Ivan I. Morris (1925–1976)
Teoksen The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan tekijä
Tietoja tekijästä
Tekijän teokset
Madly Singing in the Mountains: An Appreciation and Anthology of Arthur Waley (1970) — Toimittaja — 39 kappaletta
The riverside puzzles, 1 kappale
Associated Works
The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon (1002) — Kääntäjä, eräät painokset — 2,791 kappaletta, 43 arvostelua
Death in Midsummer and Other Stories (1966) — Kääntäjä, eräät painokset — 894 kappaletta, 14 arvostelua
Modern Japanese Literature: From 1868 to the Present Day (1956) — Kääntäjä, eräät painokset — 293 kappaletta, 1 arvostelu
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea / The Temple of the Golden Pavilion / Confessions of a Mask (1990) — Kääntäjä — 81 kappaletta
The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon (The Penguin classics) (1983) — Kääntäjä, eräät painokset — 43 kappaletta
Thought and Behavior in Modern Japanese Politics (1963) — Toimittaja, eräät painokset — 22 kappaletta
Merkitty avainsanalla
Yleistieto
- Virallinen nimi
- Morris, Ivan Ira Esme
- Syntymäaika
- 1925-11-29
- Kuolinaika
- 1976-07-19
- Sukupuoli
- male
- Kansalaisuus
- UK
- Syntymäpaikka
- London, England, UK
- Kuolinpaikka
- Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
- Asuinpaikat
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Koulutus
- Harvard University
University of London (PhD - School of Oriental and African Studies) - Ammatit
- author
interpreter
university teacher - Suhteet
- Morris, Ira Victor (father)
Morris, Edita (mother) - Organisaatiot
- Amnesty International USA
Columbia University - Lyhyt elämäkerta
- Ivan Morris was born in London to Ira Victor Morris and Edita Morris. He began his study of Japanese language and culture at Harvard University, where he received a BA. He received a doctorate at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He wrote widely on modern and ancient Japan and translated numerous classical and modern literary works. Ivan Morris was one of the first interpreters sent into Hiroshima after the explosion of the atom bomb.
Dr Morris served on the faculty of Columbia University from 1960 to 1973 and was chairman of Columbia's Department of East Asian languages and Cultures from 1966 to 1969. In 1966 he was elected a Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford. He was one of the founders of Amnesty International USA and was the first chair of its Board of Directors from 1973 to 1976. He was one of Friends with Yukio Mishima.
Ivan Morris died in Bologna, Italy, on 19 July 1976.
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Morris's biggest source is Murasaki Shikibu's epic novel The Tale of Genji. While it is a fictional representation of the royal court, Murasaki painstakingly uses it to record the lives she observes. He freely admits that, as a result, his research only covers the upper echelons of society, but that's nothing new when it comes to studies like this. That said, Morris does a fantastic job of building up the society around Murasaki's novel. He covers the way Japan closed itself off from the outside world and how that isolation yet adoration of T'ang culture informed every aspect of their society. He paints a picture of the government structure, the religion, the festivals that ruled everyone's days, and the daily lives of the rich and powerful (or just the rich). While the picture is incomplete, it doesn't feel lacking.
Aside from setting up the Heian world for the reader, Morris spends a lot of time delving into the relationships of the people living at this time. After all, relationships were one of the defining things of this era of extreme leisure for the wealthy, and it's one Murasaki herself fixates on in her masterpiece, as well as her contemporaries. The Heian era is certainly unique in that romance is inextricably linked to relationships but in a performative sense rather than an emotional one. The position of men and women is ultra limiting for everyone unless you're the Fujiwara clan member in charge. It's as captivating as it is sad. I don't blame everyone for moping around and writing depressed poetry all the time.
The only odd thing about this book was the introduction, which I would recommend skipping. The majority of it was excusing Morris's behavior and "salvaging" his image. Now, I'm just a regular person. I'm not in academic circles, let alone Medieval Japanese circles. I didn't realize Morris was a problematic figure who needed his image to be cleaned up, and now that I've read this book, I still don't think there's anything alarming. His book was approachable. His arguments made sense, and I didn't get an overwhelming sense of racism, xenophobia, or sexism from the text. There might have been a couple small instances, but the introduction made it seem like his was some horribly outdated viewpoint that needed an apology, so I was expecting some pretty outlandish notions; yet, I didn't get that. I still rated this book 5 stars because I felt Morris did a fantastic job, and I don't think it's fair to rate a book based on what other people wrote in the introduction.… (lisätietoja)