"The Tale of Genji set an insanely high standard for anything that came after it. This latest edition is reader friendly at every turn, with generous footnotes, character lists and lots of illustrations to show what robes looked like, or swords, or houses. You have to reach for comparisons to Tolstoy or Proust to convey just what a captivating experience this story can be."

--Newsweek

Written in the eleventh century,this exquisite portrait of court life in medieval Japan is widely celebrated as the world’s first novel and is certainly one of its finest. Genji, the Shining Prince. is the son of an emperor. He is a passionate Character whose tempestuous nature, family circumstances, love affairs, alliances, and shifting political fortumes form the core of this magnificent epic.

Royall Tylcr’s superb translation is detailed, poetic. and truc to the Japanese original while allowing the English reader to appreciate its timeless beauty Supplemented with detailed notes, glossaries, character lists, and a chronology to help the reader navigate the multigencrational narrative, this comprehensive edition presents this ancient talc in the grand style that it deserves.

Acknowledgments

List of Maps and Diagrams

Introduction

1. The Paulownia Pavilion (Kiritsubo)

2. The Broom Tree (Hahakigi)

3. The Cicada Shell (Utsusemi)

4. The Twilight Beauty (Yugao)

5. Young Murasaki (Wakamurasaki)

6. The Safflower (Suetsumuhana)

7. Beneath the Autumn Leaves (Momiji no Ga)

8. Under the Cherry Blossoms (Hana no En)

9. Heart-to-Heart (Aoi)

10. The Green Branch (Sakaki)

11. Falling Flowers (Hanachirusato)

12. Suma (Suma)

13. Akashi (Akashi)

14. The Pilgrimage to Surniyoshi (Miotsukushi)

15. A Waste of Weeds (Yornogiu)

16. At the Pass (Sekiya)

17. The Picture Contest (Eawase)

18. Wind in the Pines (Matsukaze)

19. Wisps of Cloud (Usugurno)

20. The Bluebell (Asagao)

21. The Maidens (Otorne)

22. The Tendril Wreath (Tarnakazura)

23. The Warbler’s First Song (Hatsune)

24. Butterflies (Kocho)

25. The Fireflies (Hotaru)

26. The Pink (Tokonatsu)

27. The Cressets (Kagaribi)

28. The Typhoon (Nowaki)

29. The Imperial Progress (Miyuki)

30. Thoroughwort Flowers (Fujibakarna)

31. The Handsome Pillar (Makibashira)

32. The Plum Tree Branch (Urnegae)

33. New Wisteria Leaves (Fuji no Uraba)

34. Spring Shoots I (Wakana 1)

35. Spring Shoots II (Wakana 2)

36. The Oak Tree (Kashiwagi)

37. The Flute (Yokobue)

38. The Bell Cricket (Suzurnushi)

39. Evening Mist (Yugiri)

40. The Law (Minori)

41. The Seer (Maboroshi)

Vanished into the Clouds (Kumogakure)

42. The Perfumed Prince (Niou Miya)

43. Red Plum Blossoms (Kobai)

44. Bamboo River (Takekawa)

45. The Maiden of the Bridge (Hashihime)

46. Beneath the Oak (Shiigamoto)

47. Trefoil Knots (Agemaki)

48. Bracken Shoots (Sawarabi)

49. The Ivy (Yadorigi)

50. The Eastern Cottage (Azumaya)

51. A Drifting Boat (Ukifune)

52. The Mayfly (Kagero)

53. Writing Practice (Tenarai)

54. The Floating Bridge of Dreams (Yume no Ukihashi)

Chronology

General Glossary

Clothing and Color

Offices and Titles

Summary of Poetic Allusions Identified in the Notes

Characters in The Tale of Genii

Further Reading