Ukiyo-e triptych print, a joint work of Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) and Utagawa Hiroshige, identified as a modern version of the Tale of Genji in snow scenes. (Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons)
The Greeks have Homer and the “Iliad.” The English — “Beowulf,” Chaucer, Shakespeare. The Japanese — “The Tale of Genji.”
The story goes that a thousand years ago, Japanese imperial lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu, sat down in the moonlight of a temple outside Kyoto and began to write. Her great tale — of love and longing and court intrigue — is often called the world’s first novel. In Japan, they’ve been celebrating its thousandth anniversary.
The story’s complex hero: the “Shining Genji,” the impossibly beautiful, highly amorous son of the emperor of Japan and a lowly concubine. In Japan, he’s still a heartthrob. The book, a classic. Its insights, as fresh as a thousand-year birthday.
This hour, On Point: Inside “The Tale of Genji.”
You can join the conversation. Do you know this Japanese classic tale of an imperial Don Juan? Are you ready to recognize familiar human psychology in a tale from far away and a thousand years ago? Share your thoughts.
-Tom Ashbrook
Guests:
Joining us from Pasadena, Calif., is Lynne Miyake. She is a professor of Japanese, Asian and Women’s studies at Pomona College, and a scholar of the “Tale of Genji” and the life of its author.
And from Berkeley, Calif., is Liza Dalby, a novelist and cultural anthropologist. She’s the author of “The Tale of Murasaki,” a historical novel about the life of Murasaki Shikibu, the woman who wrote “The Tale of Genji.”
More links:
The text of Royall Tyler’s English translation of “The Tale of Genji,” the version read by our guests on this show, is available online at Google Books, along with his introduction. Another well-known English translation, by Edward G. Seidensticker, is available online here.
Tags: books, culture, history, Japan
I only recently heard of this story. Would your guest recommend a version for a first time reader?
Posted by Helen Chase, on February 6th, 2009 at 11:30 AMThank you.
Helen
Norfolk
Oh goodness.
I actually have a BA in Asian Studies, but somehow I never got to read Genji in full. I haven’t even though about the book in ages, but listening to the talk this morning I remember why I loved it so much.
To Helen: The Seidensticker translation, while thick, is excellent.
Posted by Soli, on February 6th, 2009 at 11:43 AMI am very happy to have a chance to listen precious novel “The tale of Genji”
Posted by Sadao Ohata, on February 8th, 2009 at 10:40 PMin English.
Also,we ,Japanese ,are very proud of this novel.
Awesome show.
Posted by Molly, on February 13th, 2009 at 10:46 PMListening to “On Point” in the car returning from Cape Cod. I never heard of the tale of Genji. I ordered a copy from Amazon. My local Barnes and Noble didn’t have it in their computers. I will follow the reading with the Dalby’s book on the author. Or should I read Dalby’s book first? Thanks for a most enjoyable listening time.
Posted by Carmela Turco, on February 15th, 2009 at 2:52 PMVery nice show -it would have been nice if your guests had spent more time on the importance of poetry and the philosophical implications in the Tale of Genji -but a very good review
Posted by Robert J Hamburger, on February 17th, 2009 at 9:03 PMthank you