But
in the private world of the Tale of Genji, the regimented order
of bureaucratic ceremony gives way to an extravagant display of bourdoir
informality. It's not a bedroom that any of us would ordinarily recognize.
But at least you can see that it is a world where women are very important;
the Tale of Genji was, after all, written by Murasaki Shikibu, a
court lady. This is a world preoccupied with delicate affairs of the heart
rather than ponderous affairs of state. It is also a world that was identified
as basically Japanese in spirit rather than Chinese. This was meant to
suggest a frame of mind that relied on spontaneity, on sentimentality,
and on poetic intuition--rather than on the bureaucratic, academic, and
metaphysical sttitudes associated with Chinese culture--or at least as
it was understood by the Japanese.