How to Read The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki (Introductory Lecture) (Patreon)

It’s time to begin our journey through the sublime saga of love, longing, and loss that is widely considered to be the world's first novel: Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji.

We're taking a trip back to the world of Heian Japan, where we will learn about the culture, politics, and aesthetic sensibilities of one of history's most fascinating eras.

Today we're discussing how best to break into this sweeping work. Topics of discussion include: the rise of Japanese Literature, the sorrowful beauty of the ephemeral world, psychoanalysing the central protagonist, waka poetry, the first readers of Genji, and much more.

Video Timestamps:

0:00 the highest pinnacle of Japanese literature

3:00 how to read The Tale of Genji

4:00 the difficulty of this masterpiece

6:30 the world of the Shining Prince

8:00 cloud-dwellers in Heian Japan

9:00 the power of the Fujiwara Clan

9:30 meet Lady Murasaki Shikibu

10:20 the women of Heian Era Japan

11:30 hired wombs, polygamy, political power

13:00 architecture, privacy, nighttime world

15:30 the influence of Chinese on Heian Japan

17:00 masculine vs feminine communication

17:50 women and the rise of Japanese literature

18:50 spoken language becomes written

19:40 Lady Murasaki defines the self in text

20:20 the religious beliefs of Heian Japan

21:00 Shinto, Taoism, Buddhism

25:00 the aesthetics of Heian Japan

26:30 the physical beauty of Hikaru Genji

28:00 the sadness of nature’s ephemerality

30:00 appreciating Lady Murasaki’s poetry

32:00 the natural beauty of Japan

34:30 the sorrowful atmosphere of Genji

37:00 appreciating the characters of Genji

38:00 meeting the character Hikaru Genji

40:00 otherness, self, literature as Rorschach

41:00 the romantic exploits of Genji

42:00 a key to unlocking the narrative

43:00 why the story rewards patience

44:00 the Oedipus complex of Genji

46:30 the character of Murasaki

49:00 the waka poetry of Heian Japan

53:00 the excitement of poetry composition

55:00 different Japanese historical eras

56:00 the music of Japanese courtiers

57:00 is The Tale of Genji really a novel?

58:00 real life inspirations for Genji

59:00 the tragic backstory of Lady Murasaki

1:00:00 how was The Tale of Genji written?

1:01:00 who were the first readers of Genji?

1:02:00 did Lady Murasaki write the ending?

1:02:30 how to read like the first readers

1:05:00 the organic structure of Genji

1:06:00 reading Genji for the sentiment

1:07:00 abridged vs full versions of Genji

1:08:00 why do we love such long novels?

1:09:30 reading Genji with active absorption

1:11:00 which translation of Genji is best?

1:12:30 puritan vs cavalier translators

1:14:30 the Arthur Waley translation

1:15:00 the Edward Seidensticker translation

1:16:00 the Royall Tyler translation

1:17:00 the Dennis Washburn translation

1:20:00 Genji Taste Test - Washburn

1:22:00 Genji Taste Test - Waley

1:23:00 Genji Taste Test - Tyler

1:23:40 Genji Taste Test - Seidensticker

1:24:30 recommended pacing for Genji

1:27:00 hardcore literature book club

1:29:00 your thoughts on The Tale of Genji?

Recommended Resources:

Translation: I highly recommend treating yourself to a translation taste-test like we conducted in the video. Choose the translation that pulls you in. The best translation is the one that gets you through the work. My personal preference is for the Washburn translation (great audio for this one here). But I also adore and highly recommend the Tyler translation too, which is the most popular today. If the Seidensticker or Waley translations are more your thing, you can find them here and here. Let us know which ones capture you the most.

Manga: You might find this a nice opportunity to appreciate the visual art of Japanese comic books with Waki Yamato's excellent and faithful manga adaptation of The Tale of Genji here. The first three volumes of the manga cover the events of the first twelve chapters and encompass the plot and character details we'll be discussing in our next lecture. There is also an anime series and film adaptation.

Abridged Edition: Whilst it's not possible to really abridge a work like Genji, as the reading experience requires a sense of time passing, if you want to dip your toes into the world before committing to climbing the entire mountain, then this version covers roughly the first quarter of the novel. Our next discussion will cover chapters 1-12. After that, for those still wanting an abridged experience, I'll make recommendations for how to continue forward into the work. My aim is to give you a sense of the story in the lectures in a way that attempts to approach the communal experience of the original readers (a hybrid of selective reading, discussing, and listening to spoken narrative). I also personally believe that readers looking for an easier way to assimilate the story would be well rewarded by checking out the excellent manga above.

The World of the Shining Prince: Dr Ivan Morris' study of court life during the Heian period is hands-down one of the best complements to a reading of Genji. This book is a fascinating exploration of the political, social, aesthetic, and religious life of the Japanese elite a thousand years ago. My recommendation is to check out the contents page and pick the chapter that discusses the topic that most interests you first. William Puette's reader's guide is also an excellent companion with clear, compressed, and compelling chapter summaries of the work.

Meet Lady Murasaki: The author of this masterpiece recorded her intimate thoughts in her diary, which captured her life whilst companion and tutor to the Empress. It's a beautiful read, and very slim and digestible too. The Penguin paperback edition also has an excellent introduction by Richard Bowring, who offers superb contextualisation.

Reading Assignment:

Our next discussion will cover chapters 1-12 of the story. This coming weekend we shall wrap up our reading of Pride and Prejudice, and the week following we will be delving further into the beginning of Genji.

So start making your way into the world, meeting the characters, and noting down any themes, ideas, or passages that personally resonate with you.

Questions for You:

1) What is your current relationship with Lady Murasaki's masterpiece? Is this your first reading or a rereading of this great work?

2) What are you hoping to get out of your deep reading of The Tale of Genji?

3) What themes from your wider reading would you like to pull into Genji?

Happy reading, everybody!