| NOTA |
(*)Ver "CL-0032" para saber mas. (★)(For all those who have an interest in Japanese history and literature -scholars, students, and laymen alike- the presentation in this book of one of the classics of Japanese writing is an event of great importance. As Edwin O. Reischauer says of it in his Foreword,´The Okagami is a major literary and historical achievement, particularly when measured against the standards of human civilization in the eleventh century.´Until its recent appearance in this masterly translation, it was, in Professor Reischauer´s words,´locked away from most people by the medieval Japanese in which it is written.´´The Okagami [Great Mirror]´is a Japanese´historical tale´written in the eleventh century. The work of an unknown hand, it covers Japanese history from 850 to 1025, when the Fujiwara family dominated Japanese government and society, and provided most of the Regents, Chancellors, and Great Ministers of the nation. Although due honour and respect are directed towards the Emperors, whose reigns are chronicled at the beginning of the work, it is the Fujiwara family which mainly occupies the author. And it is in Fujiwara Michinaga [966-1027] that the glories of this powerful family reached their apex. In 992, at the age of 26, Michinaga already held the office of Master of the Empress´ Household. Three years later, with his chief rival Korechika discredited, Michinaga swiftly gained a series of new appointments, beginning with Commander of the Imperial Body of Guards. He rose steadily until, in 1017, he became Regent, only to resign this office soon thereafter in order to become a Buddhist Priest. Ambitions, often ruthless, blessed with the patronage of men in power, handsome, lucky, talented as a poet, and having a flair for spectacular action, he is Japan´s man of his times. ´The Okagami´uses the curious device of having two old raconteurs tell the history of their country. This device, in fact, became a distinguishing mark of the Japanese historical tale, a genre combining historical and literary elements, which so far has not received the attention which it deserves outside Japan. Only a fragment of the Okagami was heretofore available in English. The present complete translation was prepared for the Japanese literature series of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO].) |
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