Skip to main content

Secondary sourceBookbetween 1596 and 1615

The Tale of Genji, Keicho-era Movable-Type Edition

between 1596 and 1615

An early movable-type printed edition of Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji, said to be among the first printed versions of her novel.

This early printed edition spread Murasaki Shikibu's novel far beyond the hand-copied manuscripts of her own time.

Ask Murasaki Shikibu about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Cover of a Japanese book with dark blue cloth or paper covering, a tan rectangular title label on the upper left with black brush characters, a Library of Congress-style white label with red and black marks on the upper right, and orange thread binding on the right edge.
The Tale of Genji, Keicho-era movable-type edition, 1596-1615. Library of Congress.

About this source

What it is

This is an old movable-type edition of The Tale of Genji, said to be the first printed version of the novel, produced in 54 volumes during the Keichō Era (1596–1615). It is one of the earliest books to use hiragana type, with only two other copies surviving as handwritten versions. The novel itself was written in the early 11th century by the court lady known as Murasaki Shikibu.

Why it matters

This edition marks the moment Murasaki Shikibu's centuries-old story moved from hand-copied manuscripts into print, making it available more widely. It reflects the life of the Heian-period court that she described, told in prose with nearly 800 embedded poems.

Look closer

  • Why does moving a story from hand-copied manuscripts to print matter for how many people can read it?
  • What does the rarity of surviving copies tell you about how fragile old books were?
  • What might printers have changed or kept the same when turning a manuscript into a printed book?

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.

More Murasaki Shikibu sources

Meet the AI Murasaki Shikibu →
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

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Murasaki Shikibu now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions