The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

Introduction

Written around 1008 CE by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady-in-waiting at the Japanese imperial court, The Tale of Genji is widely considered the world's first novel—and one of its greatest. Spanning over 1,000 pages in translation, it follows the life and loves of Prince Genji and, after his death, his descendants. The psychological depth, the attention to seasonal change and aesthetic experience, and the portrayal of women's inner lives would not be matched in European literature for centuries.

The Shining Prince

Genji is beautiful, talented, and deeply flawed. His many love affairs—including his obsession with a woman who reminds him of his dead mother—form the novel's core. Murasaki treats her characters with remarkable evenhandedness: Genji is neither hero nor villain but a complex human being whose charm and cruelty are inseparable.

Key Takeaways

• The novel is older than you think
• Japanese aesthetics predate European by centuries
• Women wrote the first novel