The Tale of Genji

E82442

The Tale of Genji is an 11th-century Japanese literary classic by Murasaki Shikibu, often considered the world’s first novel and a masterpiece of courtly romance and psychological insight.


Statements (50)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Heian period literature
Japanese literary classic
courtly romance
novel
psychological fiction
adaptedAs anime
film
manga
stage plays
television series
alsoKnownAs Genji Monogatari
author Murasaki Shikibu
considered a masterpiece of Japanese literature
one of the world’s first novels
containsPoetry yes
countryOfOrigin Japan
culturalStatus Japanese national treasure
dateWritten early 11th century
firstPartFocus life of Hikaru Genji
genre court romance
monogatari
psychological novel
hasCharacter Aoi no Ue
Kaoru
Lady Fujitsubo
Lady Murasaki
Niou no Miya
Rokujo no Miyasudokoro
To no Chujo
influenced Japanese court literature
later Japanese fiction
visual arts in Japan
language Japanese
laterPartFocus lives of Kaoru and Niou
literaryPeriod Heian period
mainCharacter Hikaru Genji
narrativeForm prose
notableFor complex narrative structure
detailed depiction of Heian court life
psychological depth of characters
use of waka poetry within prose
numberOfChapters 54
originalLanguage Classical Japanese
settingPeriod Heian period
structure multiple generations of a noble family
theme aesthetics and beauty
court politics
family and lineage
impermanence
love and romance

Referenced by (6)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
The Tale of Genji ("Genji Monogatari")
alsoKnownAs
Classical Japanese
hasCanonicalWork
Ise Monogatari
influenced
Murasaki Shikibu
notableWork
Heian period
significantWork
Murasaki Shikibu ("The Tale of Genji is often considered the world’s first novel")
workDescribedAs

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