1. A Brief Introduction to the
World’s First Novel
By Nathanael Peterson

2. This PowerPoint will explain . . .
 Basic Facts about this work
 Plot/ Characters
 The role of Heian court Culture
 Importance of The Tale of Genji

3. Author
Written by Lady Murasaki
also known as Musasaki
Shikabu
She was Born: about 978 CE
Died: possibly around 1031
Was: a court lady for
Empress Akiko in Heian
Period Japan

4. Basic Facts. . .Where and
When?
 Heian Period Japan 795-1185 CE
 Set in the Heian courts
 The upper class people living in the courts had almost
no interaction with the common people. They were
called “Cloud Dwellers”
 The Tale of Genji has been called the first novel
 Written in Japanese
(Men at the time wrote in Chinese. This was not suitable for a women so Murasaki
wrote in Japanese which was her native language. This gave her a literary
advantage. )

5. Who was Genji?
Prince Genji or The Shining One was the son of the Emperor and his
favorite concubine. Because Genji has no power at court his “brother” is air
to the thrown not him.

6. Other important
Characters
The Women---
The Tale of Genji is full of women that Genji loves, marries or sleeps with.
Some notable women-
Fujitsubo- consort of the emperor, loved by Genji, sleeps with Genji and bares
his son who the Emperor thinks is his.
Princess Aoi- Genji’s first wife
Murasaki- adopted by Genji as a child and then becomes his second wife
Yugao- Mistress of Genji, dies while possessed by a spirit

7. Plot. . .
The Tale of Genji, tells the story of
Prince Genji. The novel carefully
twists through his depressing and
often tragic love affairs. When
Genji dies the tale switches focus
to his son.
All the while the novel carries a
soft, melancholy and
psychological tone that
emphasizes the passage of time.

8. Heian Culture. . .
Governed by the “rule of taste”
Poetry was used as a powerful and
primary form of communication
Affairs were okay as long as they
did not disrupt court life
Feelings of melancholy common
in works of the time

9. Importance. . .
 The Tale of Genji is still important today.
 Arthur Waley’s Translation is an amazing piece of
English Literature in its own right.
 Parts of The novel are read in Japanese high schools
today.
 It has been made in to Movies and Mangas (Japanese
Graphic Novels)
 It dramatically impacted all Japanese literature that
came after it.

10. Works Cited
 Murasaki, Shikibu(Lady Murasaki). The Tale of Genji.
Trans. Arthur Waley. New York. Random House.
1960. Print.
 Davis and Harrison and Johnson and Crawford.
Bedford Anthology of World Literature. New
York, NY: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. Print.
 Note: all pictures in this PowerPoint are considered in
the Public Domain within the United States because
the creator of these works has been dead for a very
long time.