The Tale of Genji

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For other uses, see The Tale of Genji (disambiguation).

The Tale of Genji
Edward G. Seidensticker, Helen McCullough, Royall Tyler, Dennis Washburn
CountryJapan
LanguageEarly Middle Japanese
GenreMonogatari
PublishedBefore 1021
Media typemanuscript
895.63 M93

The Tale of Genji (源氏物語, Genji monogatari, pronounced [ɡeɲdʑi monoɡaꜜtaɾi]), also known as Genji Monogatari is a classic work of Japanese literature written in the early 11th century by the noblewoman, poet, and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu. The original manuscript, created around the peak of the Heian period, no longer exists. It was made in "concertina" or orihon style: several sheets of paper pasted together and folded alternately in one direction then the other.[1]

The work is a unique depiction of the lifestyles of high

Suematsu Kencho, but was of poor quality and left incomplete. Since then, notable English translations have been made by Arthur Waley, Edward Seidensticker and Royall Tyler
.

The work recounts the life of

psychological novel
, and the first novel still to be considered a classic particularly in the context of Japanese literature.

Historical context

Murasaki was writing at the height of the Fujiwara clan's power—Fujiwara no Michinaga was the regent in all but name, and the most significant political figure of his day. Consequently, Murasaki is believed to have partially informed the character of Genji through her experience of Michinaga.

The Tale of Genji may have been written chapter by chapter in installments, as Murasaki delivered the tale to aristocratic women (ladies-in-waiting). It has many elements found in a modern novel: a central character and a very large number of major and minor characters, well-developed characterization of all the major players, a sequence of events covering the central character's lifetime and beyond. There is no specified

feudal
relationships stay intact throughout.

One complication for readers and translators of the Genji is that almost none of the characters in the original text is given an explicit name. The characters are instead referred to by their function or role (e.g. Minister of the Left), an honorific (e.g. His Excellency), or their relation to other characters (e.g. Heir Apparent), which changes as the novel progresses. This lack of names stems from Heian-era court manners that would have made it unacceptably familiar and blunt to freely mention a person's given name. Modern readers and translators have used various nicknames to keep track of the many characters.

Authorship

Murasaki Shikibu, illustration by Tosa Mitsuoki who created a series of illustrations of The Tale of Genji (17th century)

There is debate over how much of Genji was actually written by Murasaki Shikibu. Debates over the novel's authorship have gone on for centuries, and are unlikely to ever be settled unless some major archival discovery is made.

It is generally accepted that the tale was finished in its present form by 1021, when the author of the Sarashina Nikki wrote a diary entry about her joy at acquiring a complete copy of the tale. She writes that there are over 50 chapters and mentions a character introduced at the end of the work, so if other authors besides Murasaki did work on the tale, the work was finished very near to the time of her writing. Murasaki's own diary includes a reference to the tale, and indeed the application to herself of the name 'Murasaki' in an allusion to the main female character. That entry confirms that some if not all of the diary was available in 1008 when internal evidence convincingly suggests that the entry was written.[4]

Murasaki is said to have written the character of Genji based on the Minister on the Left at the time she was at court. Other translators, such as Tyler, believe the character Murasaki no Ue, whom Genji marries, is based on Murasaki Shikibu herself.

Yosano Akiko, the first author to make a modern Japanese translation of Genji, believed that Murasaki had written only chapters 1 to 33, and that chapters 35 to 54 were written by her daughter, Daini no Sanmi.[5] Other scholars have also doubted the authorship of chapters 42 to 54 (particularly 44, which contains continuity mistakes; in the rest of the book such mistakes are rare).[5] According to Royall Tyler's introduction to his English translation of the work, recent[when?] computer analysis has turned up "statistically significant" discrepancies of style between chapters 45–54 and the rest, and also among the early chapters.[5]

Plot

Chapter 15 – Yomogiu (蓬生, "Waste of Weeds"). Scene from the 12th-century illustrated handscroll Genji Monogatari Emaki kept at the Tokugawa Art Museum.
Chapter 16 – Sekiya (関屋, "At The Pass")
Chapter 37 – Yokobue (横笛, "Flute")
Chapter 39 – Yūgiri (夕霧, "Evening Mist"). 12th-century Gotoh Museum handscroll.
Chapter 48 – Sawarabi (早蕨, "Bracken Shoots"). Tokugawa Art Museum's illustrated handscroll.
Chapter 49 – Yadorigi (宿り木, "Ivy"). Tokugawa Art Museum's illustrated handscroll.

