by Murasaki Shikibu

The Tale of Genji, considered the world’s first great novel, describes the life of Japanese court society during the Heian period (794-1185) about 50 years before the lifetime of the author, Murasaki Shikibu (c. 973- 1030). Murasaki Shikibu is a nickname (adopted from a character in the novel) of the court lady who composed the work while serving as companion to Sh-oshi, (988-1074), the daughter of the powerful regent Fujiwara no Michinaga (966- 1027). During Murasaki Shikibu’s lifetime, chapters of The Tale of Genji circulated independently; it was unusual to have a copy of all the chapters for consecutive reading. The earliest existing fragments of a complete manuscript appear in an early mid-twelfth-century scroll, the Illustrated Genji Scroll, which was transcribed 150 years after the death of the author. The final ten chapters of the novel present a style and atmosphere...