The Tale of Genji

 

The tale of Genji is a Japanese story written around the eleventh century and considered the oldest or first modern novel written. 

The tale was written by Murasaki Shikubu, a noblewoman serving at the court. She tells the story of Genji - a prince whose mother was a concubine of low descent. As a result, Genji was sent from the palace by the emperor for political reasons. But his story doesn’t end here, it’s just the starting point 🤓

Murasaki targeted a female audience and wrote in a feminine way of their time. She refers to her characters not by name but by their role e.g, the second concubine,  the palace guard of the west gate or by the color of their dress - like the man who wears lemon green and yellow 😂. This is because it wasn’t proper to call people by name. Imagine a thousand characters been referred to like this...

The tale of Genji centers around the romantic life of Genji which is very funny, intricate and reveals the culture of the Heian period during which the tale was written.

In translating the tale there were incomplete sentences of the vibes of the era for example now we say “when you’re in Rome...” or “cut your coat according...” This left some gaps but it also ascertains the camaraderie of those times.

The tale although ancient has all the condiments of a novel even more modern compared to its era.

So how about next week...should we dive into the tale of Genji?