(no subject)

[coraa]

I read the Tale of Genji by Murasaki for a Japanese history course in college, and didn't absorb much of it (I was reading fast, in that way where you do when you have 1500 pages of reading assigned per week) but liked what I did absorb very much. I'd like to reread it, but I know enough from my medieval lit readings to know that translation choice can be critical.

So I ask the wisdom of LJ/DW: what translation would you recommend for this work?

On balance I prefer a clear prose style to an ornate one, but I prefer an accurate translation above all. I don't mind footnotes, and I can deal with denseness (ie, by "clear" I don't necessarily mean "oversimplified.")

(If you want to refer someone else to this post for suggestions, please do!)

Comments

[owlectomy]

Royall Tyler's is excellent -- clear prose, footnoted, and tries to stick as much as possible to the cultural context of the original (by, for example, addressing characters indirectly rather than making up names for them).

[coraa]

Thank you!

[m-nivalis.livejournal.com]

*here via friendsfriends*

Perhaps you could ask in reading_genji? It's not active now, but I assume most members haven't taken it off their friendslists.

[coraa.livejournal.com]

Ooh, good idea! Thank you.

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

I have the Penguin Tyler version which I think is pretty good - ? I also have the Seidensticker (sp) translation which everyone at the SJC Eastern GI studies program had. People were discussing different translations in reading_genji I think (I'm so sad that comm died, it was really fun).

[coraa.livejournal.com]

Ooh, nifty. Thank you!

[larryhammer]

I still get pleasure from the Seidensticker translation, more than I ever did from Walley. I haven't tested any other, though.

---L.

[coraa.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Royall Tyler for me.




Edited for proper icon, and because I misremembered which translation I was reading. :)

[coraa.livejournal.com]

Icon love! And thank you. :)