Murasaki Shikibu

Written in the eleventh century, this exquisite portrait of courtly life in medieval Japan is widely celebrated as the world’s first novel. Genji, the Shining Prince, is the son of an emperor. He is a passionate character whose tempestuous nature, family circumstances, love affairs, alliances, and shifting political fortunes form the core of this magnificent epic. Royall Tyler’s superior translation is detailed, poetic, and superbly true to the Japanese original while allowing the modern reader to appreciate it as a contemporary treasure. Supplemented with detailed notes, glossaries, character lists, and chronologies to help the reader navigate the multigenerational narrative, this comprehensive edition presents this ancient tale in the grand style that it deserves.

'When I go out to sit on the veranda and gaze, I sem to be always conjuring up visions of the past' The Diary recorded by Lady Murasaki (c. 973 c. 1020), author of The Tale of Genji, is an intimate picture of her life as tutor and companion to the young Empress Shoshi. Told in a series of vignettes, it offers revealing glimpses of the Japanese imperial palace the auspicious birth of a prince, rivalries between the Emperor's consorts, with sharp criticism of Murasaki's fellow ladies-in-waiting and drunken courtiers, and telling remarks about the timid Empress and her powerful father, Michinaga. The Diary is also a work of great subtlety and intense personal reflection, as Murasaki makes penetrating insights into human psychology her pragmatic observations always balanced by an exquisite and pensive melancholy. In his illuminating introduction, Richard Bowing discusses what is known of Murasaki's life, and the religion, ceremonies, costumes, architecture and politics of her time, to explain the cultural background to her vivid evocation of court life. This edition also includes an explanation of Japanese names and dates, appendices and updated further reading. Translated and introduced by RICHARD BOWRING

Il Murasaki Shikibu nikki (Il diario di Murasaki Shikibu), una delle opere più rappresentative della diaristica femminile dell'XI secolo, descrive l'esperienza dell'autrice come dama articolandosi in due sezioni principali: la prima dedica grande attenzione ai preparativi e agli interminabili festeggiamenti per la nascita del Principe Atsuhira, il futuro erede al trono; la seconda, più frammentaria, propone, invece, descrizioni delle qualità fisiche, dei pregi e dei difetti caratteriali delle donne al servizio dell'imperatrice Shoshi. La vita di corte, scandita da cerimonie fastose e da una ricerca quasi ossessiva della perfezione estetica, viene presentata al lettore attraverso aneddoti memorabili, rievocati da chi scrive con distaccato spirito critico o con grande partecipazione emotiva, senza mai perdere di vista lo scopo di celebrare la gloria di Fujiwara no Michinaga e dei suoi degni discendenti.