Genji's mother dies when he is three years old, and the Emperor cannot forget her. The Emperor Kiritsubo then hears of a woman (Lady Fujitsubo), formerly a princess of the preceding emperor, who resembles his deceased concubine, and later she becomes one of his wives. Genji loves her first as a stepmother, but later as a woman, and they fall in love with each other. Genji is frustrated by his forbidden love for the Lady Fujitsubo and is on bad terms with his own wife (Aoi no Ue, the Lady Aoi). He engages in a series of love affairs with many other women. These are however unfulfilling, as in most cases his advances are rebuffed, or his lover dies suddenly, or he becomes bored.

Genji visits Kitayama, a rural hilly area north of Kyoto, where he finds a beautiful ten-year-old girl. He is fascinated by this little girl (

Crown Prince
and Lady Fujitsubo becomes the Empress, but Genji and Lady Fujitsubo swear to keep the child's true parentage secret.

Genji and his wife, Lady Aoi, reconcile. She gives birth to a son but dies soon after. Genji is sorrowful but finds consolation in Murasaki, whom he marries. Genji's father, the Emperor Kiritsubo, dies. He is succeeded by his son Suzaku, whose mother (Kokiden), together with Kiritsubo's political enemies, take power in the court. Then another of Genji's secret love affairs is exposed: Genji and a concubine of the Emperor Suzaku are discovered while meeting in secret. The Emperor Suzaku confides his personal amusement at Genji's exploits with the woman (Oborozukiyo), but is duty-bound to punish Genji even though he is his half-brother. He exiles Genji to the town of

Suma in rural Harima Province (now part of Kobe in Hyōgo Prefecture). There, a prosperous man known as the Akashi Novice (because he is from Akashi in Settsu Province
) entertains Genji, and Genji has an affair with Akashi's daughter. She gives birth to Genji's only daughter, who will later become the Empress.

In the capital, the Emperor Suzaku is troubled by dreams of his late father, Kiritsubo, and something begins to affect his eyes. Meanwhile, his mother, Kokiden, grows ill, which weakens her influence over the throne, and leads to the Emperor ordering Genji to be pardoned. Genji returns to Kyoto. His son by Lady Fujitsubo, Reizei, becomes the emperor. The new Emperor Reizei knows Genji is his real father, and raises Genji's rank to the highest possible.

However, when Genji turns 40 years old, his life begins to decline. His political status does not change, but his love and emotional life begin to incrementally diminish as middle age takes hold. He marries another wife,

bikuni
) though the wish was rejected by Genji.

Genji's beloved Murasaki dies. In the following chapter, Maboroshi ("Illusion"), Genji contemplates how fleeting life is. The next chapter is titled Kumogakure ("Vanished into the Clouds"), which is left blank, but implies the death of Genji.

Chapter 45–54 are known as the "Uji Chapters". These chapters follow Kaoru and his best friend, Niou. Niou is an imperial prince, the son of Genji's daughter, the current Empress now that Reizei has abdicated the throne, while Kaoru is known to the world as Genji's son but is in fact fathered by Genji's nephew. The chapters involve Kaoru and Niou's rivalry over several daughters of an imperial prince who lives in

anti-hero in literature.[6]

Completion

The tale has an abrupt ending. Opinions vary on whether this was intended by the author. Arthur Waley, who made the first English translation of the whole of The Tale of Genji, believed that the work as we have it was finished. Ivan Morris, however, author of The World of the Shining Prince, believed that it was not complete and that later chapters were missing. Edward Seidensticker, who made the second translation of the Genji, believed that Murasaki Shikibu had not had a planned story structure with an ending as such but would simply have continued writing as long as she could.

