From January 15 (on January 22 there will be no class) to March 26, the Centro Casa Asia-Madrid (calle Mayor, 69) presents the course The monogatari, the soul of old Japan. Price: EUR 150.
Tributes to the oral origin of all literature in the world, monogatari (“tales of things”) not only mark the best narrative of Japan between the 10th and 15th centuries, but have marked the soul of the Japanese as it is shown today.
Emerging as a light pastime in opposition to the serious academic literature of Chinese inspiration, the literature of these stories (monogatari bungaku) has in orality and fiction its two most representative values. Throughout the centuries, the so-called monogatari have been hailed as venerable paradigms of classicism in Japanese narrative and inexhaustible sources of Japan’s literary sensibility.
Knowing both the historical, religious and social context in which these works were composed as well as the unique keys of the literary taste that dictated them, will allow participants to this course: enrich themselves with the variety of imaginary worlds of the monogatari, Delve into the appreciation of the mysterious culture of remote Japan and understand the narrative techniques and conventions of transfiguration of reality carried out in these works, lasting imprint on the aesthetic and literary canon of modern Japan.
The course will be taught by Carlos Rubio, who lectured at the University of Tokyo for five years in the 1980s and has since been an editor, lexicographer and translator (individual or collaborative) of more than 30 works of Japanese literature in the Spanish language.
Although no reading is compulsory, the teacher will encourage feedback from attendees on recommended readings. The two longest-running works (Genji monogatari and Heike monogatari) will be tasted in significant passages, which will be communicated to those enrolled in the course two or three weeks before the beginning of the course.
The course calendar and reference books can be found on the website of Casa Asia.
