The book is often described as the world’s first novel and a touchstone of Japanese literature. But some of its themes, including its take on gender and power, have echoed over centuries. References ...

Murasaki Shikibu, a Japanese widow on the fringes of nobility, wrote what is considered the world’s first novel, in the eleventh century. It’s an epic of seduction that follows the romantic intrigues ...

There have been several major English translations of Murasaki Shikibu’s 11th-century classic. Motoko Rich, The Times’s Tokyo bureau chief, discusses how she approached them. By Motoko Rich For ...

If you're looking for a book to read, The Tale of Genji is one worth reaching for, even if you've read it before, and even if you've read it more than once. But why is this novel so important, and how ...

The tale of Genji and the dynamics of cultural production: canonization and popularization / Haruo Shirane -- The late Heian and medieval periods: court culture, gender, and representation -- Figure ...

In mid-April, I flew to Japan because I’d become obsessed with an 11th-­century Japanese novel called The Tale of Genji. I also had a frantic longing to escape my country. At its best, literature is a ...

"Genji Monogatari" focuses on the love and hate relationships surrounding Genji Hakaru. Lady Fujitsubo is Genji's first love. Ryokuzono Miyasutokoro is obsessed with Genji and eventually becomes a ...