Literary context

Because it was written to entertain the Japanese court of the 11th century, the work presents many difficulties to modern readers. First and foremost, Murasaki's language, Heian-period court Japanese, was highly inflected and had very complex grammar.[7][8] Another problem is that naming people was considered rude in Heian court society, so none of the characters are named within the work. Instead, the narrator refers to men often by their rank or their station in life, and to women often by the color of their clothing, or by the words used at a meeting, or by the rank of a prominent male relative. This results in different appellations for the same character, depending on the chapter.

Another aspect of the language is the importance of using poetry in conversations.[9] Modifying or rephrasing a classic poem according to the current situation was expected behavior in Heian court life, and often served to communicate thinly veiled allusions. The poems in the Genji are often in the classic Japanese tanka form. Many of the poems were well known to the intended audience, so usually only the first few lines are given, and the reader is supposed to complete the thought themselves, leaving the rest – which the reader would be expected to know – unspoken.

As with most

yamato kotoba
).

Outside of vocabulary related to politics and Buddhism, Genji contains remarkably few Chinese loan words (

homophones
(words with the same pronunciation but different meanings); and for modern readers context is not always sufficient to determine which meaning was intended.

Structure

Outline

The novel is traditionally divided into three parts, the first two dealing with the life of Genji and the last with the early years of two of Genji's prominent descendants, Niou and Kaoru. There are also several short transitional chapters which are usually grouped separately and whose authorships are sometimes questioned.

  1. Genji's rise and fall
    1. Youth, chapters 1–33: Love, romance, and exile
    2. Success and setbacks, chapters 34–41: A taste of power and the death of his beloved wife
  2. The transition (chapters 42–44): Very short episodes following Genji's death
  3. Uji, chapters 45–54: Genji's official and secret descendants, Niou and Kaoru

The 54th and last chapter, "The Floating Bridge of Dreams", is sometimes argued by modern scholars to be a separate part from the Uji part. It seems to continue the story from the previous chapters but has an unusually abstract chapter title. It is the only chapter whose title has no clear reference within the text, although this may be due to the chapter being unfinished. This question is made more difficult by the fact that we do not know exactly when the chapters acquired their titles.

List of chapters

The English translations here are taken from the Arthur Waley, the Edward Seidensticker, the Royall Tyler, and the Dennis Washburn translations. It is not known for certain when the chapters acquired their titles. Early mentions of the Tale refer to chapter numbers, or contain alternate titles for some of the chapters. This may suggest that the titles were added later. The titles are largely derived from poetry that is quoted within the text, or allusions to various characters.

