The Tale of Genji, The World’s First Novel, Turns 1,000 Years Old
By
I was inspired to write today’s post by browsing around Melanie’s thought-provoking Cynical Optimism blog, where she proposes literary questions that are left open for visitors to ponder in the comment box. I recommend spending a while browsing and commenting for yourself. I did.
The day’s suggestion was posted by Barbara: Do you think any current author is of the same caliber as Dickens, Austen, Bronte, or any of the classic authors? If so, who, and why do you think so? If not, why not? What books from this era might be read 100 years from now?
Melanie’s scholarly musings on the endurance of modern writers intrigued me, but one misstatement inspired this post. Melanie stated that novels read for pure entertainment have only been around for a few hundred years, which sent my thoughts back to the first (known) novel ever written.
Forgive me, Melanie, for pointing out a misconception, but isn’t that always the case with a perfectly written post with but one error? That happens to me also.
So let me pause here to make known that my post is not in any way derisive of Melanie’s. She in fact inspired me. And her statement never for a second caused me pause about Melanie herself, as I was enthralled during my immersion in her literary blog. This only made me wonder how many writers aren’t aware of the world’s first novel, inspiring this timely post, as The Tale of Genji turns 1,000 years old.
Earliest written text and emaki pages from the illustrated 12th hand scroll
The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu sat prominently on my shelf through several nationwide moves. The Tale Genji is around 500 pages and around 1000 years old. And on top of all that the first novel ever written, and still in publication after a millennium, was written by a woman. Some call it the best novel ever written.
The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu chronicles life in the 11th century, especially court life under Prince Genji. And she didn’t flinch at exploring the sexual aspects.
So enduring is this world-first-novel, there is even a novel written about it, The Tale of Murasaki: A Novel, by Liza Dolby, which perfectly captures the sensual moon of The Tale of Genji. In her imaginary biography of the world’s first novelist, Dolby uses Murasaki’s actual poems and diary entries.
Liza Dalby’s novel is a brilliantly imagined chronicle of the 11th-century Japanese writer Murasaki Shikibu. As we soon discover, our narrator has a good many doubts about the writing life.
“As I pondered this question of how to be a success at court,” she muses, “I came to the conclusion that literary ambition was more likely than not to bring a woman to a bad end.” Happily, the real-life Murasaki persisted, and went on to become the author of the world’s first novel, The Tale of Genji.
For The Tale of Murasaki, Dalby draws on this groundbreaking masterpiece and on the surviving fragments of Murasaki’s own diary and poetry, along with another masterpiece of the Heian period, The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon. The result is a vivid and emotionally detailed portrait of an intelligent, sensitive, and complex woman.
In Dalby’s novel, Murasaki writes her first stories about Prince Genji’s amorous encounters in order to entertain her friends, and to express her own creative temperament. As the stories gain a wider public, however, they are transformed into a conduit for observations on the mores and intrigues of court life. And in the end, as the narrator struggles to stay true to her literary vision, her tales are inflected by Buddhist thought and become parables on the transience and beauty of the world.
“I have always felt compelled to set down a vision of things I have heard and seen. Life itself has never been enough. It only became real for me when I fashioned it into stories. Yet, somehow, despite all I’ve written, the true nature of things I’ve tried to grasp in my fiction still manages to drift through the words and sit, like little piles of dust, between the lines.”
Amazon.com Review
Illustration of ch.48 — 早蕨Sawarabi (“Bracken Shoots”). (12th century Tokugawa Art Museum handscroll Genji Monogatari Emaki )
See The Tale of Genji and Related Books
Popularity: 2% [?]
BE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE TO VISUAL ARTS JUNCTION
Powered By WP Footer
That's how I felt too. I ran right out and bought it. A yougn girl on facebook told me she had studied it in school. That's really great that they introduce students to that now a days. When I was in school they sure didn't.
Kelley left this comment at Facebook and I asked her if she'd share it with everyone here also. Thank you, Kelley for your thoughts.
Awesome! I really had no idea!
Studying the Tale of Genji in art history was an interesting glimpse of the Heian period and the Japanese culture. As they say, there are no new plots, so overall it didn't particularly appeal to me as a story, but I really was fascinated with it because of its female writer and the time period in which it was written. The plot reminded me a bit of the family saga genre (books along the lines of Thorn Birds), and Genji himself reminded me a bit of some of the stereotypical heros of romantic novels: he was a powerful man with quite a bit of . . . worldly experience.
And then there's the fact that it is illustrated, which reminds me of today's graphic novels.
The flattened perspective of the illustrations was really interesting, primarily because before seriously studying art or art history, I had always thought of flattened perspective as amateurish because it is unrealistic. But now I can appreciate it for its historical and cultural significance, as well as its appealing design focus in certain instances.
If I remember correctly (I can't find my textbook at the moment) I thought it was interesting that it was written as entertainment for the women of the Japanese court, and it was written in the language wealthy women of that time period were allowed to use. The courtly aspect reminded me of the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine and her penchant for chivalric romances.
My art history professor provided this interesting website for further context: http://taleofgenji.org/
I might have to read Dalby's novel based on Lady Murasaki!
I had no idea that novel existed. Thanks for the heads up!
Visiting for IComWeLeave. I'm not reading much these days. Working on a book about blogging and social media. It's kind of slow reading.
I didn't know there was a book this old! Dropping in from ICLW. Have a good one!