The three articles Oct. 12 on the "1,000 years of 'Genji' " by Eriko Arita are absorbing and delightful. I've read Waley's, Seidensticker's, McCullough's and Tyler's versions -- the latter I don't know how many times. I've yet to tackle the very first version, and those by Jakucho Setouchi and Donald Keene. I always find the tale fascinating. More than the bedroom content, which is sensitively rendered (but may jade a little), the writer's incisive character analysis is just outstanding.
As for the literary form, I think Dr. Royall Tyler has got it completely and given it to us on a gold platter, with his profuse notes and appendixes. How fortunate one is to experience this millennium celebration.
One small caveat: The first article in the series mentions a new translation (by Hikari Otsuka in November) without indicating whether it is in English or Japanese, or how to obtain it. Could The Japan Times staff kindly add that information when the new version appears?
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