Library #35: The Tale of Genji, Vol. 1

The July-August 2025 Library subscription book will be THE TALE OF GENJI, Vol 1 by Lady Murasaki Shikibu

The Tale of Genji, 源氏物語, Genji Monogatari is a classic work of Japanese literature written by the noblewoman, poet, and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu around the peak of the Heian period, in the early 11th century. In Japan today it has a stature similar to that of the works of William Shakespeare in England.

The Tale of Genji is widely regarded as the world's first novel and a cornerstone of classical Japanese literature. Its historical significance lies in its detailed portrayal of courtly life, offering invaluable insights into the aesthetics, politics, and social customs of the Heian aristocracy. The work reflects the refined culture of the time, where poetry, music, and subtle emotional exchanges were central to aristocratic life. Additionally, its sophisticated narrative structure and psychological depth set it apart from earlier literary forms, marking a major evolution in prose fiction.

From a literary perspective, The Tale of Genji is celebrated for its intricate characterizations, lyrical prose, and exploration of themes such as love, impermanence, and the passage of time. The titular protagonist, Genji, known as the "Shining Prince," embodies both the ideals and flaws of Heian nobility, making him one of literature’s earliest complex antiheroes. Murasaki Shikibu’s use of interior monologue and shifting perspectives was revolutionary for its time, influencing not only Japanese literature but also later global narrative traditions. The novel’s poetic interludes and episodic structure have inspired countless adaptations in theater, visual art, and modern fiction.

Beyond its artistic achievements, The Tale of Genji holds cultural importance as a symbol of Japan’s literary heritage. It has been studied for centuries, with scholars producing extensive commentaries and translations, ensuring its preservation and accessibility. The work’s enduring appeal lies in its universal themes—human emotions, societal constraints, and the fleeting nature of beauty—making it resonate across time and cultures. Today, it remains a touchstone for discussions on classical literature and the development of the novel as an art form.

It was at the time when he was secretly visiting the lady of the Sixth Ward. One day on his way back from the Palace he thought that he would call upon his foster-mother who, having for a long while been very ill, had become a nun. She lived in the Fifth Ward. After many enquiries he managed to find the house; but the front gate was locked and he could not drive in. He sent one of his servants for Koremitsu, his foster-nurse’s son, and while he was waiting began to examine the rather wretched looking by-street. The house next door was fenced with a new paling, above which at one place were four or five panels of open trellis-work, screened by blinds which were very white and bare. Through chinks in these blinds a number of foreheads could be seen. They seemed to belong to a group of ladies who must be peeping with interest into the street below.

At first he thought they had merely peeped out as they passed; but he soon realized that if they were standing on the floor they must be giants. No, evidently they had taken the trouble to climb on to some table or bed; which was surely rather odd!

He had come in a plain coach with no outriders. No one could possibly guess who he was, and feeling quite at his ease he leant forward and deliberately examined the house. The gate, also made of a kind of trellis-work, stood ajar, and he could see enough of the interior to realize that it was a very humble and poorly furnished dwelling. For a moment he pitied those who lived in such a place, but then he remembered the song ‘Seek not in the wide world to find a home; but where you chance to rest, call that your house’; and again, ‘Monarchs may keep their palaces of jade, for in a leafy cottage two can sleep.’

There was a wattled fence over which some ivy-like creeper spread its cool green leaves, and among the leaves were white flowers with petals half unfolded like the lips of people smiling at their own thoughts. ‘They are called Yūgao, “Evening Faces,”’ one of his servants told him; ‘how strange to find so lovely a crowd clustering on this deserted wall!’ And indeed it was a most strange and delightful thing to see how on the narrow tenement in a poor quarter of the town they had clambered over rickety eaves and gables and spread wherever there was room for them to grow. He sent one of his servants to pick some. The man entered at the half-opened door, and had begun to pluck the flowers, when a little girl in a long yellow tunic came through a quite genteel sliding door, and holding out towards Genji’s servant a white fan heavily perfumed with incense, she said to him ‘Would you like something to put them on? I am afraid you have chosen a wretched-looking bunch,’ and she handed him the fan. Just as he was opening the gate on his way back, the old nurse’s son Koremitsu came out of the other house full of apologies for having kept Genji waiting so long—‘I could not find the key of the gate’ he said. ‘Fortunately the people of this humble quarter were not likely to recognize you and press or stare; but I am afraid you must have been very much bored waiting in this hugger-mugger back street,’ and he conducted Genji into the house. Koremitsu’s brother, the deacon, his brother-in-law Mikawa no Kami and his sister all assembled to greet the Prince, delighted by a visit with which they had not thought he was ever likely to honour them again.

The nun too rose from her couch: ‘For a long time I had been waiting to give up the world, but one thing held me back: I wanted you to see your old nurse just once again as you used to know her. You never came to see me, and at last I gave up waiting and took my vows. Now, in reward for the penances which my Order enjoins, I have got back a little of my health, and having seen my dear young master again, I can wait with a quiet mind for the Lord Amida’s Light,’ and in her weakness she shed a few tears.

‘I heard some days ago’ said Genji ‘that you were very dangerously ill, and was in great anxiety. It is sad now to find you in this penitential garb. You must live longer yet, and see me rise in the world, that you may be born again high in the ninth sphere of Amida’s Paradise. For they say that those who died with longings unfulfilled are burdened with an evil Karma in their life to come.’

People such as old nurses regard even the most blackguardly and ill-favoured foster-children as prodigies of beauty and virtue. Small wonder then if Genji’s nurse, who had played so great a part in his early life, always regarded her office as immensely honourable and important, and tears of pride came into her eyes while he spoke to her.

The old lady’s children thought it very improper that their mother, having taken holy orders, should show so lively an interest in a human career. Certain that Genji himself would be very much shocked, they exchanged uneasy glances. He was on the contrary deeply touched. ‘When I was a child’ he said ‘those who were dearest to me were early taken away, and although there were many who gave a hand to my upbringing, it was to you only, dear nurse, that I was deeply and tenderly attached. When I grew up I could not any longer be often in your company. I have not even been able to come here and see you as often as I wanted to. But in all the long time which has passed since I was last here, I have thought a great deal about you and wished that life did not force so many bitter partings upon us.’

So he spoke tenderly. The princely scent of the sleeve which he had raised to brush away his tears filled the low and narrow room, and even the young people, who had till now been irritated by their mother’s obvious pride at having been the nurse of so splendid a prince, found themselves in tears.

THE TALE OF GENJI will be published in two volumes, utilizing the 1935 Houghton Mifflin edition as a model. The translation is the classic Arthur Waley edition which is still taught in most Japanese literature courses. Both volumes will be bound in the new pigskin leather we have recently managed to source.

• CASTALIA HISTORY: the JUL-SEP Castalia History book is THE ART OF WAR IN THE MIDDLE AGES by Sir Charles Oman.

• CASTALIA CATHEDRA: The JUL-DEC Castalia Cathedra book is PRAYER AND THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE by St. Thomas Aquinas. Translated by Hugh Pope.

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