I have never read anything like this before and I dont tend to read graphic novels but I really loved the artstyle of this and I found the story good. I'm not sure it is for me though. I did feel as thouvh i had to force myself to read it but perhaps graphic novels just aren't for me. Great artwork though

'The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn' by Waki Yamato is a classic manga based on an 11th-century literary classic.

This manga begins with the story of Prince Genji. His birth, like much of his story is tragic. When Genji gets older, the stories in this manga are about the various courtly love interests he has, and how they make his life miserable, especially when he falls in love with an older woman and it turns out to be his stepmother.

The art is lavish and detailed, from the courtly robes to the many flowers. I wished at times it would have been in color.

The story felt a bit dry to me, and I found my attention drifting. I like classics, but this tends to read like one. I did really like the included interview excerpts from the creator of this manga.

I received a review copy of this manga from Kodansha Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
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The Tale of Genji is one of those stories where a lot of people have probably heard the title but don’t know much beyond it being a classic Japanese story. This manga brings the tale to life with beautiful illustrations though and hopefully revives an interest in a fairly fascinating tale.

The story follows Genji, the shining prince, who lost his mother and then grandmother at a very young age and is taken in by his father, the emperor, but removed from the line of succession. The emperor takes on a new wife, a young woman who has a close resemblance to Genji’s late mother. Genji is very close to her (Oedipal complex) and as he grows older his feelings get more complex about how he feels about her. Considering her status as the emperors wife Genji moves on, kinda, and is married off at a young age, 12?, and has many relations with other women that tend to leave him unfulfilled or the woman ends up meeting a tragic end. The story can be a bit tough at times because many characters don’t have names but the titles/roles they fulfilled. Wasn’t as easy for me to remember.

Genji isn’t exactly my favorite character. He’s sympathetic, he keeps looking for love in all the wrong places and seems to make many really bad decisions but mean well. He’s not the fascinating character though, the women that surround Genji, I think, are the true stars of this story.

This volume covers some of Genji’s tale, there is still more to be told and I’ll be happy to read it when it’s released.

Uno classico della letteratura giapponese (anzi, il classico per antonomasia della letteratura giapponese), un classico del fumetto: è questo che è l'opera di Waki Yamato, che  riprende in forma di manga la Storia di Genji, il Principe Splendente, scritto da Murasaki Shikibu verso il 1000 e testimonianza narrativa dell'estetica e della vita di corte del Giappone dell'epoca Heian (794-1185).

Le vicende amorose di Genji, figlio dell'Imperatore e di una concubina, permettono di analizzare la sottigliezza letteraria e la raffinatezza di vita che la corte giapponese aveva raggiunto; ma la distanza nel tempo - e, per un occidentale, nella cultura - dell'opera rappresenta oggi un ostabolo alla lettura di quello che rimane una delle pietre miliari della letteratura mondiale.

Waki Yamato lo ha trasposto in tavole a partire dal 1979, creando un nuovo classico nel suo genere, e avvicinando le generazioni più giovani all'opera (che io mi immagino tipo I promessi sposi da noi, schifata da tutti gli studenti XD).

La ricchezza estetica, l'amore per il dettaglio, la suggestione dei dialoghi rendono questo manga una piccola gemma, oltre che un'ottima introduzione al romanzo stesso.

*Arc provided by Netgalley and the publishers*
As someone who generally loves manga and Japanese myths, I was a bit conflicted with reading this. Due to the character art style it was really difficult who each character was and what role they played in each chapter.
I enjoyed reading the manga, however it was quite difficult as there were no time frames and the characters would jump age ranges, Genji would be a small child one moment to being a teenager the next and I found it really confusing as some of the other characters didn't look as tho they have aged as much.

Erratum:
"Beatiful black hair" on p220 Beautiful is misspelled.

The original Tale of Genji was written by someone with the honorific of Murasaki Shikibu. She was a Japanese writer and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court during the Heian period, and she lived around 1000AD. She was strictly speaking not a 'Lady'. The 'Shikibu' referred to her status as a relative of a high ranking official in a ministry, so 'Lady' is an approximation. Murasaki seems to have referred to the wisteria plant and its color which the Japanese probably did not differentiate between.

No one knows her real name, but some suspect she may have been Fujiwara no Takako. She was married for two years before her husband died, and later retired from court with her daughter. In between those times she wrote an ongoing 'novel' about a fictional character in the Heian court, known as The Shining Prince, and commonly referred to as 'Genji'. This guy was a bit of a playboy (as this pull-no-punches manga reveals), who having lost his mother early in life seems to have pursued a need to replace her with a lover who had her qualities.

He fell in love with his stepmother, something perceived as forbidden, but she's not the only one. Every few pages he finds another woman who inspires powerful feelings, yet every one of them seems inappropriate for one reason or another - that she's an older girl with whom he grew up, so there are sibling feelings involved, or that she's a lower class woman who lives in a small house in the city, and on and on. It's like he can only love she who is decidedly wrong for him to love!

