(Ebook) The Tale of Genji: A Visual Companion by Melissa McCormick ISBN 9780691172682, 0691172684

(Ebook) The Tale of Genji: A Visual Companion by Melissa McCormick ISBN 9780691172682, 0691172684

<p><b>An illustrated guide to one of the most enduring masterworks of world literature</b><br><br>Written in the eleventh century by the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu, <i>The Tale of Genji</i> is a masterpiece of prose and poetry that is widely considered the world’s first novel. Melissa McCormick provides a unique companion to Murasaki’s tale that combines discussions of all fifty-four of its chapters with paintings and calligraphy from the <i>Genji Album</i> (1510) in the Harvard Art Museums, the oldest dated set of <i>Genji</i> illustrations known to exist.<br><br>In this book, the album’s colorful painting and calligraphy leaves are fully reproduced for the first time, followed by McCormick’s insightful essays that analyze the <i>Genji</i> story and the album’s unique combinations of word and image. This stunning compendium also includes English translations and Japanese transcriptions of the album’s calligraphy, enabling a holistic experience of the work for readers today. In an introduction to the volume, McCormick tells the fascinating stories of the individuals who created the <i>Genji Album</i> in the sixteenth century, from the famous court painter who executed the paintings and the aristocrats who brushed the calligraphy to the work’s warrior patrons and the poet-scholars who acted as their intermediaries.<br><br>Beautifully illustrated, this book serves as an invaluable guide for readers interested in <i>The Tale of Genji</i>, Japanese literature, and the captivating visual world of Japan’s most celebrated work of fiction.</p>