Murasaki Shikibu Book order

"The Tale of Genji" by Lady Muraski is one of the world's most influential novels. As the first psychological novel, "The Tale of Genji" delves into the motivations and thoughts of the main characters, which had never been done in previous novels. The famous Japanese story is about Genji, the son of an emperor. When his mother died, Genji's father married another woman who greatly resembled Genji's mother. However, Genji fell in love with his new stepmother, causing problems between him and his own wife. He pursues a number of affairs, and is eventually exiled from the Capitol to a small, rural town. While Lady Murasaki did not base "The Tale of Genji" on a true story, she was inspired by a Minister in the royal court. She wrote the story in small installments for the ladies of the court, which might explain why the story was never "finished;" Lady Murasaki intended to keep the stories going as long as she possibly could. She also created some of the most memorable female characters in literature. As such, "The Tale of Genji" is widely considered to be one of the greatest works in the Japanese literature canon, as well as one of the most influential works of storytelling. Contained in this volume is the abridged translation of Suematsu Kencho.

This text presents an examination of Murasaki Shikibu's 11th-century classic The Tale of Genji. The author explores the role of possessing spirits from a female viewpoint, and considers how the male protagonist is central to determining the role of these spirits.

Derived from the journals of an empress's tutor and companion, this unique book offers rare glimpses of court life in eleventh-century Japan. Lady Murasaki recounts episodes of drama and intrigue among courtiers as well as the elaborate rituals related to the birth of a prince. Her observations, expressed with great subtlety, offer penetrating and timeless insights into human nature. Murasaki Shikibu (circa AD 973–1025) served among the gifted poets and writers of the imperial court during the Heian period. She and other women of the era were instrumental in developing Japanese as a written language, and her masterpiece, The Tale of Genji, is regarded as the world's first novel. Lady Murasaki's diary reveals the role of books in her society, including the laborious copying of texts and their high status as treasured gifts. This translation is accompanied by a Foreword from American poet and Japanophile Amy Lowell.

Completed in the early 11th century, The Tale of Genji is considered the supreme masterpiece of Japanese prose literature, and one of the world's earliest novels. A work of great length, it comprises six parts, the first part of which (also called The Tale of Genji) is reprinted here. The exact origins of this remarkable saga of the nobility of Heian Japan remain somewhat obscured by time, although its author, Lady Shikibu Murasaki, presumably derived many of her insights into court life from her years of service with the royal family. The novel centers on the life and loves of the prince known as "the shining Genji." Far more than an exotic romance, however, the tale presents finely drawn characters in realistic situations, set against a richly embroidered tapestry of court life. Moreover, a wistful sense of nostalgia pervades the accounts of courtly intrigues and rivalries, resulting in an exquisitely detailed portrayal of a decaying aristocracy. Vibrant in its poetry and wordplay, subtle in its social and psychological observations, this work ranks in stature and significance with such Western classics as Cervantes' Don Quixote and Proust's Remembrance of Things Past. This inexpensive edition, featuring Arthur Waley's splendid translation of the first of the six-part series, offers readers a memorable taste of one of the world's first and greatest novels.