadeofa greatoak, a pond bloomingwith otus and emptyingnto the sea thatwe'llcross norder to near a red porticowith tsfeet nthewater: t's thefamoustempleof Itsukushima.On stage n thecenter, bove thewaves,fouryoungdancers offer heirgraceto thegods,commentary, yhill nd

bydale, shores, n a large stable horses with verykind ofcoat,an oak, adilapidated temple,an emptydance stage,but the preachingstartsupagain. Roll it backup, look at tagain,reread,thenwrite n the ocher redsilk,painta crossing ver an armofsea, and on an islandorpeninsulathemonksonce again beginning heirdance to the sound ofgongsunderthecover ofwoodenboards,there's tiny,ittlemonklet, xplanations,grass,thetemplewhere the bonze iswritingncalligraphy, olumns of charac-

ters,dayafterday,sails n themistover thesea, along the ravine-brokencliffs he monks n littleboats towedbyhaulers,they'regoingto spread

thenews,horseman and his escortrun off nsearch of some- so vividlytold on therolling ilk sentences, heweather,we'rewitnessing ne of

Ippen's lastpreachings.Thinkback,paint,waitfor ttodry, overthe silkwithred paint,repeat Amida's name, listen to the stories, ake up thebrushtowrite, aintthe tears nIppen's eyesas he tellshisfollowers, oth

religious nd lay,thathe's nearinghisend, itwasyesterday,egend,mist,Ippen's death inthe midstof a grieving rowd,theboats,the flood of theriver, eople whoriskdrowning, he tearsofmonksgoingtheir eparateways, ppen's

apparitionathistomb,faithfulness,he final nscriptionn

the silk,solitude.

14 Frolicking nimals

When a Frenchman comes across the first croll,he has thefeelingthat these are illustrations f fablesby La Fontaine- not that he can

identifyny particularfable,butbecause thewaythesehares,monkeys,

frogs,or foxes are represented,even how theyare placed in the land-scape "parmi e thym t la ros6e,""amidstthyme nd dew,"correspondsto an attitude omparable to his own. This workhas thestrange dvan-

tage, forus, not onlyof not containingany text,but also of not beingcaughtup in anyfixed nterpretation. ere, foronce, ignorance s not afaultpeculiartoforeigners.t's the common ot. We'refree, herefore,otellwhatever torieswe please - exceptthattocompetewith hefiguralnarration,we'd reallyhave tobe able to write n thestyle f La Fontaine,whoseverse, las, iseverybit s inimitable s the brushstrokesfKakuyu,



Japanese Art 19

whowasknown s Toba Sojo and to whom theAnimalsare attributed.f,giventhemanymiles and centuries eparatingthese two"classics," his

comparisonmight eem incongruousatfirst,t'snot impossible, fter

more informedhistoricalreflection, o find serious ustifications or t.Indeed, just as it's n no wayabsurd to detect a hint of theDoric in thearchitecture f theShin-Yakushi-jin Nara, sinceit'seasy todayto traceall theroutestakenbyGreekartas itcame acrosscentralAsia to nfluenceeven far-away apanese art, o too withLa Fontaine.Beginningwith heseventh book of his Fables, he models his work not onlyon Aesop andPhaedra,but also on theBook of the Wisdom ofKings,bythe Hindu hecallsPilpayand datingfrom pproximately he same periodas themajorsutras. His or his brothers'

teachingscould wellhave crossedmedieval

China and come to floweron this scroll.For thisreason,La Fontaine'sthoughts n themeaningand function fanimal-dress ablesmightwellshed some lighton these.Since they re destined togetaround all kindsof censorship, n particular, ccordingto the Life ofAesop, thatof theofficial hilosopher,for whom thefable writers a slave who alwayshasthelastword,thatthefables should crossso manymountains, inguisticbarriers, eligiousprejudices,and socialdivisions,would certainly e the

quintessentialdemonstration f theireffectiveness: perfumeweaving

itswaythroughthe slats and panels of screensand throughthelinesofedicts, nd bringing nto the midstof closure a tasteoftheforeign nd asense of the impermanenceof power.

