Classic work of Japanese literature
The Tale of Genji
(
源氏物語
,
Genji monogatari
,
pronounced
[?e?d?i
mono?a?ta?i]
)
, 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
courtiers
during the Heian period. It is written in archaic language and a poetic complex style that makes it unreadable without specialized study.
[2]
It was not until the early 20th century that
Genji
was translated into modern Japanese by the poet
Akiko Yosano
. The first English translation of
Genji
was attempted in 1882 by
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
Hikaru Genji
, or "Shining Genji", who is the son of an ancient
Japanese emperor
(known to readers as Emperor Kiritsubo) and a low-ranking concubine called
Kiritsubo Consort
. For political reasons, the emperor removes Genji from the line of succession, demoting him to a commoner by giving him the surname
Minamoto
, and he pursues a career as an imperial officer. The tale concentrates on Genji's romantic life and describes the customs of the aristocratic society of the time. It may be Japan's first
novel
,
[3]
the first
psychological novel
, and the first novel still to be considered a classic particularly in the context of Japanese literature.
Historical context
[
edit
]
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
plot
, but events happen and characters simply grow older. Despite a
dramatis personæ
of some four hundred characters, it maintains internal consistency; for instance, all characters age in step, and both family and
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
[
edit
]
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.
[
which?
]
[5]
Plot
[
edit
]
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 (
Murasaki no Ue
), and discovers that she is a niece of the Lady Fujitsubo. Finally he kidnaps her, brings her to his own palace and educates her to be like the Lady Fujitsubo, who is his womanly ideal. During this time Genji also meets Lady Fujitsubo secretly, and she bears his son, Reizei. Everyone except the two lovers believes the father of the child is the Emperor Kiritsubo. Later the boy becomes the
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
Hy?go 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,
the Third Princess
(known as Onna san no miya in the Seidensticker version, or Ny?san in Waley's). Genji's nephew, Kashiwagi, later forces himself on the Third Princess, and she bears
Kaoru
(who, in a similar situation to that of Reizei, is legally known as the son of Genji). Genji's new marriage changes his relationship with Murasaki, who had expressed her wish of becoming a nun (
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
Uji
, a place some distance away from the capital. The tale ends abruptly, with Kaoru wondering if Niou is hiding Kaoru's former lover away from him. Kaoru has sometimes been called the first
anti-hero
in literature.
[6]
Completion
[
edit
]
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
[
edit
]
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
Heian literature
,
Genji
was written mostly in
kana
(Japanese phonetic script), specifically
hiragana
, and not in
kanji
.
[10]
Writing in kanji was at the time a masculine pursuit.
[11]
[12]
Women were generally discreet when using kanji, confining themselves mostly to native Japanese words (
yamato kotoba
).
Outside of vocabulary related to politics and Buddhism,
Genji
contains remarkably few Chinese loan words (
kango
). This has the effect of giving the story a very even smooth flow. However it also introduces confusion: there are a number of
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
[
edit
]
Outline
[
edit
]
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.
- Genji's rise and fall
- Youth, chapters 1?33: Love, romance, and exile
- Success and setbacks, chapters 34?41: A taste of power and the death of his beloved wife
- The transition (chapters 42?44): Very short episodes following Genji's death
- 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
[
edit
]
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
|
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
(
?木
)
|
"The Broom-Tree"
|
"Broom Cypress"
|
03
|
Utsusemi
(
空?
)
|
"Utsusemi"
|
"The Shell of the Locust"
|
"The Cicada Shell"
|
"A Molted Cicada Shell"
|
04
|
Y?gao
(
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
(
?
)
|
"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
(
?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
(
?屋
)
|
"A Meeting at the Frontier"
|
"The Gatehouse"
|
"At the Pass"
|
"The Barrier Gate"
|
17
|
E Awase
(
?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?
)
|
"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
|
Koch?
(
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
(
?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
(
?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: J?
(
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
(
?笛
)
|
"The Flute"
|
"The Transverse Flute"
|
38
|
Suzumushi
(
鈴?
)
|
(omitted)
|
"The Bell Cricket"
|
"Bell Crickets"
|
39
|
Y?giri
(
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?
)
|
|
"Vanished into the Clouds"
|
|
42
|
Ni? Miya
(
?宮
)
|
"Niou"
|
"His Perfumed Highness"
|
"The Perfumed Prince"
|
"The Fragrant Prince"
|
43
|
K?bai
(
紅梅
)
|
"Kobai"
|
"The Rose Plum"
|
"Red Plum Blossoms"
|
"Red Plum"
|
44
|
Takekawa
(
竹河
)
|
"Bamboo River"
|
45
|
Hashihime
(
橋?
)
|
"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
(
?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
|
Kager?
(
??
)
|
"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?
)
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
[
edit
]
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?本
)
- Aoby?shibon
(
?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
Aoby?shibon
; 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
Aoby?shibon
. This includes older but incomplete manuscripts, mixed manuscripts derived from both
Kawachibon
and
Aoby?shibon
, 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 Tokur?, who examined the manuscript, said, "This is a precious discovery as Kamakura manuscripts are so rare." Professor Kat? Y?suke 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
Aoby?shi
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
Aoby?shibon
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
Aoby?shibon
known to exist.
