86. The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

The Tale of Genji (c.1010), by the Japanese noblewoman known as Lady Murasaki Shikibu, is sometimes designated the world’s first novel; perhaps it could be called the world’s first bonkbuster, dealing as it does with the irresistibly attractive Prince Genji and his many love affairs.

The name ‘Genji’ is something of a smokescreen, though. This is not his actual surname, which is never revealed. He is the son of the emperor by a low-ranking concubine, and Genji is a rendering of the Chinese characters for ‘Minamoto’, a clan name conferred on princes of the blood who were not in direct line to the imperial throne. The fact that Genji was given this name signalled that he was no longer a member of the imperial family and could never aspire to supreme power. The title The Tale of Genji thus means, in a sense, ‘the story of an outcast’.

But that doesn’t stop him having a lot of fun.

Consulted:
Murasaki Shikibu: The Tale of Genji, trs and notes Royall Tyler (2001)