The second scroll, ven ifwe thinkwecan recognizethe samehand initas inthe first ne, leads us intoa totally ifferent arrativeworld.We'reno longer presentedwithhuman activities: leaning,archerycontests,merry-making,hechase after lawbreakerguilty fa crime hatmostofthe crowdapproves,bare-handedwrestling, eligious eremonieswheretheparticipants,norder to trick ll sorts fenemies,disguisethemselves

as animals, sometimeswearinghuman costumes. We're faced, instead,with kind ofshort oological encyclopedia:animalsas they re,Buffonrather han La Fontaine,or even- ifwe think f thefabulousspeciesheintroduceswithout stablishingny precise inesofdemarcation Brun-ettoLatini,Dante's friend, n hisLivresdou Tresor. ut therelationshipbetweenthesebeasts and men is,nonetheless,veryclose,sincewe havealmost llbeen animals nanotherexistence nd manyofus shall becomeanimals once again. So there re human facesunder thesesnouts,human

complexionsunder these fells,or,

inversely, angsand horns are to be

discoveredunder such and such a face. Each oftheprincipal nimals s an

ideogram of a class in society;noble horses, powerfulbulls, warrior

falcons, uarrelsomedogs, restlessfowl, opped offbythesolitary aglewho already belongs to another sphere. As for the animals off n thedistance,we might hink hat, ince worldscommunicatedifferentlye-pending on their time and place, some of themare already livingon adifferentevel,thatof the asuras or dragon-kings, nd thatthey re assuperiorto men as men are to theirdomestic nimals. If theeagle is the



20 Michel Butor

falconof thealtitudes, hedragon is theeagle in itsown realm.All this sthedictionary f the tangled textof our life.

If thereis no official nterpretationodayof the FrolickingAnimalscrolls, here s, however, verypowerful raditional ne. It isexpressednot in legends or commentaries, utbythe fact that theseworkswhose

subjectsseem quite different nd whichare clearlybydifferent andsand even fromdifferent eriods,with century robably eparating he

completionof the first wo scrollsfromthat of thelast and

duringthis

time,Japan had undergone tremendouschanges), have been, and arestill, onsideredtobe inseparable.This isparticularlytrikingn the thirdscroll,which s made up of twopartswithverydifferentubjectmatterand styles, he first howingus human beings and their diversions in-cludingcock fights nd dog fights), nd the second directly nspiredbythe fable scroll. Its author,though, nsteadof placinghis animalson a

backgroundofrocks, rees, nd grass,renders heir ostumeswith eaves,while, ftheearliermaster's nimals are dressed atall, t'svery imply nd

in human clothing. t's as ifwe had Granville nd Daumier together nthe same album. Moreover,within hesetwoparts,segments re uxta-posed that were not intended to followone another.The authorof thisvenerablecollage certainlymust have felt hat ll thisbelonged togetherand that, onsideration f individualauthorsand datesnotwithstanding,thesame spiritran all through t, hatrepresenting umanbeingskeep-ing busyin thiswaywas, at bottom, he same as disguisingthemas, or

revealingthem to be, monkeys,hares, foxes,cats, or frogs, nd that,therefore, ach partofthescroll ould be thought f as a commentaryn

theother,even ifthere was no point bypointcorrespondencebetweenthem.

Firstwehave a land ofhorses, henone ofcows, landoffalcons, henone of dogs, a land of roosters nd chickens, hen one of eagles. As we

changealtitude longwith

hem,we discovernew atitudes.What do

theysee in theirflight?Whatparadisescan theydiscernwith heir yeswhichare capable of gazing on all lights?Just as far away fromus, but indifferent irections, here are tortoise-shellednimals,with a horn ontheirnoses and another on theirforeheads.Perhaps they'vedevelopedfrom tories bout rhinoceri: now they'rekirin iving n seafoam.Afterthat, peckled animals with ong necks,tails ike featherdusters, lovenhoofs, nd littlehorns. As fortheirheads, it'shardto tellwhether hey'remore like a horse or a lynx. They run like lightning.We might endto



Japanese Art 21

consider themto be completelymaginaryf,when we close our eyes, llthesedifferent ointsdidn't suddenlyorganize themselves nto thede-

scription f a giraffe.The leopards thatfollow, urroundedbybamboo

plants,haveundergonefewer hanges.Here's a landof bex. After hat,family f tigers.Amidst flowers nd butterflies, hinese lions fully sevolved in relation to real lions as the giraffes hat we ust saw. Then a

dragon, elephants, nd, mostamazingofall, an elephant-dragon ombi-nation.You wonder f t sn't suggestionputforward ytheauthor,whoconcludeshisreportby deducinga species implied bythepreviousones,the "missing ink" n an atlas of monsters.

