Murasaki Shikibu: The Tale of GenjiMurasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, written in Japan in the early eleventh century, is acknowledged to be one of Japan's greatest literary achievements, and sometimes thought of as the world's first novel. It is also one of the earliest major works to be written by a woman. This introduction to the Genji sketches the cultural background, offers detailed analysis of the text, discusses matters of language and style and ends by tracing the history of its reception through nine centuries of cultural change. This book will be useful for survey courses in Japanese and World Literature. Because The Tale of Genji is so long, it is often not possible for students to read it in its entirety and this book will therefore be used not only as an introduction, but also as a guide through the difficult and convoluted plot. |
Contents
The cultural background | 1 |
Murasaki Shikibu | 3 |
Religion | 5 |
Language | 10 |
A grammar of sexual relations | 13 |
History and fiction | 17 |
The Tale of Genji | 22 |
Penance and restitution chapters 1221 | 28 |
Kashiwagis tortured mind | 57 |
Equivocal narration | 61 |
Poetry in prose | 63 |
Translations | 71 |
Impact influence and reception | 76 |
Murasaki in hell | 80 |
Medieval commentaries | 84 |
Tokugawa readings | 86 |
A prospect of flowers chapters 2233 | 34 |
Dangerous obsessions chapters 3441 | 41 |
A passion for selfdestruction chapters 4254 | 47 |
Language and style | 53 |
Modern readings | 92 |
Guide to further reading | 96 |
102 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Akashi Lady Akikonomu allusions becomes begins Bo Juyi Buddhist capital centre century chapter titles Chinese classical commentary Confucian court culture daughter desire discussion dream early emerge eventually exile fact father fiction Fujitsubo Fujiwara garden Heian Heian period historical honorific Ichijō imperial important Japanese poetry Kaoru Kashiwagi kind Kiritsubo Kokiden Kokinshu Lady Rokujo's language linked literary literature Lotus Sutra major mansion matters medieval Michinaga monogatari mother Motoori Murasaki Shikibu Nakanokimi narrative narrator Niou obsession Oigimi original passage passion poem poet poetic political present Prince prose reader realise recognise reference Reizei Emperor Rokujō role sacred scene seen Sei Shōnagon Seidensticker sense sexual shrine story substitute Suetsumuhana Sugawara no Michizane Suma Suzaku takes Tale of Genji Tales of Ise Tamakazura Teika's Third Princess Tō no Chūjō Tokugawa translation typhoon Ukifune Waley Waley's whole woman women Yang Guifei Yugao Yugiri