The Diary recorded by Lady Murasaki (c. 973 c. 1020), author of The Tale of Genji, is an intimate picture of her life as tutor and companion to the young Empress Shoshi. Told in a series of vignettes, it offers revealing glimpses of the Japanese imperial palace the auspicious birth of a prince, riva[...]

Murasaki Shikibu, born into the middle ranks of the aristocracy during the Heian Period (794-1185 CE), wrote The Tale of Genji-widely considered the world's first novel-during the early years of the eleventh century. Expansive, compelling, and sophisticated in its representation of ethical concerns [...]

Written in the eleventh century, this exquisite portrait of courtly life in medieval Japan is widely celebrated as the world's first novel - and is certainly one of its finest. Genji, the Shining Prince, son of an emperor, is a passionate character whose tempestuous nature, family circumstances, lov[...]

In the eleventh century Murasaki Shikibu, a lady in the Heian court of Japan, wrote the world's first novel. But The Tale of Genji is no mere artifact. It is, rather, a lively and astonishingly nuanced portrait of a refined society where every dalliance is an act of political consequence, a play of [...]

Murasaki Shikibu skrev det som brukar betraktas som världens första roman, Berättelsen om Genji. Det är anmärkningsvärt nog; att romanen skrevs av en japansk kvinna redan på 1000-talet gör det än mer anmärkningsvärt. Berättelsen om Genji är ännu i högsta grad levande litteratur. I lik[...]