Japanese Currency Banknotes 2000 Yen note 2000
Bank of Japan - Nippon Ginko
This bank note was issued to commemorate a G-8 Economic Summit in Okinawa.
Obverse: Shurei-mon Gate in Naha.
Reverse: A scene from "Genji Monogatari" (Tale of Genji) and portrait of its author, Murasaki Shikibu.
Size : 76 × 154 mm.
Date of first issue: Jul. 19, 2000.
Japanese Banknotes - Japan Paper Money
ND (1993-2003) Issue
1000 Yen 5000 Yen 10000 Yen
ND (2004) Issue
Shurei-mon Gate in Naha
Shureimon (or Shurei no mon) is a gate in the Shuri neighborhood of Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is the second of Shuri Castle's main gates. It was built in the 16th century. It was also called Shurimon ("Shuri gate") and Ii no Ayajoo or Wii nu Aijoo ("Beautiful gate at the upper part").
The gate reflects strong Chinese influence, alongside indigenous religious traditions. The four Chinese characters framed on the gate - Shu, rei, no, and kuni, which mean 'Land of Propriety' - were added to the gate long after it was built. The structure of the gate is similar to that of Chinese three-bay turret gates, and is covered with a red tiled hip roof.
The main columns are 7.94 meters apart. The top layer of the gate is 7.05 meters high, and the lower layer 5.11 meters. The 4 pillars stand on foundation stones, and they are supported on front and back by slanting accessory pillars for better stability.
The gate was destroyed during the Second World War and reconstructed through local campaigns and support in the 1950s and 1960s. It became the first part of the Shuri Castle to be reconstructed, while decades would follow until the rest of the castle was restored.
The Tale of Genji
The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari) is a classic work of Japanese literature written by the noblewoman and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu in the early years of the 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first psychological novel or the first novel still to be considered a classic. Notably, the novel also illustrates a unique depiction of the livelihoods of high courtiers during the Heian period. While universally considered a masterpiece, its precise classification and influence in both Western and Eastern canon has been a matter of debate.
The first partial translation of Genji Monogatari into English was by Suematsu Kenchō, published in 1882. Arthur Waley published a six-volume translation of all but one chapter, with the first volume published in 1921 and the last in 1933. In 1976, Edward Seidensticker published the first complete translation into English, made using a self-consciously "stricter" approach with regards to content if not form. The most recent English translation was published in 2001 by Royall Tyler and aims at fidelity in content and form to the original text.
The Tale of Genji is an important work of Japanese literature, and modern authors have cited it as inspiration, such as Jorge Luis Borges who said of it, "The Tale of Genji, as translated by Arthur Waley, is written with an almost miraculous naturalness, and what interests us is not the exoticism - the horrible word - but rather the human passions of the novel. Such interest is just: Murasaki's work is what one would quite precisely call a psychological novel .... I dare to recommend this book to those who read me. The English translation that has inspired this brief insufficient note is called The Tale of Genji." It is noted for its internal consistency, psychological depiction, and characterization. The novelist Yasunari Kawabata said in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech: "The Tale of Genji in particular is the highest pinnacle of Japanese literature. Even down to our day there has not been a piece of fiction to compare with it."
The Genji is also often referred to as "the first novel", though there is considerable debate over this — some of the debate involving whether Genji can even be considered a "novel". Some consider the psychological insight, complexity and unity of the work to qualify it for "novel" status while simultaneously disqualifying earlier works of prose fiction. Others see these arguments as subjective and unconvincing. Related claims, perhaps in an attempt to sidestep these debates, are that Genji is the "first psychological novel" or "historical novel", "the first novel still considered to be a classic" or other more qualified terms. However, critics have almost consistently described The Tale of Genji as the oldest, first, and/or greatest novel in Japanese literature, though enthusiastic proponents may have later neglected the qualifying category of in Japanese literature, leading to the debates over the book's place in world literature. Even in Japan, the Tale of Genji is not universally embraced; the lesser known Ochikubo Monogatari has been proposed as the "world's first full-length novel", even though its author is unknown. Despite these debates, The Tale of Genji enjoys solid respect among the works of literature, and its influence on Japanese literature has been compared to that of Philip Sidney's Arcadia on English literature.
The novel and other works by Lady Murasaki are staple reading material in the curricula of Japanese schools. The Bank of Japan issued the 2000 Yen banknote in her honor, featuring a scene from the novel based on the 12th century illustrated handscroll.
Murasaki Shikibu
Murasaki Shikibu (Lady Murasaki) (c. 978 – c. 1014 or 1025) was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court during the Heian period. She is best known as the author of The Tale of Genji, written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012. Murasaki Shikibu is a nickname; her real name is unknown, but she may have been Fujiwara Takako, who was mentioned in a 1007 court diary as an imperial lady-in-waiting.
Heian women were traditionally excluded from learning Chinese, the written language of government, but Murasaki, raised in her erudite father's household, showed a precocious aptitude for the Chinese classics and managed to acquire fluency. She married in her mid-to late twenties and gave birth to a daughter before her husband died, two years after they were married. It is uncertain when she began to write The Tale of Genji, but it was probably while she was married or shortly after she was widowed. In about 1005, Murasaki was invited to serve as a lady-in-waiting to Empress Shōshi at the Imperial court, probably because of her reputation as a writer. She continued to write during her service, adding scenes from court life to her work. After five or six years, she left court and retired with Shōshi to the Lake Biwa region. Scholars differ on the year of her death; although most agree on 1014, others have suggested she was alive in 1025.
Murasaki wrote The Diary of Lady Murasaki, a volume of poetry, and The Tale of Genji. Within a decade of its completion, Genji was distributed throughout the provinces; within a century it was recognized as a classic of Japanese literature and had become a subject of scholarly criticism. Early in the 20th century her work was translated; a six-volume English translation was completed in 1933. Scholars continue to recognize the importance of her work, which reflects Heian court society at its peak. Since the 13th century her works have been illustrated by Japanese artists and well-known ukiyo-e woodblock masters.