16 The Tale ofPrinceGenji

We read in the seventeenth hapter that the emperor at thattimefavored he fine rts bove allelse,thathe enjoyedviewing aintings nd,himself, ainted remarkablywell,thathiswife,Akikonomu,was also anexcellentartist, hat he visitedher more and more frequently,hattheywould paint foreach other,and that theirfavorites mong the youngcourtierswere those who painted and studiedpainting.Later on in the

same chapter,PrinceGenji wins a painting ontesthands down. One ofthe classicthemes n Chinese and Japanese culture s the set of the fourmostelegant and liberal refined amusements:music,the game of go,writing, nd painting. t's likely, herefore, hatthe illustrationso theoldest knownmanuscript f the Tale werepaintedbyprincesresemblingthoserepresented nit ikebrothers nd, even moreso,byprincesses, orthisstyleof paintingused to be thoughtof as feminine.Thanks to the

images,we can easily maginethe contests nd challengesthatproducedthem.Aswe see,thegameofgo,music,writing,nd readingoftenfigureinthem, o we should also find heact ofpainting. n whatremains ous,screens,slidingdoors, even a paintingshould be considered to be theworks of professionals, f court painters.What comes nearest to thesescrolls,whichare missingfromour scrolls, sthe letter n the llustrationtochapter39, accompanied bymaterialforpainting rwritingn nk. t's

easy to thinkof itscalligraphy s traced in the same wonderful,grassycharacters s the columns of themanuscript, nd on paper decorated nlikemanner.

In themidstofcourtly ccupations, tmusthave taken a greatdeal oftimeto produce works uch as these. It was a kindofworldly ow- forpossessing nd displaying lovelygroupofscrolls ertainly roughtonegreatprestige.And thisvowwas notonlytheparodyof a religiousvow,but its preparation. Indeed, the vast numberof sacred textscovering



22 Michel Butor

manuscripts f thiskindwithout, owever, oncealingthem although twouldhave been so easytowhitewash ver theprofaneparts), hows that

theymusthave been done withan eye to a religioususe after ll. The

value attributed othem was inproportion o thegift hatcould be madeof them. For years, adies would work or superviseworkon the mostbeautifulof manuscripts, nlyto have themcovered,or to themselvescover them up, with text. Their entrance into the religious life, if itbecamenecessary,would appear all themoreworthy f esteemthe morebeautiful heobjects theywouldbringwith hemtobe blessed.Just s thetextof thenovel is written n elaboratelyprepared paper, so the entire

manuscript an be thoughtof as an elaboratelyworkedbackingforthesacred text.The

frequenthoice of The Tale

ofGenjis such a

backings

readilyunderstandable fwe realize thatthegreatsoftheperiodconsid-ered itto be the bestrepresentation f their ecularlives. n bringing t

alongwithher,a ladywouldgivethemonastery erpast splendor,whichshe would cover up with her present ife,without laimingto forget t.

The characters n the novel are the concentration nd crystallizationof worldly ife,and this is whythe illustrationsn no way constitute

portraits. hey are prominentpoints n a whirlpoolofluxury nd emo-

tion,which mimics oftenunbeknownst o itself, ut sometimesveryconsciously loftier uxuries and emotions.Thus, in manyof the de-

scriptions ffeasts, t s said thateven in Amida's paradise one would behard put to findanythingmore beautiful. read this n Seidensticker's

Englishtranslation,which s illustratedwithreproductions f ShunshoYamamoto's woodcutsfora 1650 edition.That was thebeginning f the