[21]
Illustrated scrolls
[
edit
]
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
s?gana
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
Tokugawa Art Museum
in
Nagoya
has three of the scrolls handed down in the
Owari
branch of the
Tokugawa clan
and one scroll held by the Hachisuka family is now in the
Gotoh Museum
in Tokyo. The scrolls are designated
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
[
edit
]
Japanese
[
edit
]
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.
[23]
It was not until the early 20th century that
Genji
was translated into modern Japanese by the poet
Akiko Yosano
.
[24]
Translations into modern Japanese
have made it easier to read though changed some meaning, and has given names to the characters, usually the traditional names used by academics. This gives rise to
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'ichir? 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
Seiko Tanabe
,
Jakucho Setouchi
and Osamu Hashimoto.
[25]
Many works, including a
manga
series and different television dramas, are derived from
The Tale of Genji
. There have been at least five manga adaptations of
Genji
.
[26]
A manga version was created by
Waki Yamato
,
Asakiyumemishi
(
The Tale of Genji
in English), and a current version by Sugimura Yoshimitsu
[27]
[
better source needed
]
is in progress. Another manga,
Genji Monogatari
, by Miyako Maki, won the
Shogakukan Manga Award
in 1989.
[28]
Selected English translations
[
edit
]
The first partial translation of
Genji
into English was by
Suematsu Kench?
, 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
Braille
version of the Seidensticker
Genji
was completed. This Braille edition was the product of five Japanese housewives from
Setagaya, Tokyo
, working voluntarily for five years and was subsequently donated to the Japan Braille Library
(
日本点字?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
The New York Times
, reviewer
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
[
edit
]
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
."
[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."
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
K?dambari
, 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 Genjik?, part of the larger practice of
Monk?
popular among the nobility. In Genjik?, 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
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Lyons, Martyn (2011).
Books: A Living History
. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum. p. 30.
- ^
Birmingham Museum of Art
(2010).
Guide to the Collection
. Birmingham, AL. p. 49.
ISBN
978-1-904832-77-5
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- ^
Lyons, Martyn (2011),
Books: A Living History
, London: Thames & Hudson, p. 31
- ^
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
- ^
a
b
c
d
Shikibu, Murasaki; Tyler, Royall (2002).
The Tale of Genji
. Viking.
- ^
Seidensticker (1976: xi)
- ^
"Japanese language and script"
.
www.omniglot.com
. Retrieved
15 August
2023
.
- ^
Cartwright, Mark.
"Tale of Genji"
.
World History Encyclopedia
. Retrieved
15 August
2023
.
- ^
Yoda, Tomiko (1999).
"Fractured Dialogues: Mono no aware and Poetic Communication in The Tale of Genji"
.
Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies
.
59
(2): 523?557.
doi
:
10.2307/2652721
.
ISSN
0073-0548
.
JSTOR
2652721
.
- ^
"The Tale of Genji"
.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
. Retrieved
15 August
2023
.
- ^
"Writers of the Henian Era: Introduction"
. Retrieved
15 August
2023
.
- ^
S, Ray (22 February 2016).
"Gender Differences In Japanese Localisation"
.
Asian Absolute UK
. Retrieved
15 August
2023
.
- ^
Yamagishi (1958: 14)
- ^
Yamagishi (1958: 14?16)
- ^
Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten
(1986: 621?22)
- ^
"鎌倉後期の源氏物語?本見つかる"
(in Japanese). Sankei News. 10 March 2008. Archived from
the original
on 14 March 2008
. Retrieved
11 March
2008
.
- ^
"源氏物語の「別本」、京都?島原の「角屋」で?見"
(in Japanese). Yomiuri. 10 March 2008.
Archived
from the original on 14 March 2008
. Retrieved
11 March
2008
.
- ^
a
b
"源氏物語の最古級?本、勝海舟?の?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
.
- ^
"「千年紀に奇跡」「勝海舟が?物語とは」源氏物語?本に驚きの?"
(in Japanese). Sankei News. 29 October 2008. Archived from
the original
on 2 August 2009
. Retrieved
29 October
2008
.
- ^
"源氏物語:最古の「梅枝?」?本 勝海舟の?書印も"
.
Mainichi
(in Japanese). 29 October 2008
. Retrieved
29 October
2008
.
[
dead link
]
- ^
"Fifth chapter of oldest 'Tale of Genji' copy found in Tokyo:The Asahi Shimbun"
.
The Asahi Shimbun
. Retrieved
9 October
2019
.
- ^
Tale of Genji Scroll
,
ISBN
0-87011-131-0
)
- ^
"
"The Tale of Genji" ? Playboy of the eastern world"
.
The Economist
. Retrieved
9 January
2014
.
- ^
Yosano, Akiko
; NDL.
- ^
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.
- ^
Richard Gunde (27 April 2004).
"Genji in Graphic Detail: Manga Versions of the Tale of Genji"
. UCLA Asia Institute
. Retrieved
16 November
2006
.
