Book

The Tale of Genji

The Tale of Genji (源氏物語, Genji Monogatari) is a classic work of Japanese literature said to have been written by the noblewoman, poet, and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu around the peak of the Heian period, in the early 11th century. It is the first novel written by a woman to have won global recognition. In Japan, The Tale of Genji has a stature similar to that of Shakespeare in the UK. The work is a depiction of the lifestyles of high courtiers during the Heian period. It is written mostly in Japanese phonetic script (hiragana), in a vernacular style (not the same as "vernacular Japanese", which only appeared in late 19th century) associated with women's writing of the time, not in Chinese characters (kanji) used for more prestigious literature, and its archaic language and poetic style require specialised study.

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