Edo period,shortlyfter hecompletionoftheKatsura villa.Rarelywerethe images triggeredbythe same passages as before.Despite the artist's

everyeffort o rediscovertheHeian period,even because of thiseffort,he approaches the text na completely ifferentpirit.Thus, thefamous

passage in chapter 36, where the retiredemperor comes to visit his

waywarddaughter,does not strikehim as worthy f illustration.n thewonderfulwaythemanuscript s composed, the threemain characters,theprincess, he retired mperor,and PrinceGenji,takeup onlyhalfofthe

mage.The restof it s filledwith luxuriousdisorderofcloth,from

which he heads offour ady'smaids are barely merging. n the scene inthe same chapterwhereKashiwagi,who is about todie, makesan enig-maticconfession oYugiri,theEdo artist resentsbothofthecharactersalone and inthe center. n themanuscript, creens, urtains, hades,andawningshave been givendetailedtreatment,nd in the eftpart,we,onceagain,have a sumptuousmass of clothconverging n the heads ofmaids.And in the scene where PrinceGenji is seduced bythebeautyofyoungKaoru, even thoughhe knows he is not his father,n theengraving he



Japanese Art 23

princeand childare in thecenter,but in themanuscript hey re in the

upper left-hand orner, top feminine illowsof cloth.Alltherestofthe

image is filledwith herepresentation fshades blowingon theveranda

and, even moreimportant, ya great empty riangle,which,nexttosuchluxuriance,gives us a poignantsense of solitude. These image deserts

give rhythm owhat is leftto us of the work.

The faces in the manuscriptof The Tale ofGenjiare devoid of anyindividual haracterization.No one is

depictedfullface. n the

fragmentsthathave been preserved onlythe womenare sometimes een inprofile;themen are alwaysseen either n three-quarters iewor in lostprofile.Their features are always indicated in the same way: veryhigh,thick

eyebrows, wothin ines foreyes,a littlehook for nose,a dark, ittle ed

spot forlips. The men have thinmoustaches and hints of beards,butmost ofthetimethey an't be seen. In the first llustrationnchapter36,theretiredemperor, n his monk'sattire,has a shaved forehead,a fewwrinkles,nd much thinner yebrows.Butthen,monksmust,most ikely,

all have been depicted likethat.Looking at theirfaces, t's mpossible otell PrinceGenji fromKashiwagi,Yugiri,Kaoru, or Niou. It's absolutelynecessaryto figureout their function n the scene. If you can't, theyremain anonymous.Thus, in the second illustrationn chapter38, it's

impossibleto be sure who each of the young courtiersare who have

gathered for a moonlightconcert. This facial anonymitys in perfectkeepingwithwhat s the novel's most urprisingharacteristicorwesternreaders: the factthatthemaincharactersdon't have propernames andthat he namestraditionallyivento them reonlynicknames nd appearvery arely nthetext tself,wherethey re generally esignatedbytheirchangingsocial positionalone. In the images and in thenarrative, heyare masks behind whichthe reader or viewercan place himself.Thesemasks, ikethose nn6a littleater, re capable oftremendous xpressive-ness whencombined withgestures,poses, and costumes.Feelingis thusdiffusedover the entire surface and invades us.

21 The 53 Stationsof the TokaidoHighwaybyHiroshige

The trip oKyotofrom heeastern apitalhas all thecharacteristicsfajourneyof nitiationwith tstemptations,rials, ustomhouses, tsfords,itsbridges, rmsofsea, gorges, nd nastyweather.Buttheapparent goal,the mperial ity, yno meansappears intheseplatestobe a culmination.We have the impressionthatthere'sstill nother stationto go, a restlongerthan the others- afterwhichthere'sno turningback, (circum-stancesand lawsobligeyouto,though- we knowthatthenobility ave



24 Michel Butor

to live in Tokyo everyotheryear and samourai's wivescouldn't leave

Tokyo withoutspecial permission),a rest afterwhichwe must keepgoing. It isn'tthe factthatwe'renearing Kyotothat'sbringing s nearer

to paradise: it'sthatwe're goingtowardsthe West.And that'swhy, fwecan't get beyondthispoint,we mustperpetuallybegin the ourney over

again, ifonly nour imagination nd in theprints.These 53 stations re

just thebeginningof a dream ourney (which s whythe two end platesdon'tenter ntoaccount- they're hereto situate heothers), journeytakingus outofJapan,across China or theocean, and on tothe other ideofthe Earth.We're offto Europe:'that continent's andmarks hould beas usefulas the archipelago's in helpingus imagine paradise.

The already heavenlycharacterthatJapan can takeon as youmoveabout there, nd as itmovesabout, s whatHiroshige scelebratingwhenhe has themostfaithful olors ofalleyways, ields, ivers, nd rocksplaywith heetsoffabulouscolor in theupper limits f his mages.For, f the

sky s blue over theNihombashibridge, t turnsorange over thesails in

Shinagawa,thenpurple and vermillion,epia overOiso intherain,steelgrayover the Odawara ford,pink,Prussianblue over Numazu in the

moonlight, cheryellow nd ultramarine, nthracite rayover Kambarainthesnow,orangypink,deep blue,lemonyellow vertheKanaya ford,violetover the Yokkaichibridgein a gustofwind,and so on. In several

images,the earthrises ll thewayup to thesky,nthreeofthem, n object(Fuji, a kite, sign post) breaksthroughthe top frame, nd in the fewwhere the sky,which is so important n the others, s, at firstglance,absent, hepaper inthemargin tself ecomes celestial.This isparticular-lyapparent in the 24th print, he Shimada ford.

Among the official andmarksnearby,there was one whose impor-tance,as ifithad been necessary,had just been put in the spotlight yHokusai. CompetingwithHokusai meant,firstnd foremost,ompetingwith he 36 and 10 Views ofFuji. This double figurewas an invitation ocontinuethe series: sixof the Tokaido Stations re newViews, nd, inthe31st,whenwe'realreadyso farawayfrom t,thedivine volcanoseemsto

reappear,representedbyanothermountain.These six Other Views not

only complementHokusai's

work,but also constitute work within

work.This half-circle round themountain s the image of a half-circlearound the Earth which is asking to be completed. Around these sixviews,the otherstationsunfold,and around them,the famous views ofthetwocapitalsradiating round theirboundaries could also unfold, ndhundreds more famous places inJapan, and then in the ancientworld(China and India), and in the new worldthathas named itself he Occi-dent. fwe could notonlygo all thewaytoEurope, but even comebackbycontinually eadingwest as we can today nplanes flying ver thepole),



Japanese Art 25

then,witheverything ackwards so that, n the 15thprint, nstead of

appearing on the traveler'sright, s it does duringthe rest of the trip,Mount Fuji would abruptlymove over to his left), ll ofJapan could be

seen as the image of paradise. For Hiroshige,the Earthwas round.

Hiroshige redid the 55 plates of the Tokaido almost40 times. Weknowthat he traveled the route in 1831 or 1832,whileaccompanyingshipment fhorsesfromtheshogunofTokyo to theemperor n Kyoto.There isno evidence thathe ever

repeatedthe

ourney.The tremendous

success ofthe seriesofplates hardly xplainsthe fact hehe spenta goodpartofthe20 someyearsthatremainedof his ifebeginning t over andover- especially ince it was the first ersion thatwas most ndemand.He must have felt he was going to die too soon, withoutbeing able to

produce 55 variations n the 55 plates. Spread gradually utfrom ast towest, hoseplatescan be arrangedone after heother, s if heyhad beencut out of a single,gigantic croll.Before he died, Hiroshigewrote:"Ileave mybrush in the East and go off to visit he famousplaces of the

Occident,"meaning: "I'm going to the westernparadise where Amidareigns," nd also: "I'm goingfromTokyo towardsKyoto,which ymbol-izes paradise, fromthe shogun towards theemperor,fromtheexistingpower, from its police and administration, o the idealized power ofrituals nd thearts,from heEdo periodboth towardsthe almostmyth-ical golden age of Heian and theopen and dangerous effervescence ftheMomoyamaperiod." Westof Kyoto,at about the same distance,wecan makeout Nagasaki, the crack n theJapanese dungeon thatwesterninnovations filter hroughdrop by drop: firstChina, of course, but,

above all,thatFar Occidentwhichwas thenEurope. The first rint,withitsemphaticperspective, an be thought fas a declarationofprinciple.It's the lastpage of theJapanese book, but the first f the French one.

In memoryfthe irst apanesewhotranslatedrom rench ntohis anguage.

Translated byTerese LyonsColumbia University

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