The Genji Monogatari

Part I of Essay
Genji Monogatari is the greatest single work in Japanese literature. It provides us with an informative look into the court life of the Heian Period, as well as give us a wealth of vivid characterizations along the way to developing the lineage of the hero, Genji. The reas ....

Part II of Essay
.... way that Murasaki employs nature is in her precise characterizations of the dozens of main and minor players in Genji. From the season in which the character appears to the clothes that they wear to the portion of Genji's palace that they inhabit, without a more than casual appreciation to nature in reading this novel a great chunk of the literary value is lost. "[Murasaki} is not content simply to describe the charms of the different seasons, but they are skillfully harmonized with the feelings of the characters" (Shinkokai, 1970 p.55). ....