I enjoyed this story and I'm now inspired to actually go read the original (in translation of ocurse! LOL!) that's been sitting on a shelf to my right as I sit typing this, for several years. The author published this manga some time ago and it has been rereleased to coincide with the opening of “The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated” at MoMA in NYC. To prepare for writing it, Waki Yamato traveled to the locations where the Heian court had existed and visited museum exhibits to see the kind of clothing they would have worn.

She even was able to don one outfit and have photos taken so she could see how it hung and moved. The effort was worth it, because the artwork is beautiful. My only problem with it was that the drawing style tends to render characters to look very much alike and it was at times confusing and a little harder to follow the story when one new character after another was whisked in and out.

The design of the book was a bit confusing too. This was an ebook, which slid up and down the screen on my pad, not left to right. It began at the front of the book rather than at the rear, as many manga do, yet the page had to be read from right to left, not the western left to right, and this was really confusing to begin with because some of the panels made little sense until I figured out what they had done here! Also page numbers are not visible, and there is no slide bar to navigate the whole book so you can't tell at a glance where you are in it. You can only see page numbers if you tap the screen twice or during the actual swiping form one page to the next.

This was also a bit annoying, especially since, in swiping up to the next page, if you accidentally started too low on the page it would bring-up my iPad's nav bar which then necessitated a tap on the center of the screen to dismiss it. That was also annoying! So not the best design for an ebook, but I'm guessing it was as usual, never designed as a ebook, but as a print manga which was then crammed into ebook format without much thought to practicality. Publishers really need to get on the ball with this and decide what it is they're publishing these days! A book cannot be all things to all formats! That aside, though, I really enjoyed the story and the art, and I commend it as a worthy read.

Thanks to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for providing me with an Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I've always been a fan of the Tale of Genji, written in the 11th century by Murasaki Shikibu arguably the first novel ever written, and by a woman no less.

This manga adaptation of The Tale of Genji was first released in the 80s and 90s and has that flowery, vintage manga art style familiar to any fans of classic shoujo such as Rose of Versailles and Revolutionary Girl Utena.

The story is a well-known one, Prince Genji, notorious womaniser and owner of a famously fickle heart, falls in love with his father’s wife, Princess Fujitsubo. Having the hots for an Emperor’s wife is a no no even for a spoiled prince, so poor Genji has no choice but to drown his sorrow in the affections of other women, with the exception of his actual wife that is (sidenote – child marriage, never a good idea). Genji has some serious mother issues having lost his own at a young age which perhaps explains his fascination for his stepmother. Her physical similarity to Genji’s mother adds an extra sprinkle of Oedipus Complex to the mix. Genji is not always the easiest character to like but he’s certainly an interesting character and he’s not without his own charms and there’s plenty of angst in his story.

The art style wont be for everyone, but for those who appreciate this style there is lots to appreciate. The details are beautiful and there are classic Shoujo flourishes such as sparkly eyes and gorgeous clothing and hair. The story itself a good, if somewhat romanticised, adaptation of The Tale of Genji and if some of Genji’s less salubrious personality traits are glossed over then fans of the Shoujo genre will know this is pretty much par for the course. There’s romance, there’s angst, there’s completely inappropriate relationships...all classic Shoujo hallmarks.

I am not familiar with the work this manga was based on, but I thoroughly enjoyed volume one of the story. I am not a regular reader of manga or graphic novels, but this one pulled me through it in only a few hours (and while I was at work, at that). Particularly of note - the illustrations were stunning. I'll be seeking out the print version simply to have the marvelous artwork on my bookshelves.

This is an adaptation of the popular and renown work of by Murasaki Shikibu. I think for me this is something that I will have to re-read in the future after I read Shikibu’s original work. I thought that this being transformed into a manga would make it more accessible as a reader however I found that it sometimes hindered the concentration needed for this story. This is a retelling of a very old book (1000 years) and whilst the characters were complex and the story harrowing, I felt like I needed more. Whilst admitting it felt a bit dry and stiff at times, I admire the writing style and overall artwork. I wanted to love this so much more - not horrible but just an okay read for me.

My thanks to Kodansha Comics for making available via NetGalley this beautiful graphic novel/manga of the first volume of Waki Yamato’s adaptation of Murasaki Shikibu’s 11th-century literary masterpiece, ‘The Tale of Genji’.

This English language digital edition coincides with ‘The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, featuring original artwork from this manga, opening in March 2019.

The story recounts the forbidden love between the young prince Genji and his stepmother, Fujitsubo, who is married to the Emperor. Along the way Genji has a number of affairs while ignoring his own wife. Their arranged marriage had taken place when he was only twelve. Having lost his mother at a young age, Genji seems to be searching for maternal love.

The Oedipal theme is extended by the fact that the Emperor had married Fujitsubo because she closely resembles his dead concubine, Genji’s mother. The complexity doesn’t end there.