- ^
"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"
.
- ^
小?館漫?賞:?代受賞者
(in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from
the original
on 29 September 2007
. Retrieved
19 August
2007
.
- ^
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.
- ^
Shikibu, Murasaki; Seidensticker, Edward (1976).
The Tale of Genji
. Knopf.
- ^
Tyler, Royall (2009). The Disaster of the Third Princess: Essays on the tale of Genji. National Library of Australia.
- ^
"Genji Finished"
,
Time
. July 3, 1933.
- ^
Takatsuka, Masanori. (1970).
Brief remarks on some mistranslations in Arthur Waley's Tale of Genji
- ^
"Coming to Terms with the Alien".
[
permanent dead link
]
Monumenta Nipponica
58:2
- ^
"In All Dignity,"
Time.
August 27, 1928.
- ^
"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
.
- ^
Nimura, Janice P.
(2 December 2001).
"Courtly Lust"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
3 October
2018
.
- ^
Wood, Michael.
"A Distant Mirror"
,
Time
. March 11, 2002.
- ^
Machiko, Midorikawa (2003).
"Coming to Terms with the Alien: Translations of "Genji Monogatari"
"
.
Monumenta Nipponica
.
58
(2): 193?222.
ISSN
0027-0741
.
JSTOR
25066214
.
- ^
Ian Buruma, "
The Sensualist
,"
New Yorker
, July 20, 2015, p. 67.
- ^
Shikubu, Murasaki
; Shikibu, Murasaki (10 March 2010).
The Tale of Genji (Tuttle Classics)
. Tuttle. p. Editorial Reviews.
ISBN
978-4805310816
.
- ^
Tyler, Royall (2003).
The Tale of Genji
.
Penguin Classics
. pp. i?ii & xii.
ISBN
0-14-243714-X
.
- ^
Ivan Morris,
The World of the Shining Prince
(1964), p. 277
- ^
Tyler, Royall (2003).
The Tale of Genji
.
Penguin Classics
. p. xxvi.
ISBN
0-14-243714-X
.
- ^
a
b
Bryan (1930), 65.
- ^
Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai (1970), 37.
- ^
Kato (1979), pp. 160, 163.
- ^
"Symposium Commemorating Classics Day"
.
MEXT
. Retrieved
6 July
2018
.
- ^
Japan Encyclopedia
, p. 237, at
Google Books
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External links
[
edit
]
Japanese
Wikisource
has original text related to this article:
- The Tale of Genji ? Oxford Text Archive
A complete English translation of the work, free for non-commercial use, Edward G. Seidensticker's translation.
- The Tale of Genji, 1654
Library of Congress
, Asian Division. The edition in the Library of Congress is a complete and well-preserved set including the complete main text (54 volumes) of Tale of Genji, also Meyasu (3 volumes, commentary on key words and phrases in the text, Keizu (genealogy), Yamaji no tsuyu (a sequel to the work by a later author), and Hikiuta (index).
- Japanese Literature ? Including Selections from Genji Monogatari and Classical Poetry and Drama of Japan
Contains the 1882 Suematsu translation of the first 17 chapters of
The Tale of Genji
, with an introduction and notes.
- The Texts of
Genji Monogatari
Original text, romanized version, and modern Japanese translation of
The Tale of Genji
at the University of Virginia Library.
- Tale of the Genji
woodcuts
Woodcut illustrations and accompanying excerpts at the UNESCO Global Heritage Pavilion.
- The Picture Scroll of
The Tale of Genji
Some scans of the
Genji Monogatari Emaki
(
Tale of Genji Scroll
). Only about half of the images are from the twelfth-century scroll; they are the darker colored, more faded images.
- The Tale of Genji
A photographic guide to
The Tale of Genji
.
- The Tale of Genji Audiobooks
Japanese reading of 7 of 54 chapters from the original text, mp3 files.
- Japan Finance Minister Announces Kyoto Coin Design with
The Tale of Genji
Theme
The Kyoto Prefecture commemorative coin set for release in October 2008 features a scene from
The Tale of Genji
.
- Carving of Picture Scroll of
Genji monogatari
Paper carvings by Noda Kazuko reproducing the 18 extant illustrations of the 13th-century
Genji monogatari emaki
.
- Ohmi Gallery
A nice collection of Ukiyo-e and Shin-hanga, including illustrations of
The Tale of Genji
by such artists as Ebina Masao and Utagawa Kunisada.
- Tale of Genji Scroll
18th century anonymous artist
Archived
19 October 2017 at the
Wayback Machine
Available at Dartmouth College, it covers the first 16 chapters of the tale.
- The Tale of Genji
by Miyata Masayuki
Paper cuts by renowned artist Miyata Masayuki.
- World Digital Library
presentation of
源氏物語
Genji monogatari: Volume One, Kiritsubo
.
Library of Congress
. Primary source moveable type book. 1596?1615, first printed edition of the world's first great novel.
- Genji Monogatari
public domain audiobook at
LibriVox
- Tale of Genji chapter summaries
- The Tale of Genji
at
Project Gutenberg
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