Appraising Genji: Literary Criticism and Cultural Anxiety in the Age of the Last Samurai

Murasaki Shikibu's eleventh-century Tale of Genji is the most revered work of fiction in Japan. This book explores Genji's reception over the years and its place in Japanese culture.

Considered by many to be the world's first novel, The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu is a masterpiece of narrative fiction rich in plot, character development, and compositional detail. The tale, written by a woman in service to Japan's imperial court in the early eleventh century, portrays a world of extraor...