Songe d’une nuit d’été, Rêver ses amies dans Le journal de Sarashina 更級日記

In the Journal of Sarashina, Dreaming of Friends:A Midsummer Night's Dream

Abstract

In this article, I offer an exploration of the history and writing of female diaries during Japan's Heian period, focusing on the SarashinaDiary. After contextualizing the historical emergence of diary literature in Japan, dating back to the ninth century, and emphasizing the central role of women in shaping this literary genre, my attention turns to the Sarashina Diary itself. Written by an anonymous woman of the Heian era, this diary (nikki) appears to prominently feature the author's dreams. I argue that these dream sequences provide privileged access not only to the narrator's inner world but also to her relationship with writing and the external world. To illustrate this point, I examine two specific dreams that share a common thread of featuring the narrator's friends. This selection is motivated by my desire to see the diarist not only as a romanticdreamer but also as someonewho values friendship in their real, written, and imagined life. Additionally, the article delves into the connection between the narrator's dreams and her passion for literature, particularly MurasakiShikibu's The Tale of Genji. I highlight how the characters and plots of this novel
influence the narrator's dreams, enriching her experience of reading and writing.Lastly, this article addresses the question of the nikki genre in Japan and offers reflections on the appropriate terminology for describing this type of writing. I underscore the differences between Western diaries and Japanese nikki, shedding light on the distinct characteristics of this literary genre.