Webinars & Presentations
Asian Topic Discussions: Tale of Genji
The "Tale of Genji" is considered Japan's, and sometimes the world's, first novel, and was written by one of Japan's most famous female authors, lady in waiting Murasaki Shikibu. The plot of Genji narrates courtly love and political intrigue spanning many decades of its protagonist's life, providing a detailed portrait of quotidian court life in 11th century Japan. Under the surface, the work stresses enduring themes based in Buddhist philosophy about the impermanence of love, the anguish of loss, and the travails of human life.