Reading The Tale of Genji

A brilliant example of what collaboration among scholars can produce. The introductions to the work and the individual texts are clear, cogent, concise, and engaging, and the translations are very readable and display different nuances in style. This volume will surely become an essential text to the study of Genji. -- Sonja Arntzen, University of Toronto This book is a treasure. The existence of such a rich tradition of Genji criticism and commentary will come as a revelation to many readers. Erudite and masterful translations bring to life the way men and women have engaged with Genji as readers, authors, and scholars over the centuries and will advance the field in significant ways. -- Melissa McCormick, Harvard University The Tale of Genji is not just a novel but a millennium-long love affair between a book and its readers. Whenever courtiers, warriors, or ordinary Japanese looked back to the heyday of the imperial court, this book was the lens through which they saw it. Of course, they reacted to what they read, commenting, annotating, interpreting; some even tried to emulate it. This book authoritatively leads us through a thousand years of such commentary and interpretation, showing how the work lived and breathed through its readers' admiration. It is obligatory reading for anyone who is interested in The Tale of Genji or in the reception history of famous books. -- W. J. Boot, Leiden University For centuries, The Tale of Genji has been a major source of inspiration and subject matter for Japanese artists. With the publication of this book, students of Japanese art will now have access to not only the treasure trove of visual evidence that survives but also the opinions of some of Genji's earliest readers, whose tastes and interests were decisive to the formation of the long tradition of Genji art. -- Mimi Gardner Gates, director emerita, Seattle Art Museum Reading the Tale of Genji opens windows into critical words very few English-reading will have guessed even existed, exposing them to new views and visions of the big book they adore. Open Letters Monthly Readers familiar with The Tale of Genji will find that this collection adds considerable depth to their understanding of Japanese cultural history... Highly recommended. Choice This detailed collection of commentaries on Japan's most famous novel allows us to see how readers over the centuries have regarded it. Tony's Reading List