Tale of Genji

An illustrated guide to one of the most enduring masterworks of world literature

Written in the eleventh century by the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji is a masterpiece of prose and poetry that is widely considered the world's first novel. Melissa McCormick provides a unique companion to Murasaki's tale that combines discussions of all fifty-four of its chapters with paintings and calligraphy from the Genji Album (1510) in the Harvard Art Museums, the oldest dated set of Genji illustrations known to exist.

In this book, the album's colorful painting and calligraphy leaves are fully reproduced for the first time, followed by McCormick's insightful essays that analyze the Genji story and the album's unique combinations of word and image. This stunning compendium also includes English translations and Japanese transcriptions of the album's calligraphy, enabling a holistic experience of the work for readers today. In an introduction to the volume, McCormick tells the fascinating stories of the individuals who created the Genji Album in the sixteenth century, from the famous court painter who executed the paintings and the aristocrats who brushed the calligraphy to the work's warrior patrons and the poet-scholars who acted as their intermediaries.

Beautifully illustrated, this book serves as an invaluable guide for readers interested in The Tale of Genji, Japanese literature, and the captivating visual world of Japan's most celebrated work of fiction.

-- "Hyperallergic"

Un ghid ilustrat al uneia dintre cele mai durabile capodopere ale literaturii mondiale Scris in secolul al XI-lea de catre nobila japoneza Murasaki Shikibu, Povestea lui Genji este o capodopera a prozei si a poeziei care este considerata pe scara larga primul roman din lume. Melissa McCormick ofera o tovarasa unica povestii lui Murasaki, care combina discutiile tuturor celor cincizeci si patru din capitolele sale cu picturi si caligrafie din Genji Album (1510) din Muzeele de Arta de la Harvard, cel mai vechi set datat de ilustratii Genji cunoscute. carte, pictura colorata a albumului si frunzele de caligrafie sunt complet reproduse pentru prima data, urmate de eseurile perspicace ale lui McCormick care analizeaza povestea lui Genji si combinatiile unice de cuvant si imagine ale albumului.