The Tale of Genji
Published on 6. December 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
1360 pages
978-0-393-35339-6 (ISBN)
Description
Murasaki Shikibu, born into the middle ranks of the Japanese aristocracy, wrote The Tale of Genji during the early years of the eleventh century. Expansive, compelling and sophisticated in its representation of ethical concerns and aesthetic ideals, Murasaki's tale is recognised as a masterpiece of world literature.
The Tale of Genji is presented here in a flowing new translation for contemporary readers, who will discover in its depiction of the culture of the imperial court the rich complexity of human experience that simultaneously resonates with and challenges their own. Washburn sets off interior monologues with italics for fluid reading, embeds some annotations for accessibility and clarity, and translates poetry into English triplets to create prosodic equivalents of the original.
The Tale of Genji is presented here in a flowing new translation for contemporary readers, who will discover in its depiction of the culture of the imperial court the rich complexity of human experience that simultaneously resonates with and challenges their own. Washburn sets off interior monologues with italics for fluid reading, embeds some annotations for accessibility and clarity, and translates poetry into English triplets to create prosodic equivalents of the original.
Reviews / Votes
"...Genji is gorgeous, hypnotic, disturbing and endlessly fascinating." -- Metro "Murasaki watched the sexual maneuverings, the social plots, the marital politics, the swirl of slights and flatteries that went on around her, with the keen, sometimes sardonic, and always worldly eyes of a medieval Jane Austen." -- The New YorkerMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 61 mm
Weight
1289 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-393-35339-6 (9780393353396)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
04/2025
W. W. Norton & Company
€22.46
Available for download
Persons
Dennis Washburn is the Burlington northern Foundation professor of Asian studies at Dartmouth College. He holds a Ph.D. in Japanese Language and Literature from Yale University and has authored and edited studies on a range of literary and cultural topics. These include: The Dilemma of the Modern in Japanese Fiction; Translating Mount Fuji: Modern Japanese Fiction and the Ethics of Identity; and The Affect of Difference: Representations of Race in East Asian Empire. In addition to his scholarly publications, he has translated several works of Japanese fiction, including Yokomitsu Riichi's Shanghai, Tsushima Tsushima Tuko's Laughing Wolf, and Mizukami Tsutomu's The Temple of the Wild Geese, for which he was awarded the US-Japan Friendship Commission Prize. In 2004 he was awarded the Japan Foreign Minister's citation for promoting cross-cultural understanding.