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The Tale of Genji: Introduction by Edward G. Seidensticker (Everyman's Library Classics Series) Hardcover – Abridged, January 11, 1993

by Murasaki Shikibu (Author), Edward Seidensticker (Translator)

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In the early eleventh century Murasaki Shikibu, a lady in the Heian court of Japan, wrote what many consider to be the world’s first novel, more than three centuries before Chaucer. The Heian era (794—1185) is recognized as one of the very greatest periods in Japanese literature, and The Tale of Genji is not only the unquestioned prose masterpiece of that period but also the most lively and absorbing account we have of the intricate, exquisite, highly ordered court culture that made such a masterpiece possible.

Genji is the favorite son of the emperor but also a man of dangerously passionate impulses. In his highly refined world, where every dalliance is an act of political consequence, his shifting alliances and secret love affairs create great turmoil and very nearly destroy him.

Edward Seidensticker’s translation of Lady Murasaki’s splendid romance has been honored throughout the English-speaking world for its fluency, scholarly depth, and deep literary tact and sensitivity.

Print length

1224 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Everyman's Library
Publication date

January 11, 1993
Dimensions

5.39 x 2.2 x 8.3 inches
ISBN-10

0679417389
ISBN-13

978-0679417385
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“[The Tale of Genji is] not only the world’s first real novel,
but one of its greatest.” –Donald Keene, Columbia University

“Edward Seidensticker’s translation has the ring of authority.” –New York Times Book Review

“A triumph of authenticity and readability.” –Washington Post Book World

From the Inside Flap

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 characters whose inner lives are as rich and changeable as those imagined by Proust. Chief of these is "the shining Genji," the son of the emperor and a man whose passionate impulses create great turmoil in his world and very nearly destroy him. This edition, recognized as the finest version in English, contains a dozen chapters from early in the book, carefully chosen by the translator, Edward G. Seidensticker, with an introduction explaining the selection. It is illustrated throughout with woodcuts from a seventeenth-century edition.

"From the Trade Paperback edition.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Everyman's Library; Abridged edition (January 11, 1993)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 1224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0679417389
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0679417385
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.4 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.39 x 2.2 x 8.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #112,385 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,191 in Short Stories Anthologies
- #3,498 in Classic Literature & Fiction
- #7,815 in Literary Fiction (Books)

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4.2 out of 5

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Brandon

Great Book, great binding

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2014

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Love the book. There are countless references which it takes the time in footnotes to explain. I felt that this book was well thought out and well translated. I like that it references each poem alluded to in the text to let the reader find the poem and read it him/her self. The binding was good quality, the dust cover is sturdy. The only complaint I have of this book is the tassel that it comes with of cotton and is not bound at the bottom, as a consequence it has started to unravel. I'll probably end up cutting it off since it will completely unravel before you've finished the book. Other than this, great read and good quality.

4 people found this helpful

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ArielM

Seidensticker: my respects to you

Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2016

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People tend to say it a "boring novel" or "not much action involved". I won't review it in that sense; it crossed the barrier of time and culture, criticizing its solidity seems way too postmodern. The edition is excellent, I much prefer it to the newer, more scholarly edition of Penguin. The poetry translation, most pervasive in this work, is outstanding in its own. I highly recommend it, in every sense.

14 people found this helpful

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Sarah

Oldest Novel Ever Written- yet still enticing to read

Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2014

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And by a lady too.
This 1000+ page novel is the oldest known surviving novel ever written. It's about a troubled prince who is searching for the love of a mother by trying to love women both sexually and romantically. He ends up falling in love with his thirty something year old step mother who was his mother's cousin or sister (I can't remember) when he's like fifteen to fill the void of not having a mother. But a lot of things happen pertaining to complicated character webs and it's written in a beautiful, poetic way that CAN and will leave the reader confused. Especially involving the syntax of the novel. A lot of the love scenes, I've noticed, just stop and bounce to a completely different subject and I speculate it's because the author Shikibu didn't want to seem too entirely improper for her time. But that's just a guess. This is some heavy reading that I would recommend for people 18+, not for the reasons of "sexual" content but because of all the underlying meanings and little archetypes that could easily be missed by a less experienced reader and thus lose all purpose of plot. So as long as a you're a well-read individual, then go ahead and go crazy. It's a wonderful, inter-generational book that should be on every literature-lover's shelf.

20 people found this helpful

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Ada Mishler

Typical Dover Thrift edition

Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2021

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I’ve always liked that Dover Thrift editions aren’t abridged like a lot of cheap books.

One person found this helpful

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Phred

It is great literature because somebody says so

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2021

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Unless you are a student of things Japanese from 1000 years ago, there are a few reasons to read The Tale of Gengi. It has a legitimate claim to be the worlds first Novel and compared with say Don Quixote, it reads a lot more like what we would recognize as a novel. My version, Kindle edition, translated by Edward Seidensticker runs over 1300 pages and does not exactly end so much as it stops.

