nydus/The Tale of GenjiPublic

Murasaki Shikibu, a lady-in-waiting to Empress Akiko in the early eleventh century, writes this multi-volume work during her time at court. The narrative is established as a classic of Japanese literature by 1022 and features a structure comprising fifty-four chapters.

Page 311 of 332

Table of Contents

Notes

1

Famous Emperor of the T‘ang dynasty in China; lived a.d. 685–762.

2

The child of an Emperor could not be shown to him for several weeks after its birth.

3

I.e. be made Heir Apparent.

4

She herself was of course carried in a litter.

5

A poem by the Chinese writer Po Chü-i about the death of Yang Kuei-fei, favourite of the Emperor Ming Huang. See Giles, Chinese Literature, p. 169.

311