Reading The Tale of Genji at a Women's University: How to Read Classics Freely

The Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu, is a classic among classics. Written over 1,000 years ago, this internationally treasured novel is also unusual in that it was written by a woman and read by women. It is filled with scandal, messy love affairs, power struggles, and, of course, infidelity and adultery. When reading The Tale of Genji with female university students, what images emerge in the modern era? This is a new introduction and analysis of The Tale of Genji, written seriously yet wittily by the author, a scholar of Japanese literature and a professor at a women's university.