Missing chapter of “The Tale of Genji” found

November 2, 2009 by J!-ENT

A J!-ENT Exclusive!

Mainich Daily News reported:

Part of a manuscript believed to be a sequel to the existing 54 chapters of the classical Japanese novel “Genji Monogatari” (The Tale of Genji) has been found.

The manuscript is said to follow the Uji chapters of the classical novel credited to Murasaki Shikibu, a woman in the court during the Heian period (794-1185). Known as the “Sumori chapter,” the chapter is believed to have been written by another author after Murasaki’s death, and its discovery is expected to shed light on how the Tale was received over the centuries.

An appraisal found that the two manuscript pages bought from a used bookstore by Chuo University Professor Kazuomi Ikeda, widely known for his research on the book, could be traced back sometime between the late Kamakura (1185-1333) and the Nanboku-cho (1336-1392) periods.