The Tale of Genji - Softcover

Murasaki Shikibu

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0394735307 ISBN 13: 9780394735306

Publisher: Knopf, 1978

Synopsis

The Tale of Genji was written in the eleventh century by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady of the Heian court. It is universally recognized as the greatest masterpiece of Japanese prose narrative, perhaps the earliest true novel in the history of the world. Until now there has been no translation that is both complete and scrupulously faithful to the original text. Edward G. Seidensticker's masterly rendering was first published in two volumes in 1976 and immediately hailed as a classic of the translator's art. It is here presented in one unabridged volume, illustrated throughout by woodcuts taken from a 1650 Japanese edition of The Tale of Genji.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

The Tale of Genji is a very long romance, running to fifty-four chapters and describing the court life of Heian Japan, from the tenth century into the eleventh.

About the Author:

Murasaki Shikibu, a lady in the Heian court of Japan, is best known as the author of The Tale of Genji–written in the eleventh century and universally recognized as the greatest masterpiece of Japanese prose narrative and possibly the earliest true novel in the history of the world.

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf
• Publication date: 1978
• ISBN 10: 0394735307
• ISBN 13: 9780394735306
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1120