The Canon
Illustrated cover for The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

Novel · c. 1010

The Tale of Genji

Murasaki Shikibu

Aya Saleh · Ink & Ivy

Novel · c. 1010 · Japanese · Medieval

The Tale of Genji

Murasaki Shikibu

The world's first novel: the shining prince and the women whose lives he alters.

Court romancePsychological novelDesireImpermanenceRankBeauty

Reading edition

An authorized English PDF is not yet included for this work. The source links below offer edition searches; access and borrowing availability vary.

How to read it

Mono no aware — the pathos of things. Murasaki tracks emotional consequence across decades, giving the discarded women interiority Genji never grants them.

Chapter guide

A verified, edition-specific chapter guide has not yet been added. The overview above covers the work as a whole, not individual chapters.

Where to read & what to read about it