I freely admit that I had not previously known of this novel or its history. Yet I was intrigued by it and the cover art was breathtaking.I also have not read much manga though I have appreciated what I have experienced. The art throughout was exquisite with enough text to relay the story.

After the main text Waki Yamato provides family trees, useful short character introductions, and an article about her journey with ‘The Tale of Genji’, which originally was published between 1980-1993 in thirteen volumes.

I felt this format provided an excellent introduction to this classic work of Japanese literature. Dare I hope that Kodansha Comics makes more volumes available to English readers in the future.

A classic tale from back in the old days in Japan.
Genji is the shining prince, so beautiful, so young. Such a womaziner from a time so long ago.

It's a pretty tale of the prince Genji, son of the Emperor but not with the first wife. So young he loses both his mother - The Emperor' love, Lady Kiritsubo, a comcubine from a lowly family but so beautiful she calls all the attention.

As the chapters go we follow Lady's Kiritsubo and Emperor Kiritsubo story, and as soon as Genji's hit his 3 years we follow his story as he grows into a young man and then into a adult and all his lovers as he passes life, always matching his princesses with the flowers he so much like.

While I had a bit of difficulty in the beginning to see who was who in the woman cast, the trace of art so very much alike, I had a nice time reading this book. Very beautiful.

The reputation of the Tale of Genji precedes it, having being (questionably) considered the first novel written and a record of life in the Heian period in Japanese history, and has been adapted/translated by many. At its heart, though, it is a story of a man whose problems in love arise from his longing for one particular woman and his search for a woman who could take her place in his heart. Now, I wish I could be entirely serious considering that this a classic novel and deserves every amount of gravitas, but this particular adaptation is a shoujo manga which was perfect in a way because of the Romantic nature of the story, and I cannot get by with just a perfunctory review of the book. I'll tell you why.

First of all, let me just be clear - I don't like Genji. The author also makes a similar remark in her notes, saying how she had to make herself like Genji because he is the protagonist, but I disagree mainly because protagonists don't always have to be liked and this is not the 80s anymore. Genji is the shining prince (it is literally his name, too!) and the story starts much before his birth, with his mother, who was a low-ranking lady in court who caught the eye of the Emperor and became his consort. There are some supernatural elements involved, but anyway her health declines and she dies when he is quite young and his father remarries, some years later, a young girl called Fujitsubo who resembles his deceased wife. Fujtisubo is close in age to Genji (14 to his 9) and close to him in a motherly/sisterly relationship. However, when he comes of age (at 12, like WTF) he cannot see (like, physically see, not meet) her anymore and as the years pass, his childhood adoration turns to romantic love.

But he is also married off (at 12, which again WTF) to Aoi (who is 16), who is cold towards him mainly because she doesn't know what to do with a young groom (this is a warning against child marriage, if anything) and he finds his 'joy' elsewhere in affairs with other elegant ladies at court, building a playboy reputation with his brother-in-law. He begins an affair with an older widow (and by older I mean she is 25 to his 17) Rokugo, and then a woman from other side of town, Yugao; the latter dies due to a supernatural case of jealousy in the former (IDEK it was so weird but I'll take it because its the 11th century and ayakashi are a thing). He then finds a precocious 10-year old, takes her under his wing, and names her Murasaki (future bride I guess?) while searching for the Next Woman, even going so far as to woo a woman he has never seen just because he assumes she is an highly elegant lady. He also slips up and has a night of passion with his original crush and love, Fujitsubo.

Basically, it is a series of affairs that Genji has, while cheating on his wife (try wooing her for a change, dude!), and him falling in love and out of love, while yearning and hiding his feelings for Fujitsubo. It is as melodramatic as Genji deserves, and he single-handedly removes any need for drama from womanly jealousy because he is providing all of the drama this novel needs. Maybe the original tale was supposed to engender some compassion for Genji because of the yearning, but I am cynical millennial, so I am just vicariously enjoying all the 'romance'. Genji's one move is basically to charm the woman and then suddenly rip the blinds aside, so I don't know if I could ever like him, either.

But it is a fascinating view into the life and customs of that time, and Waki Yamato does a great job of bringing it alive in her artwork. The character design is retro, obviously, but the background, the dresses, the glorious hair, the posing of the characters like they are in a woodcut artwork - it all fits the storytelling style and the era well. The art is brimming with beauty and romance, and I loved it for it. It also brushes aside and romanticizes all the things that Genji is doing wrong, but hey that's what the story is about.

Overall, it is a great manga adaptation, especially if you are someone like me who always wanted to read it but balked at reading some dry translation of it.

I love manga and I didn’t know that much about this, I knew vaguely of the tale, so it was lovely to come to something fresh and new, or to me anyway. The art and illustrations are lovely and the tale well told, a great introduction to the tale and I look forward to reading more on this. It made me want to read more outside the manga and that’s always a good thing, a great read and great pacing and adapted.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion