Genji Monogatari: A Classic Japanese Court Romance - Softcover

Shikibu, Murasaki

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1617200239 ISBN 13: 9781617200236

Publisher: A&D Publications, 2023

Synopsis

The Tale of Genji Monogatari is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early eleventh century, around the peak of the Heian Period. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel.

About this title

About the Authors

Lady Murasaki Shikibu was an eleventh-century Japanese writer, poet, and lady-in-waiting at the Heian imperial court. She is best known as the author of The Tale of Genji, a monumental work of prose fiction that portrays aristocratic life, courtship, politics, poetry, memory, and emotional consequence with extraordinary refinement. Her position within the court gave her access to the rituals, rivalries, ambitions, and private tensions that shape the world of the novel.Though much about her life remains uncertain, Murasaki's literary achievement is unmistakable. Genji Monogatari stands among the great works of world literature and is often described as one of the earliest great novels. Her writing combines psychological insight, social observation, lyric beauty, and a deep awareness of impermanence, making her essential to readers of Japanese literature, women writers, courtly romance, world classics, and the long history of narrative fiction.

Kencho Suematsu was a Japanese statesman, scholar, writer, and translator who helped introduce Japanese literature and culture to English-language readers in the late nineteenth century. His translation of Genji Monogatari, published in 1882, was the first English translation of any part of Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji and played an important role in bringing this great Heian court classic to Western attention. Suematsu's work belongs to the early history of Japanese literature in English translation, making it historically significant even though later translators produced fuller and more modern versions of the text.Also, small correction: the name order is usually Kencho Suematsu, not Suematsu by Kencho. In contributor fields, use Kencho Suematsu unless Ingram requires surname-first entry.

Edition details

• Publisher: A&D Publications
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1617200239
• ISBN 13: 9781617200236
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 223