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Secondary sourceBookmid-17th century

Tale of Genji Manuscript, Chester Beatty J 1038.1

Unknown · mid-17th century

A mid-17th-century illustrated manuscript copy of Murasaki Shikibu's novel, the Tale of Genji.

This manuscript is a later copy of Murasaki Shikibu's own novel, showing how her work was preserved and illustrated.

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Painted illustration in a Japanese Tale of Genji manuscript on gold-flecked paper: a courtier in dark robes sits on a veranda beside a woman in yellow robes inside, two women kneel on the veranda, two women sit on the snowy ground, and a pine tree with snow stands at left beside a stream and a pair of birds at right.
Tale of Genji manuscript illustration, Japan, mid-17th century. Chester Beatty Library J 1038.1.

About this source

What it is

This is an illustrated manuscript copy of the Tale of Genji, made in Japan in the mid-17th century by an unknown copyist. It is held by the Chester Beatty Library. The page shown depicts courtiers and attendants in a snowy scene beside a pine tree and stream.

Why it matters

Though created centuries after Murasaki Shikibu wrote the original text, this manuscript shows how her novel continued to be copied, illustrated, and read long after her lifetime. It demonstrates the lasting popularity and influence of her storytelling in Japanese culture.

Look closer

  • What does the illustration tell us about the scene being depicted in the story?
  • Why might later artists and copyists choose to illustrate this text?
  • What might be lost or changed between Murasaki's original words and later copies like this?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Murasaki Shikibu on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Fragment of a decorated handscroll page with black calligraphic Japanese script running in vertical columns on gold-flecked paper with dark green and gold scattered patches and faint grass-like brushstrokes. A printed caption in the lower right reads in Japanese.Book

Primary source

The Tale of Genji

Murasaki Shikibu · c. 1010

Open double-page spread of a Japanese manuscript with gold and silver flecks scattered on brown-orange and dark mauve paper. Black cursive kana calligraphy runs in vertical columns on both pages.Book

Primary source

Kokin Wakashū

Ki no Tsurayuki and compilers · c. 905-920

Diary entry

Primary source

The Diary of Lady Murasaki

Murasaki Shikibu · c. 1008–1010

Scan of a page of handwritten Japanese cursive calligraphy in brown ink on pale paper, written in vertical columns. This is the final part of the Tosa Nikki diary, copied by Fujiwara no Teika in the 13th century.Diary entry

Primary source

Tosa Nikki

Ki no Tsurayuki · 935 (copy 13th century)

Photograph of the front cover of a Japanese book bound in pale green-grey paper. A vertical cream label on the cover bears brush-written Japanese characters and a small seal-like stamp appears at lower left. A color calibration chart and a metric ruler are along the edges of the image.Book

Secondary source

Eiri Genji Monogatari

Yamamoto Shunshō · 1650

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