Authorship is credited to a Lady in Waiting, whose name is somewhat disputed and credit, with some reason is given to Lady Murasaki Shikibu from the 11 Century Hain period of Japan. My sense was that the authoress was writing to ladies of the court who kept her going rather like Shahrazad and like her she keeps adding to whatever she told them the last time. Lady Murasaki however stays with one family, mostly Genji, a son of one emperor, demoted to commoner to protect him from those promoting his legitimate older son, only to have Genji, sire the next Emperor, by cuckolding his dad. O yeah 400 characters later and there will be a lot of this kind of bedroom goings on.

Before getting back to the never-ending story. OK I digress from my digression. So far the book had me thinking, 1001 Nights, Homer (with no warfare), the many loves of Dobie Gillies, Barry Lyndon and something purpose built to enrage anyone with even a tad of feminist outlook.
Comeing back one digression, According to Wiki: It 9The original book) was made in "concertina" or orihon style: several sheets of paper pasted together and folded alternately in one direction then the other.” There is no original text, or agreed to be complete test in existence. There are several variations of various lengths about. There even remains some debate, and for obvious reasons if the 54 chapter version I just finished is the complete version. Of particular interest to me, is the almost casual treatment of the Imperial Court. If The Militarist/Nationalists were correct that the Emperor was a deity, he was most certainly not one in the year 1000. Throughout the book he is given some respect but I do not think cuckolding a deity is quite the kind of thing the militarists were looking to have the public accept.

Back to the novel. For almost to the page the first 2/3 of the books centers on the love life on Genji. He will seduce, take by force and generally have his way with a large number of women. His eventually preferred wife is a woman he takes, by force at her age, about 10. (The Lady is Murasaki daughter of Prince Hyobu, niece of Fujitsubo, and granddaughter of a former emperor; Genji's favorite lady) The novel is a tad delicate about him hot having her until she is an adult, but, 1 That is not the only way to read the text, 2. Age 10? Bottom line, being a woman of any level of upper class, having at least some looks, or other political value, meant participating in very elaborate seductions, and not all of them by your choice.

Of the theme most often repeated, the single most used words are those about weeping, shedding or almost shedding tears, and wet sleeves (wet from tears). There is a vast almost of critical analysis of the kinds and colors of papers used to send note or esp poems, quality of penmanship and Poems, Hundreds of poems. Waiting poems, morning after poems, poems using specific blossoms and plants, grasses, pines in particular, and all requiring the reader to understand that each blossom plant and branch has its own meaning. Pines, I think are never mentioned except that they a tree believed to last like love for 1000 years.

A husband is supposed to pretty much accept that his wife will have lovers, and husbands are mostly blatant about having this or that entanglement. Men or women can get unfortunate reputations, but they never seem to be punished for them. Genji, will be, but nor for long. Women however may be driven to suicide, insanity or get them to a nunnery. This kind of reaction is sort of sympathetically understood, but, for example, the high-born lady can count on her ladies in waiting to encourage every half way presentable, or powerful would be lover.

The actual process of seduction is a highly manner stepwise operation. A titled woman could go her life never being naked. To be seen in profile, even by a male family member would be a scandal. And so, a susceptible male may be inflamed by no more that a sleeve hanging below a carriage door, conduct his entire campaign through cracks in doors, across many silken screens and have his conquest culminate by sharing a nap with a beloved swathed in many layers of clothes. For the record there is very little full nudity in esp period Japanese pornography. His success and her desirability could be furthered or held back by the quality of:
The poems, the paper used for the poems, the handwriting used in making the poem, having a branch of the correct plant tied in the right way to the poem which has to be folded the right way. All this and your perfume, better not suggest you are not of the city, but of the country. Men better look good in their various versions of court dress, formal and informal, traveling clothes and ceremonial attire.

And of course, everything has to be done and surrounded by materials at once, rare, of the highest workmanship, lavish and tasteful.

Not yet complex enough. All of the 400 characters have names, and live lives consistent with each other in terms of everyone aging and fortunes rising and falling. However, a character may be referred to by title, and the reference changing as their title changes, where they live and where they live in a common household. We have Genji’s first wife is named Aoi because she is known as the lady of the Aoi chapter, Minister of the Left; then Chancellor; Aoi’s father; and even by how referred to in a love poem, - the lady of the Locust Shell, or the lady of the North wing and so forth.

There are several generation s peopling The Tale of Genji, but mostly one-story line. How he came to see her, decide she was his great love object, the Ladies in waiting promote the affair, they trade poems, they love and leave, or she becomes part of one of his households and on to the next. There is much weeping at every stage. There are occasional major parties, festivals and, poetry or musical competitions. But as Lady Murasaki, the novel narrator might say the details are too many and I will not take your time relating all of them.

As a historic piece of literature, Tale of Genji is a major challenge, but hey it’s the first of its kind, Right? A a view into a highly sophisticated if effete culture it may be fascinating. To anyone seeking strong female leaders, there are a few, but for the rest women are highly literate, poetic vessels to be used.

12 people found this helpful

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Gary Hainsworth

Tom Jones meets Heian Period.

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2019

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A decent translation of a Japanese classic. There are better translations out there but you will pay a premium. This is a good compromise. An inexpensive way to get a classic work — arguably the first novel ever written.

One person found this helpful

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David M. Emberling

Disappointing

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2019

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Maybe I'm missing something, but it seemed to be just the story of a guy chasing one woman after another. It made it seem like the upper classes of the day had nothing better to do. I found the habit of lacing conversations with poetry mildly interesting, but without a sophisticated knowledge of ancient Japanese poetry, it was mostly wasted on me. Also, the part where Genji kidnaps and rapes a young girl is pretty horrifying, and apparently didn't bother the author (she described the rape as "mildly unpleasant").

8 people found this helpful

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anonatall

An Ordered World Awaits

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2013

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This is an ancient place; rarified by time and space. For us here, a microscopic view of the smallest of small worlds: the common thoughts of society and the consistency of its actions from kitchens to courts. Genji's life is a parallel Sidhartha. I want to try it again in Hard Copy.

One person found this helpful

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pooja Kanwar

😇😇😇

Reviewed in India on December 2, 2020

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The old epic 😍😍😍😍

One person found this helpful

Amazon カスタマー

Simple English

Reviewed in Japan on February 6, 2024

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正確な分かりやすい英語で原文と併せて楽しめる

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Paulo Leite

O livro tornou-se, e ainda é, uma espécie de Bíblia laica da cultura japonesa

Reviewed in Brazil on December 23, 2016

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Alguns críticos descrevem esta obra como o primeiro romance psicológico do mundo; outros colocam o livro entre os dos 12 melhores da literatura. As melhores traduções em inglês são de Arthur Waley e Edward G. Seidensticker. Reler Waley ao lado de Seidensticker, ou Dennis Washburn mais recentemente, é instrutivo. Genji é obra tão sutil e esplêndida que ficamos na expectativa de outras tantas versões. A narrativa romanesca de Murasaki, à medida que se desenrola, apresenta crescentes características do romance, exceto pelo fato de conter uma pletora desnorteante de protagonistas. São quase 50 personagens principais, e não é nada fácil manter em mente quem desposou quem, ou teve um relacionamento sexual, ou é o verdadeiro pai ou verdadeira filha de alguém. Genji príncipe imperial exilado e que se torna plebeu dentro do seu próprio território, é um personagem apaixonante, dotado de anseios perpétuos, mutáveis e impacientes quando frustrados. Não devemos entender Genji como um Dom Juan, embora o personagem manifeste o que Lorde Bryron chamava “mobilidade”. A própria Lady Murasaki, por intermédio do narrador, é, abertamente, mais do que simpática a Genji; trata-se de uma figura que irradia luz, e que deve se tornar imperador. Embora todos os personagem em “A História de Genji” sejam budistas e, portanto, prevenidos contra o desejo, quase todos são bastante suscetíveis, principalmente Genji. Este, que jamais será imperador, tem uma propensão especial para estabelecer ligações repentinas (e duradouras) com damas que não pertenciam à estirpe mais nobre. Assim, Genji encontra o grande relacionamento de sua vida na pessoa de uma menina de dez anos, por ele chamada Murasaki, a quem adota e educa. O nome da menina (assim como o da autora) refere-se à perfumada alfazema, e o relacionamento de Genji com a menina é escandaloso, desde o início. Lady Murasaki, mais de 900 anos antes de Freud, compreendia que todas as transferências eróticas são substituições de relacionamentos passados. Genji, sempre em busca de algo que não pode ser encontrado, recorre a outras amantes, ao mesmo tempo em que mantém Murasaki. Ela, por sua vez, possui consciência notável, recusa a submeter-se, e se volta para a devoção budista, como um meio de reencontrar a si mesma e à sua própria infância. Enfim, “A História de Genji” é especial para uma infinidade de homens e mulheres no Japão, dotados de sensibilidade estética. O anseio destrói Genji, bem como as mais dignas das mulheres que o cercam. E aí localiza-se o gênio de Murasaki e o esplendor do livro: um anseio que jamais há de ser satisfeito, um desejo que jamais será aplacado. Depois de ler Murasaki, o leitor experimentará, com relação ao amor e à paixão, sentimentos inteiramente novos.

3 people found this helpful

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maire bourke unsatisfying

The best translation

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 15, 2013

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Don't bother with any other translation than Waley's. I tried one by a Japanese translator and it was awful. I first read this novel twenty years ago and liked it, now that I am older I love it. For anyone interested in Japanese culture this is the perfect holiday read.

3 people found this helpful

Michel Heller

Shortened but still enchanting

Reviewed in France on August 4, 2008

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This shortened version of one of the most beautiful novels written on this planet, is so well done that remains a jewel of poetry and sentiments.

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