The Tale of Genji : : A Visual Companion / / Melissa McCormick.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press Complete eBook-Package 2018
• VerfasserIn: McCormick, Melissa,
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2018]; ©2018
• Year of Publication: 2018
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (288 p.)

An illustrated guide to one of the most enduring masterworks of world literatureWritten in the eleventh century by the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji 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 Genji Album (1510) in the Harvard Art Museums, the oldest dated set of Genji illustrations known to exist.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 Genji 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 Genji Album 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.Beautifully illustrated, this book serves as an invaluable guide for readers interested in The Tale of Genji, Japanese literature, and the captivating visual world of Japan’s most celebrated work of fiction.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Note to Reader -- Introduction -- The Tale of Genji Album of 1510 -- 1. The Lady of the Paulownia- Courtyard Chambers -- 2. Broom Cypress -- 3. A Molted Cicada Shell -- 4. The Lady of the Evening Faces -- 5. Little Purple Gromwell -- 6. The Safflower -- 7. An Imperial Celebration of Autumn Foliage -- 8. A Banquet Celebrating Cherry Blossoms -- 9. Leaves of Wild Ginger -- 10. A Branch of Sacred Evergreen -- 11. The Lady at the Villa of Scattering Orange Blossoms -- 12. Exile to Suma -- 13. The Lady at Akashi -- 14. Channel Markers -- 15. A Ruined Villa of Tangled Gardens -- 16. The Barrier Gate -- 17. A Contest of Illustrations -- 18. Wind in the Pines -- 19. A Thin Veil of Clouds -- 20. Bellflowers -- 21. Maidens of the Dance -- 22. A Lovely Garland -- 23. First Song of Spring -- 24. Butterflies -- 25. Fireflies -- 26. Wild Pinks -- 27. Cresset Fires -- 28. An Autumn Tempest -- 29. An Imperial Excursion -- 30. Mistflowers -- 31. A Beloved Pillar of Cypress -- 32. A Branch of Plum -- 33. Shoots of Wisteria Leaves -- 34. Early Spring Greens: Part One -- 35. Early Spring Greens: Part Two -- 36. The Oak Tree -- 37. The Transverse Flute -- 38. Bell Crickets -- 39. Evening Mist -- 40. Rites of the Sacred Law -- 41. Spirit Summoner -- 42. The Fragrant Prince -- 43. Red Plum -- 44. Bamboo River -- 45. The Divine Princess at Uji Bridge -- 46. At the Foot of the Oak Tree -- 47. A Bowknot Tied in Maiden’s Loops -- 48. Early Fiddlehead Greens -- 49. Trees Encoiled in Vines of Ivy -- 50. A Hut in the Eastern Provinces -- 51. A Boat Cast Adrift -- 52. Ephemerids -- 53. Practicing Calligraphy -- 54. A Floating Bridge in a Dream -- Appendix: Album Calligraphy Key -- Glossary -- The Album: Works Cited and Consulted -- Bibliography -- Index -- Image Credits