The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn

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.

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.

Attractive ~ Historical ~ Traditional

tl; dr: Courtier Genji struggles, writes poetry, and falls in love.

Genji is the first novel, arguably, written in the highly restrictive court society of Heian Japan. The story while lovely can feel arcane to contemporary readers. And, yet, it is probably the most important document of that period of Japan. The power of Genji rippled through Japanese culture. The kawaii culture of Japan, with its young girls hiding their mouths while they smile, can be traced to the demure courtiers in the inner circles of the Heian court. Any lover of Japanese culture must read Genji. But, lord, reading it can be a bore. Yamato's Genji is a great onboarding read, turning the inaccessible plot into something easy to digest. The illustrations are done in the Anime/ Manga vernacular adding the accessibility of the volume.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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