Preface
Acknowledgments
Note to the Reader
1. The Tale of Genji and the Dynamics of Cultural Production: Canonization and Popularization, by Haruo Shirane
Part I. The Late Heian and Medieval Periods: Court Culture, Gender, and Representation
2. Figure and Facture in the Genji Scrolls: Text, Calligraphy, Paper, and Painting, by Yukio Lippit
3. The Tale of Genji and the Development of Female-Spirit No, by Reiko Yamanaka
4. Monochromatic Genji: The Hakubyo Tradition and Female Commentarial Culture, by Melissa McCormick
5. Genre Trouble: Medieval Commentaries and Canonization of The Tale of Genji, by Lewis Cook
Part II. Late Medieval and Edo Periods: Warrior Society, Education, and Popular Culture
6. Didactic Readings of The Tale of Genji: Politics and Women's Education, by Haruki Ii
7. Genji Pictures from Momoyama Painting to Edo Ukiyo-e: Cultural Authority and New Horizons, by Keiko Nakamachi
8. The Splendor of Hybridity: Image and Text in Ryutei Tanehiko's Inaka Genji, by Michael Emmerich
Part III. The Meiji, Taisho, and Prewar Showa Periods: National Literature, World Literature, and Imperial Japan
9. The Tale of Genji, National Literature, Language, and Modernism, by Tomi Suzuki
10. Wartime Japan, the Imperial Line, and The Tale of Genji, by Masaaki Kobayashi
Part IV. The Postwar Showa and Heisei Periods: Visuality, Sexuality, and Mass Culture
11. The Tale of Genji in Postwar Film: Emperor, Aestheticism, and the Erotic, by Kazuhiro Tateishi
12. Sexuality, Gender, and The Tale of Genji in Modern Japanese Translations and Manga, by Yuika Kitamura
Chapter Titles of The Tale of Genji
Selected Bibliography on The Tale of Genji and Its Reception in English
Contributors
Index

Bringing together scholars from across the world, Haruo Shirane presents a fascinating portrait of The Tale of Genji's reception and reproduction over the past thousand years. The essays examine the canonization of the work from the late Heian through the medieval, Edo, Meiji, Taisho, Showa, and Heisei periods, revealing its profound influence on a variety of genres and fields, including modern nation building. They also consider parody, pastiche, and re-creation of the text in various popular and mass media. Since the Genji was written by a woman for female readers, contributors also take up the issue of gender and cultural authority, looking at the novel's function as a symbol of Heian court culture and as an important tool in women's education. Throughout the volume, scholars discuss achievements in visualization, from screen painting and woodblock prints to manga and anime. Taking up such recurrent themes as cultural nostalgia, eroticism, and gender, this book is the most comprehensive history of the reception of The Tale of Genji to date, both in the country of its origin and throughout the world.