Knowra The Tale of Genji The Tale of Genji An early eleventh-century Japanese court narrative by Murasaki Shikibu, following Prince Genji and the lives of those around him. Its layered portraits of love, rank, beauty, and impermanence make it a landmark of Japanese literature.
Murasaki Shikibu : A Japanese court woman and author, best known for writing The Tale of Genji. Her observations of aristocratic life inform the novel’s social detail and psychological portraits.
Uji chapters : The final ten chapters of The Tale of Genji, centered on Kaoru and Niou in the Uji region. They shift the narrative’s focus from Genji’s life to a younger generation.
Fujiwara clan : A Japanese aristocratic family that wielded major political influence during the Heian period. Murasaki Shikibu’s life and court access were connected to Fujiwara power.
The Tale of Genji in translation : The history and practice of rendering Murasaki Shikibu’s novel into other languages. Translations shape how its prose, poetry, and culturally specific references reach new audiences.
Japanese literature : Literary works written in Japanese, spanning poetry, prose, drama, and other forms. The novel is a central work in the history of Japanese prose.
Heian period : A period of Japanese history from 794 to 1185, marked by the imperial court at Heian-kyō. The novel’s customs, institutions, and elite setting belong to this period.
Genji Monogatari Emaki : An illustrated handscroll adaptation of The Tale of Genji, produced in the twelfth century. Its images and calligraphy show how selected episodes could be visualized.
Sugawara no Takasue's Daughter : An eleventh-century Japanese diarist whose writing records court life and literary culture. Her diary offers a contemporary account of hearing episodes of the Genji narrative.
Arthur Waley : A British scholar and translator of Asian literature, whose English Genji appeared from 1925 to 1933. His influential translation introduced the novel to many English-language readers.
World literature : Literature that circulates across languages and cultures through reading, translation, and study. Its translations have made the novel part of international literary discussion.
Show all 27