Chapter 5 – Wakamurasaki (若紫, "Young Murasaki"). Tosa Mitsuoki, 1617–91.
Chapter 20 – Asagao (朝顔, "The Bluebell"). Tosa Mitsuoki.
Chapter 42 – Niō no Miya (匂宮, "The Perfumed Prince"). Tosa Mitsuoki.
Chapter 50 – Azumaya (東屋, "Eastern Cottage"). 12th-century Tokugawa Art Museum handscroll.
Chapter Japanese Waley Seidensticker Tyler Washburn
01 Kiritsubo (桐壺) "Kiritsubo" "The Paulownia Court" "The Paulownia Pavilion" "The Lady of the Paulownia-Courtyard Chambers"
02 Hahakigi (帚木) "The Broom-Tree" "Broom Cypress"
03 Utsusemi (空蝉) "Utsusemi" "The Shell of the Locust" "The Cicada Shell" "A Molted Cicada Shell"
04 Yūgao (夕顔) "Yugao" "Evening Faces" "The Twilight Beauty" "The Lady of the Evening Faces"
05 Wakamurasaki (若紫) "Murasaki" "Lavender" "Young Murasaki" "Little Purple Gromwell"
06 Suetsumuhana (末摘花) "The Saffron-Flower" "The Safflower"
07 Momiji no Ga (紅葉賀) "The Festival of Red Leaves" "An Autumn Excursion" "Beneath the Autumn Leaves" "An Imperial Celebration of Autumn Foliages"
08 Hana no En (花宴) "The Flower Feast" "The Festival of the Cherry Blossoms" "Under the Cherry Blossoms" "A Banquet Celebrating Cherry Blossoms"
09 Aoi (葵) "Aoi" "Heartvine" "Heart-to-Heart" "Leaves of Wild Ginger"
10 Sakaki (榊) "The Sacred Tree" "The Green Branch" "A Branch of Sacred Evergreens"
11 Hana Chiru Sato (花散里) "The Village of Falling Flowers" "The Orange Blossoms" "Falling Flowers" "The Lady at the Villa of Scattering Orange Blossoms"
12 Suma (須磨) "Exile at Suma" "Suma" "Exile to Suma"
13 Akashi (明石) "Akashi" "The Lady at Akashi"
14 Miotsukushi (澪標) "The Flood Gauge" "Channel Buoys" "The Pilgrimage to Sumiyoshi" "Channel Markers"
15 Yomogiu (蓬生) "The Palace in the Tangled Woods" "The Wormwood Patch" "A Waste of Weeds" "A Ruined Villa of Tangled Gardens"
16 Sekiya (関屋) "A Meeting at the Frontier" "The Gatehouse" "At the Pass" "The Barrier Gate"
17 E Awase (絵合) "The Picture Competition" "A Picture Contest" "The Picture Contest" "A Contest of Illustrations"
18 Matsukaze (松風) "The Wind in the Pine-Trees" "The Wind in the Pines" "Wind in the Pines"
19 Usugumo (薄雲) "A Wreath of Cloud" "A Rack of Clouds" "Wisps of Cloud" "A Thin Veil of Clouds"
20 Asagao (朝顔) "Asagao" "The Morning Glory" "The Bluebell" "Bellflowers"
21 Otome (乙女) "The Maiden" "The Maidens" "Maidens of the Dance"
22 Tamakazura (玉鬘) "Tamakatsura" "The Jewelled Chaplet" "The Tendril Wreath" "A Lovely Garland"
23 Hatsune (初音) "The First Song of the Year" "The First Warbler" "The Warbler's First Song" "First Song of Spring"
24 Kochō (胡蝶) "The Butterflies" "Butterflies"
25 Hotaru (螢) "The Glow-Worm" "Fireflies" "The Fireflies" "Fireflies"
26 Tokonatsu (常夏) "A Bed of Carnations" "Wild Carnation" "The Pink" "Wild Pinks"
27 Kagaribi (篝火) "The Flares" "Flares" "The Cressets" "Cresset Fires"
28 Nowaki (野分) "The Typhoon" "An Autumn Tempest"
29 Miyuki (行幸) "The Royal Visit" "The Royal Outing" "The Imperial Progress" "An Imperial Excursion"
30 Fujibakama (藤袴) "Blue Trousers" "Purple Trousers" "Thoroughwort Flowers" "Mistflowers"
31 Makibashira (真木柱) "Makibashira" "The Cypress Pillar" "The Handsome Pillar" "A Beloved Pillar of Cypress"
32 Umegae (梅枝) "The Spray of Plum-Blossom" "A Branch of Plum" "The Plum Tree Branch" "A Branch of Plum"
33 Fuji no Uraba (藤裏葉) "Fuji no Uraba" "Wisteria Leaves" "New Wisteria Leaves" "Shoots of Wisteria Leaves"
34 Wakana: Jō (若菜上) "Wakana, Part I" "New Herbs, Part I" "Spring Shoots I" "Early Spring Genesis: Part 1"
35 Wakana: Ge (若菜下) "Wakana, Part II" "New Herbs, Part II" "Spring Shoots II" "Early Spring Genesis: Part 2"
36 Kashiwagi (柏木) "Kashiwagi" "The Oak Tree"
37 Yokobue (横笛) "The Flute" "The Transverse Flute"
38 Suzumushi (鈴虫) (omitted) "The Bell Cricket" "Bell Crickets"
39 Yūgiri (夕霧) "Yugiri" "Evening Mist"
40 Minori (御法) "The Law" "Rites" "The Law" "Rites of Sacred Law"
41 Maboroshi (幻) "Mirage" "The Wizard" "The Seer" "Spirit Summoner"
X Kumogakure (雲隠) "Vanished into the Clouds"
42 Niō Miya (匂宮) "Niou" "His Perfumed Highness" "The Perfumed Prince" "The Fragrant Prince"
43 Kōbai (紅梅) "Kobai" "The Rose Plum" "Red Plum Blossoms" "Red Plum"
44 Takekawa (竹河) "Bamboo River"
45 Hashihime (橋姫) "The Bridge Maiden" "The Lady at the Bridge" "The Maiden of the Bridge" "The Divine Princess at Uji Bridge"
46 Shii ga Moto (椎本) "At the Foot of the Oak-Tree" "Beneath the Oak" "At the Foot of the Oak Tree"
47 Agemaki (総角) "Agemaki" "Trefoil Knots" "A Bowknot Tied in Maiden's Loops"
48 Sawarabi (早蕨) "Fern-Shoots" "Early Ferns" "Bracken Shoots" "Early Fiddlehead Greens"
49 Yadorigi (宿木) "The Mistletoe" "The Ivy" "Trees Encoiled in Vines of Ivy"
50 Azumaya (東屋) "The Eastern House" "The Eastern Cottage" "A Hut in the Eastern Provinces"
51 Ukifune (浮舟) "Ukifune" "A Boat upon the Waters" "A Drifting Boat" "A Boat Cast Adrift"
52 Kagerō (蜻蛉) "The Gossamer-Fly" "The Drake Fly" "The Mayfly" "Ephemerids"
53 Tenarai (手習) "Writing-Practice" "The Writing Practice" "Writing Practice" "Practising Calligraphy"
54 Yume no Ukihashi (夢浮橋) "The Bridge of Dreams" "The Floating Bridge of Dreams" "A Floating Bridge in a Dream"

