The Tale of Genji

The Tale of Genji (源氏物語, Genji Monogatari) is a classic work of Japanese literature said to have been written by the noblewoman, poet, and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu around the peak of the Heian period, in the early 11th century. It is the first novel written by a woman to have won global recognition. In Japan, The Tale of Genji has a stature similar to that of Shakespeare in the UK.

The work is a depiction of the lifestyles of high courtiers during the Heian period. It is written mostly in Japanese phonetic script (hiragana), in a vernacular style (not the same as "vernacular Japanese", which only appeared in late 19th century) associated with women's writing of the time, not in Chinese characters (kanji) used for more prestigious literature, and its archaic language and poetic style require specialised study. The original manuscript no longer exists but there are more than 300 later manuscript copies of varying reliability. It was made in "concertina" or orihon style: several sheets of paper pasted together and folded alternately in one direction then the other. In the early 20th century Genji was translated into modern Japanese by the poet Akiko Yosano. The first English translation of Genji was made in 1882 by Suematsu Kencho, but was of poor quality and left incomplete. Arthur Waley translated an almost complete version which excludes only the 38th chapter (Suzumushi/The Bell Cricket) between 1925 and 1933. Since then, complete English translations have been made by Edward Seidensticker, Royall Tyler, and Dennis Washburn.