“The Tale of Genji” by Murasaki Shikibu is the ancient equivalent of a blockbuster novel. Written in the early 11th century by a lady-in-waiting at the Japanese court. She produced her writings in a female salon at the imperial court.

it’s considered by many to be the world’s first novel, or at least the first to really delve into the complexities of human emotions and relationships. Murasaki Shikibu wasn’t just ahead of her time; she practically invented her time when it came to narrative storytelling. She was ahead of her time in another way too. She used a pseudonym. Murasaki Shikibu is a name adopted from a character in the novel.

The The Tale or Genji was written in a new form of writing. Denied education or even the right to write in Chinese characters, women developed their own form of writing which was used by woman to transcribe vernacular Japanese. At that time, the writing system they used was called onna-de, which means “women’s hand.” While the men wrote in an awkward, scholarly form of Chinese, the women were able to express themselves eloquently.

Fiction was on the lower rung of the genre hierarchies. So Murasaki Shikibu was writing in a mode of literature that was denigrated. But her book was quite popular.

The story revolves around Genji, who’s so charming and good-looking that he probably could’ve been an ancient Japanese version of a movie star, if only they’d had movies back then. Genji is the son of an emperor and has all the privilege and drama that comes with it. The tale explores his adventures, romances (and there are a fair number of those), and the ups and downs of court life in Heian-era Japan.

Imagine what it was like 1000 years ago. In Japan in that era, only nobles were educated. This was true in the West too .Only a tiny percent of the whole population could read and write. There were no bookstores, no public libraries, no mass-printing technique, and no Amazon. The Tales of Genji was created in an environment where it could never be widely distributed.

Murasaki Shikibu was a noble woman, who wrote that story for a small audience–the noble women around her.It was written in chapter-by-chapter installments that were distributed to ourt ladies and other high-ranking noblewomen

What makes “The Tale of Genji” stand out, besides its historical significance, is the depth of its characters. Murasaki Shikibu didn’t just write about people; she wrote about their inner lives, their motivations, their sorrows, and joys. It’s the kind of book that makes you feel like you’re getting to know real people, even though they lived over a thousand years ago. She’d fit in beside the top women writers today.

Within Japan today, The Tale of Genji commands a place equivalent to all the works of Shakespeare in the West, while in popular culture, the tale continues to provide inspiration for cartoon artists, filmmakers, and illustrators. There are multiple translations into English. This book, written a thousand years ago for a tiny in-group audience consisting mainly of royal consorts, princesses, and the women who served them, has the ability to communicate across time and culture.

Although it deals with the search for an ideal, enduring love; it’s not a romance–there is no happy ending. Even so, It’s pretty epic, and definitely worth a read if you’re into getting lost in another world and time.

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“The Tale of Genji: The world’s first novel?.” 14 August 2019. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190814-the-tale-of-genji-the-worlds-first-novel. Accessed March 16, 2024.

Diane Riggs. “The Tale Of Genji.” https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/tale-genji. Accessed March 16, 2024.

“The Tale of Genji.” http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_600ce_genji.htm#:~:text=The%20Tale%20of%20Genji%2C%20thought,fiction%20produced%20by%20court%20ladies. Accessed March 16, 2024.