The additional chapter between 41 and 42 in some manuscripts is called Kumogakure (雲隠) which means "Vanished into the Clouds"—the chapter is a title only, and is probably intended to evoke Genji's death. Some scholars have posited the earlier existence of a chapter between 1 and 2 which would have introduced some characters that seem to appear very abruptly in the book as it stands.

The Waley translation completely omits the 38th chapter.

Later authors have composed additional chapters, most often either between 41 and 42, or after the end.

Manuscripts

Main article: Textual tradition of The Tale of Genji

The original manuscript written by Murasaki Shikibu no longer exists. Numerous copies, totaling around 300 according to Ikeda Kikan, exist with differences between each. It is thought that Shikibu often went back and edited early manuscripts introducing discrepancies with earlier copies.[13]

The various manuscripts are classified into three categories:[14][15]

  • Kawachibon (河内本)
  • Aobyōshibon (青表紙本)
  • Beppon (別本)

In the 13th century, two major attempts by Minamoto no Chikayuki and

Fujiwara Teika
were made to edit and revise the differing manuscripts. The Chikayuki manuscript is known as the Kawachibon; edits were many beginning in 1236 and completing in 1255. The Teika manuscript is known as the Aobyōshibon; its edits are more conservative and thought to better represent the original. These two manuscripts were used as the basis for many future copies.

The Beppon category represents all other manuscripts not belonging to either Kawachibon or Aobyōshibon. This includes older but incomplete manuscripts, mixed manuscripts derived from both Kawachibon and Aobyōshibon, and commentaries.

On March 10, 2008, it was announced that a late Kamakura period (1192–1333) manuscript had been found in Kyoto,[16][17] containing the sixth chapter, Suetsumuhana; the manuscript was 65 pages in length. Most remaining manuscripts are based on copies of the Teika manuscript which introduced revisions in the original; this manuscript, however, belongs to a different lineage and was not influenced by Teika. Professor Yamamoto Tokurō, who examined the manuscript, said, "This is a precious discovery as Kamakura manuscripts are so rare." Professor Katō Yōsuke said, "This is an important discovery as it asserts that non-Teika manuscripts were being read during the Kamakura period."

