Genji Monogatari (The Tale of the Genji): Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Genji Monogatari (The Tale of the Genji), credited to Murasaki Shikibu, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of Genji Monogotari (The Tale of the Genji by Murasaki Shikibu. Translated by Suyematz Kenchio. The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early eleventh century, around the peak of the Heian Period. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first romance novel, or the first novel to still be considered a classic... The Genji was written for the women of the aristocracy (the yokibito) and has many elements found in a modern novel: a central character and a very large number of major and minor characters, well-developed characterization of all the major players, a sequence of events happening over a period of time covering the central character's lifetime and beyond. The work does not make use of a plot; instead, much as in real life, events just happen and characters evolve simply by growing older. One remarkable feature of the Genji, and of Murasaki's skill, is its internal consistency, despite a dramatis personae of some four hundred characters. For instance, all characters age in step and all the family and feudal relationships are consistent among all chapters. NOTE: this is a highly condensed version of the text, running to just under 200 pages, whereas the original is nearly 1000 pages long! (Summary by Wikipedia)

Recording facts

• Recording title: Genji Monogatari (The Tale of the Genji)
• Author credits: Murasaki Shikibu
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 22
• Listed recording duration: 8:52:21

Catalogue topics

• fiction
• Japan
• Genji

Track guide

1. 00 - Introduction — 17:24
2. 01 - The Chamber of Kiri — 46:38
3. 02 The Broken Broom-like Tree, Part 1 — 38:22
4. 03 The Broom-like Tree Part 2 — 21:24
5. 04 The Broom-like Tree Part 3 — 30:12
6. 05 - Beautiful Cicada — 16:58
7. 06 - Evening Glory Part 1 — 34:54
8. 07 - Evening Glory Part 2 — 27:01
9. 08 - Young Violet part 1 — 25:33
10. 09 - Young Violet Part 2 — 33:30
11. 10 - Saffron Flower — 38:50
12. 11 - Maple Fete — 19:04
13. 12 - Flower Feast — 9:34
14. 13 - Hollyhock — 26:22
15. 14 - Divine Tree — 27:56
16. 15 - Villa of Falling Flowers — 2:56
17. 16 - Exile at Suma Chapter 12 — 37:45
18. 17 - Exile at Akashi — 23:23
19. 18 - The Beacon — 14:24
20. 19 - Overgrown Mugwort — 13:46
21. 20 - The Beacon — 5:45
22. 21 - Competitive Show of Pictures — 20:48

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Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.