Izumi Shikibu Diary - Izumi Shikibu Diary

A diary from the Heian period. 1 volume. Also known as "The Tale of Izumi Shikibu." It is a work written in the style of a song tale about the love affair between Izumi Shikibu and Prince Atsumichi of Sochi, and contains the events from April 1003 (Choho 5) to January 1004. There is no consensus as to the author, with some saying it was written by Shikibu herself and others saying it was written by someone else. However, the style of the waka poems concentrated in the family overlaps with the psychological tone of the main text of the diary, so it is highly likely that it was written by Shikibu herself. The diary contains over 140 waka poems, and the exchange of poems between the prince and Shikibu and the sequence of these poems are the driving force behind the progression of the love story between the two people. Although the ji sentences that connect the poems clarify the seasons and explain the scenes, which help to advance the plot, they feel subordinate to the poems, which tell the full story of the two men's psychological states. The diary begins with a scene from an early summer day when the two men are relieving themselves of their boredom, mourning the loss of Prince Tametaka, when a young servant of the Imperial Palace delivers a tachibana flower entrusted to him by his younger brother, Prince Suikyu. The diary then goes on to describe the ten months that follow, when the two men are increasingly plagued by anxiety and agitation as their love deepens, and how they overcome the many threats of their relationship being cut off, until they are finally welcomed into the Imperial Palace residence. Although this love appears glamorous on the surface, we can see that on the inside, it was a world dominated by an indescribable sense of loneliness and emptiness, where the protagonist cherishes and comforts her "frustration." In this work, the female protagonist, Shikibu, is described as a "woman" in the third person, and there are parts where the author writes about things outside of Shikibu's field of vision, but these may have been a kind of disguise by the author as he reminisced about the days they shared after the death of the prince and tried to give form to his memories in the form of a work. The distinctive feature of this "diary" is that it beautifully depicts, from the woman's perspective, the exchange of intellect and sensibility between a man and woman who share loneliness and know when to do things. Currently, there are three known extant versions of this diary: (1) the Sanjonishi version, (2) the Kangen version, (3) the Oei version, and (4) the hybrid version.

[Yoshinobu Hirata]

"Complete Lectures on the Izumi Shikibu Diary by Enchi Fumiko and Suzuki Kazuo (1965, Shibundo)" ▽ "Complete Collection of Japanese Classical Literature 8: The Izumi Shikibu Diary, edited and translated by Fujioka Tadayoshi (1971, Shogakukan)" ▽ "Shincho Collection of Japanese Classics: The Izumi Shikibu Diary and Izumi Shikibu Collection, edited by Nomura Seiichi (1981, Shinchosha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

平安時代の日記。1巻。別名を『和泉式部物語』とも。和泉式部と帥宮(そちのみや)敦道(あつみち)親王との恋愛の経緯を歌物語風につづった作品で、1003年（長保5）4月から翌1004年1月にかけての記事が収められている。作者については、自作説、他作説とあって結論は出されていないが、家集中の和歌の詠風が「日記」本文の心理的基調と重なり合うことなどから、式部の自作である可能性が大きい。「日記」のなかには140余首もの和歌が含まれており、宮と式部の贈答歌のやりとりとその連なりが、この2人の愛の物語を進行させる原動力となっている。和歌をつなぐ地(じ)の文は、季節の折節を明らかにし、場面を説明することによってプロットの進展を促してはいるものの、2人の心理のくまぐまを語り尽くしてやまない和歌に比べると、あたかもその従属物のような感じがしないではない。「日記」は、故人となった為尊(ためたか)親王をしのびつつ1人無聊(ぶりょう)をなぐさめている初夏のある日、故宮に仕えた小舎人童(こどねりわらわ)が、弟宮帥宮から託された橘(たちばな)の花を届ける場面から書き起こされる。以下2人の愛が深まるにつれてしだいに不安と動揺にさいなまれ、いくたびとなく訪れる途絶の危機を乗り越えながら、ついには宮の邸(やしき)に迎え入れられるまでの10か月間のことが記されている。表面華やかにみえるこの恋も、内面では「つれづれ」をかみしめ、なぐさめる、言い知れぬ孤独感や空虚感に支配された世界であったことをうかがうことができる。この作品ではまた、女主人公である式部は三人称化されて「女」と叙され、式部の視野外の事柄にも筆の及んだ部分を有しているが、これらは、宮の没後、共有した日々を追懐し、その思い出を作品として形象化する際の作者の一種の擬装であったとも考えられる。孤独を分かち合い、折を心得た一組の男女の知性と感性の応酬を、「女」の側からみごとに描ききったところに、この「日記」の際だった特色を認めることができよう。伝本としては現在、(1)三条西本(さんじょうにしぼん)系統、(2)寛元(かんげん)本系統、(3)応永(おうえい)本系統、(4)混成本系統に属する諸本が知られている。

［平田喜信］

『円地文子・鈴木一雄著『全講和泉式部日記』（1965・至文堂）』▽『藤岡忠美校注・訳『日本古典文学全集 8　和泉式部日記』（1971・小学館）』▽『野村精一校注『新潮日本古典集成　和泉式部日記・和泉式部集』（1981・新潮社）』

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