On October 29, 2008, Konan Women's University announced that a mid-Kamakura period manuscript had been found,[18][19][20] containing the 32nd chapter, Umegae. The manuscript was recognized as the oldest extant copy of this chapter, dating to between 1240 and 1280. The manuscript, considered to be of the Beppon category, is 74 pages in length and differs from Aobyōshi manuscripts in at least four places, raising the "possibility that the contents may be closer to the undiscovered Murasaki Shikibu original manuscript".[18]

On October 9, 2019, it was announced that an original copy of Teika's Aobyōshibon had been found in Tokyo at the home of the current head of the Okochi-Matsudaira clan, who ran the Yoshida Domain. The manuscript is the 5th chapter, Wakamurasaki (若紫), and is the oldest version of the chapter. Blue ink common in Teika's manuscript and handwriting analysis confirmed that the manuscript was written by Teika, making it among the 5 original versions of the Aobyōshibon known to exist.[21]

Illustrated scrolls

Late-16th- or early-17th-century hanging scroll in ink and gold leaf illustrating a scene from Genji

Numerous illustrations of scenes from Genji have been produced, most notably a 12th-century scroll, the Genji Monogatari Emaki, containing illustrated scenes from Genji together with handwritten sōgana text. This scroll is the earliest extant example of a Japanese "picture scroll": collected illustrations and calligraphy of a single work. The original scroll is believed to have comprised 10–20 rolls and covered all 54 chapters. The extant pieces include only 19 illustrations and 65 pages of text, plus nine pages of fragments. This is estimated at 15% of the envisioned original.

The

National Treasures of Japan. The scrolls are so fragile that they normally are not shown in public. The original scrolls in the Tokugawa Museum were shown from November 21 to November 29 in 2009. Since 2001, they have been displayed in the Tokugawa Museum annually for around one week in November. An oversize English photoreproduction and translation was published in limited edition in 1971 by Kodansha International.[22]

Other notable illustrated scrolls of Genji are by Tosa Mitsuoki, who lived from 1617 to 1691. His paintings are closely based on Heian style from the existing scrolls from the 12th century and are fully complete. The tale was also a popular theme in ukiyo-e prints from the Edo period.

Modern readership

Japanese

Pages from the illustrated handscroll from the 12th century

The Tale of Genji was written in an archaic court language, and a century after its completion it was difficult to read without specialized study. Annotated and illustrated versions existed as early as the 12th century.

anachronisms
; for instance, Genji's first wife is named Aoi because she is known as the lady of the Aoi chapter, in which she dies.

Other known translations were done by the novelists Jun'ichirō Tanizaki and Fumiko Enchi.

Because of the cultural differences, reading an annotated version of the Genji is quite common, even among Japanese readers. There are several annotated versions by novelists, including

better source needed] is in progress. Another manga, Genji Monogatari, by Miyako Maki, won the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1989.[28]

Selected English translations

The first partial translation of Genji 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 1925 and the last in 1933.[29] 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.[30] The English translation published in 2001 by Royall Tyler aims at fidelity in content and form to the original text.[5][31]

The major translations into English are each slightly different, mirroring the personal choices of the translator and the period in which the translation was made. Each version has its merits, its detractors and its advocates, and each is distinguished by the name of the translator. For example, the version translated by Arthur Waley would typically be referred to as "the Waley Genji".

