A Manuscript Digest of the Tale of Genji

MURASAKI SHIKIBU 紫式部.

Manuscript on fine gold-decorated <I>torinoko</I> paper, entitled on manuscript labels of persimmon-colored paper, brushed with gold & pasted on upper covers, “Genji kokagami” 源氏小鏡 [“A Little Mirror of the Tale of Genji”].

Ten columns per page. Many leaves underpainted with gilt floral designs. Written in a fine calligraphic cursive hand. 42; 32; 36; 38; 42 leaves. Five vols. Small 4to (234 x 174 mm.), orig. dark blue semi-stiff wrappers (retchoso-style bindings), with delicate scenes in gold of nature scenes in landscapes, adorned with golden pine trees, flowers, grasses, bushes, clouds & sprays of mist, using kindei (“golden mud”) & golden speckles, & finely textured gold-speckled paste-down endpapers at front & back of each vol. [Japan: copied early Edo].

It is hard to overestimate the cultural significance of Tale of Genji, the first novel ever written and a work that has resonated throughout art and literature, in all periods, both in Japan and the rest of the world. Murasaki Shikibu finished her work in 1021. She was named after the beloved wife of Genji, Murasaki. The work recounts the life of Genji, the second son of the Japanese Emperor, and comprises some 400 dramatis personae.

By the beginning of the 17th century, the 54 chapters of the Tale of Genji were not easy to read without a teacher. As a result, a series of digests or condensed versions, offering easier access to the text in more familiar language, were issued in both manuscript and print. The present digest, the “Genji kokagami,” consists of 27 chapters, plus the final 10 chapters, known as Uji jūjō 宇治十帖 [The Ten Books of Uji]. The first two pages of the first volume contain the index.

Our very beautiful manuscript is skillfully written throughout on both sides of each leaf of fine smooth paper.

Fine fresh copy, preserved in an old lacquered box (a little defective).

Price: $16,500.00

Item ID: 10750