  • The Suematsu Genji (1882) – Suematsu's Genji was the first translation into English, but is considered of poor quality and is not often read today. It includes seventeen of the chapters.
  • The Waley Genji (1925–1933) – Waley's Genji is considered a great achievement for his time,[32] although some purists have criticized Waley's changes to the original.[33] Others have criticized as overly-free the manner in which Waley translated the original text. Regardless, it continues to be well-appreciated and widely read today.[34] When the Waley Genji was first published, it was eagerly received. For example, Time explained that "the reviewers' floundering tributes indicate something of its variegated appeal. In limpid prose The Tale combines curiously modern social satire with great charm of narrative. Translator Waley has done service to literature in salvaging to the Occident this masterpiece of the Orient."[35] The translation omits the 38th chapter completely.[why?]
  • The Seidensticker Genji (1976) – Seidensticker's Genji is an attempt to correct what were perceived to have been Waley's failings without necessarily making his translation obsolete. Seidensticker hews more closely to the original text, but in the interests of readability, he takes some liberties. For example, he identifies most of the characters by name so that the narrative can be more easily followed by a broad-based audience of Western readers. (In 2008, a 4,400-page
    Setagaya, Tokyo, working voluntarily for five years and was subsequently donated to the Japan Braille Library (日本点字図書館) and the Library of Congress. It is also available for download.)[36]
  • The McCullough Genji (1994) – A selection from ten chapters of The Tale of Genji along with selections from The Tale of the Heike, translated by Helen Craig McCullough for Stanford University Press.
  • The Tyler Genji (2001) – Tyler's Genji contains more extensive explanatory footnotes and commentary than the previous translations, describing the numerous poetical allusions and cultural aspects of the tale. Tyler consciously attempted to mimic the original style in ways that the previous translations did not. For example, this version does not use names for most characters, identifying them instead by their titles in a manner which was conventional in the context of the 11th-century original text. Writing for
    Janice Nimura described it as "wonderfully evocative of the original, [but] can be difficult to follow".[37] According to Michael Wood, Tyler's version "makes a special virtue of attending to a certain ceremonial indirectness in the way the characters address one another. The great temptation for a translator is to say the unsaid things, and Tyler never gives in to it."[38] Machiko Midorikawa notes in a review of Genji translations that more recent translators from classical Japanese "have endeavoured to find ways of preserving more of what once seemed unfamiliar or strange to English readers".[39]
  • The Washburn Genji (2015) – Dennis Washburn's Genji separates the poems from the prose and puts interior thoughts in italics. The translation has been received slightly more controversially than Tyler's, with most criticism aimed at the perceived over-clarification of the text and addition of modern colloquialisms.[40]

Reception and legacy

The Tale of Genji is an important work of Japanese literature, and modern authors have cited it as inspiration, such as

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."[41] 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."

2000 yen note with The Tale of Genji and Murasaki Shikibu on the right corner

The Genji is also often referred to as "the first novel",[42] though there is considerable debate over this; other texts that predate Genji, such as the 7th-century Sanskrit Kādambari, or the Greek and Roman novels from classical antiquity, such as Daphnis and Chloe and the Satyricon, are considered to be novels, and there is debate around whether Genji can even be considered a "novel". Some[who?] consider the psychological insight, complexity and unity of the work to qualify it for "novel" status while simultaneously disqualifying earlier works of prose fiction.[43] Others[who?] 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",[44] "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,[45][46] 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.[47] 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.[45]

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. Since a 1 November 1008 entry in The Diary of Lady Murasaki is the oldest date on which a reference to The Tale of Genji has appeared, November 1 was designated as the official day to celebrate Japanese classics. According to Act on Classics Day, the "classics" that are honored not only include literature, but encompass a wide range of arts such as music, art, traditional performing arts, entertainment, lifestyle art including tea ceremony and flower arrangement and other cultural products.[48]

The names of the chapters became a central element in a incense-based game called Genjikō, part of the larger practice of Monkō popular among the nobility. In Genjikō, players must match the scents of a series of five incense samples without being told the names of said samples. Each possible combination was matched to a symbol, called a genji-mon, that represented a chapter from the story.[49]

Adaptations in other media

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Lyons, Martyn (2011). Books: A Living History. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum. p. 30.
  2. ISBN 978-1-904832-77-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  3. ^ Lyons, Martyn (2011), Books: A Living History, London: Thames & Hudson, p. 31
  4. ^ The Diary of Lady Murasaki, ed. Richard Bowring, Penguin Classics 2005, p. 31, note 41. In his introduction to the text, Bowring discusses its dating which, in any case, is generally accepted by most authorities. Royall Tyler, in his edition of the Tale of Genji cited below, also draws attention to the entry in Murasaki Shikibu's diary: see the Penguin Books edition, 2003, Introduction, p. xvii
  5. ^ a b c d Shikibu, Murasaki; Tyler, Royall (2002). The Tale of Genji. Viking.
  6. ^ Seidensticker (1976: xi)
  7. ^ "Japanese language and script". www.omniglot.com. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  8. ^ Cartwright, Mark. "Tale of Genji". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  9. JSTOR 2652721
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  10. ^ "The Tale of Genji". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Writers of the Henian Era: Introduction". Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  12. ^ S, Ray (22 February 2016). "Gender Differences In Japanese Localisation". Asian Absolute UK. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  13. ^ Yamagishi (1958: 14)
  14. ^ Yamagishi (1958: 14–16)
  15. ^ Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten (1986: 621–22)
  16. ^ "鎌倉後期の源氏物語写本見つかる" (in Japanese). Sankei News. 10 March 2008. Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  17. ^ "源氏物語の「別本」、京都・島原の「角屋」で発見" (in Japanese). Yomiuri. 10 March 2008. Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  18. ^ a b "源氏物語の最古級写本、勝海舟？の蔵書印も…甲南女子大" (in Japanese). Yomiuri. 29 October 2008. Archived from the original on 1 November 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
  19. ^ "「千年紀に奇跡」「勝海舟が恋物語とは」源氏物語写本に驚きの声" (in Japanese). Sankei News. 29 October 2008. Archived from the original on 2 August 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
  20. ^ "源氏物語：最古の「梅枝巻」写本 勝海舟の蔵書印も". Mainichi (in Japanese). 29 October 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2008.[dead link]
  21. ^ "Fifth chapter of oldest 'Tale of Genji' copy found in Tokyo：The Asahi Shimbun". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  22. ISBN 0-87011-131-0
    )
  23. ^ ""The Tale of Genji" – Playboy of the eastern world". The Economist. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  24. ^ Yosano, Akiko; NDL.
  25. ^ Walker, James. Big in Japan: "Jakucho Setouchi: Nun re-writes The Tale of Genji", Archived April 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Metropolis. No. 324; Spaeth, Anthony. "Old-Fashioned lover", Time. December 17, 2001.
  26. ^ Richard Gunde (27 April 2004). "Genji in Graphic Detail: Manga Versions of the Tale of Genji". UCLA Asia Institute. Retrieved 16 November 2006.
  27. ^ "源氏物語 25（知泉源氏：プロトタイプ）第十一帖・花散里（全） / July 30th, 2020".
  28. ^ 小学館漫画賞：歴代受賞者 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 19 August 2007.
  29. ^ Titterton, L (4 June 1933). "'The Tale of Genji' Comes to an End". The New York Times Book Review. The New York Times Co. p. 7.
  30. ^ Shikibu, Murasaki; Seidensticker, Edward (1976). The Tale of Genji. Knopf.
  31. ^ Tyler, Royall (2009). The Disaster of the Third Princess: Essays on the tale of Genji. National Library of Australia.
  32. ^ "Genji Finished", Time. July 3, 1933.
  33. ^ Takatsuka, Masanori. (1970). Brief remarks on some mistranslations in Arthur Waley's Tale of Genji
  34. ^ "Coming to Terms with the Alien".[permanent dead link] Monumenta Nipponica 58:2
  35. ^ "In All Dignity," Time. August 27, 1928.
  36. ^ "Braille version of The Tale of Genji completed in 1,000th year 2008". Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 25 August 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  37. ^ Nimura, Janice P. (2 December 2001). "Courtly Lust". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  38. ^ Wood, Michael. "A Distant Mirror", Time. March 11, 2002.
  39. JSTOR 25066214
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  40. ^ Ian Buruma, "The Sensualist," New Yorker, July 20, 2015, p. 67.
  41. ISBN 978-4805310816
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  42. ISBN 0-14-243714-X
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  43. ^ Ivan Morris, The World of the Shining Prince (1964), p. 277
  44. ISBN 0-14-243714-X
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  45. ^ a b Bryan (1930), 65.
  46. ^ Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai (1970), 37.
  47. ^ Kato (1979), pp. 160, 163.
  48. ^ "Symposium Commemorating Classics Day". MEXT. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  49. ^ Japan Encyclopedia, p. 237, at Google Books

Bibliography

External links

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